Waterjet - Tank Clean Up?

[m_marenghi]

I have a 6' x 12' Calypso Waterjet machine. I have had the machine for 6months now and I've been cutting everything(alum,crs,hrs,plastics,stone).
So now my tank is full and I have to get it emptied. What is the best way to do this? Who will take the used abrasive? Is it considered hazmat? Thanks for any help.

[edwardpic]

The shop next to us uses a company to come out and suck the abrasive out. It is a septic company, the same guys that clean out the porta potties. Dont know how much they charge, but they seem to like it. I dont believe its considered hazmat, seeing how the porta potty company comes and just sucks it out. Ofcourse I am in Florida so the laws may be different.

Ed

[jkeyser14]

Not considered a hazmat. All it is is some abrassive and flakes of metal. A septic company would be a good idea as it would save you some time. Or if you have a day to kill: boots, a shovel, some buckets, and a trip to the dump would work just as well.

[bryanrabb]

our neighbor in our business park has a huge water jet, twice a year they rent a small backhoe, and dig it out.

[elmosxyls]

A company I used to work for installed a series of PVC pipes in the bottom of the tank and used it to circulate the water/sand mix. They also installed a large pick up and an automatic refill on the tank (think of a sump pump) that kept the water at the correct level. Seemed to work quite well.

Previous to that, it was tear down, drain, and shovel.

Ryk

[Perp]

i don't mean to hi-jack, but how do you like you Calypso AWJ? I had been looking at their table along with others and so I went to StoneExpo 2006 in Vegas last year to see it in person. the table looked ok but the guy trying to sales pitch it was not doing a good job. I got the idea he was having a bad day or had a hangover or something. and all the parts he was running had over cuts in some of the inside corners and broken off outside details. So I went to the Omax booth and they were on their game. every one was professional and the machine was very cool. all the parts they were running were perfect. I want to belive the Calypso is a good product too, that is why i would love some real world feedback on it. If I recall it was substantially less money than the Omax and I am not rich.

As far as cleaning the tank i thought i saw a cleaning system that was like an underwater auger and lifting belt on one of the web sites, but i may be mistaken. may be a lot cheaper to get a day laborer and a shovel too.

[Perp]

I have been sitting here thinking about what i wrote earlier, and i think i may have been mistaken, after going to the Calypso web site and looking at the machines, I realize i have the manufaturers confused. It was NOT a Calypso booth where the problems were. The more i think about it I believe the Calypso machine was not running at the time I was there. If I could only remember the manufacturer of the other machine (it was all stainless steel).
Sorry for the confusion, and I would still like any feedback you have on any of these machines

[elmosxyls]

Well, let me put my two cents in on the machines as I have experience with the Calypso system.

First, any waterjet will have high maintenance costs due to the pressures that the machines operate with constantly. You will be replacing seals and orifices frequently and filters will run high on a semi-annual basis.

Second, the Calypso did work (and I believe it continues to work well) and the staff was always very helpful when there was a problem (which other than leaky seals was not too frequent). I will say that I believe that you get what you pay for...meaning that I think that the other, more costly systems, won't have as many problems or at least not as frequently (please note comment on regular maintenance with ANY waterjet). Also, the Calypso and Omax systems use very different pump designs and since I have no experience with the Omax I can not compare the two.

If I were in the market for a waterjet, I would seriously consider the Omax (I was "in the market" at one time and I had decided to go with the Omax...but then the bank issues came up and I had a problem with financing anything at all of that price range). That doesn't mean that other systems are bad, I just chose the Omax. I am not putting any system down, but DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

One last bit of advice, always get the larger table offered (that's not where the high cost comes from anyway) and always consider the other options...you may not need them now but you may find yourself wanting that nifty option later and it WILL cost much more to add it later, even if it's just in down-time.


Ryk