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Coatings Removal Unit Uses Heat, Green Media

Monday, January 31, 2011

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Farrow System USA has just unveiled the Farrow 650MAX self-contained coatings removal machine, which uses heat and green media to remove corrosion-control coatings.

Farrow says the 650MAX is the only slurry blaster that uses heat to remove durable coatings. The process also uses Farrow Green Clean media, a 100% natural product that contains no chemicals or hazardous materials, the company says, and so requires minimal—if any—containment.

The unit also cleans surfaces underwater, as the company demonstrates in a bulkhead cleaning video.

Media, Water Usage

The 650MAX is designed for very high industrial scale production.  It removes all corrosion control coatings and can infinitely adjust to profile the substrate or clean without profiling the surface, the manufacturer says. 

The Farrow System's method typically uses less than two quarts per minute and about 1/10 as much media as required by conventional blasting to achieve similar results, saving money on media and disposal and reducing refilling time, the company reports.

The compact, cage-mounted unit uses the consumer’s water and compressed air supply but also includes an onboard 75-gallon buffer water tank in case the water supply is interrupted. The onboard supply can provide several hours’ service.

Features and Specs

The manufacturer reports these features and specs:

• Air capacity is scalable, from 250cfm to 750cfm for very large cleaning projects. 

• The pot capacity is eight bags (400 lbs.) of media, providing four to six hours of operation without refilling.

• Optional extension hoses reach work areas up to 300 feet from the machine.

• All structural steel is powder coated, and the pot is powder coated inside and out.

• All valves, fittings and the control panel are stainless steel. 

• The machine is warranted for 1 year.

• The control panel includes a prominent E-stop. The blast nozzle features a deadman shut off. 

• Farrow Green Clean media contains no chemicals or hazardous materials and has very low dispersal characteristics.

Heat Removal

The company’s Nigel Farrow found that adding heat to the cleaning process quadrupled the effectiveness and speed of coatings removal, the company said. The Farrow System process was later patented. The process saves labor time and cost; reduces media cost, cleanup and disposal; and speeds project completion, the company says.