I have a floor mounted blasting cabinet using a 7hp 240v motor. Several things to note: a. glass beads clean (other than heavy rust and greasy dirt) great. b. glass beads wear out (turn to dust) relatively quickly (about 3 hours for 50lb in a recirculating cabinet). c. glass beads are extremely difficult to totally clean from parts that are to be oil lubricated (internal engine). d. worn glass beads pass through oil filters and will fry engine internals if not removed by the most vigorous means. e. I clean glass beads from moving parts by pressure washing, vigorous wire brushing, pressure washing again, and then wiping and rinsing with a light solvent such as alcohol, MEK, or thinner. g. glass beads get everywhere and are slippery on floors and nasty on work surfaces. h. I could not do without my glass bead cabinet as it is a great cleaning tool. I. keep some silicone oxide or aluminum oxide blasting media handy as it is great on heavy rust (which glass beads are not). j. I use a shop vacuum hooked up to my blast cabinet as a dust remover. The shop vacuums last about 10 hours before the beads destroy the vaccum's motor bearings (even with HEPPA filters in the vac).
