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Construction · Miami, FL
Loader Ice Blasting
When people call about loader, the constraint is usually the same. We clean it without water, without chemicals and without anything abrasive touching the surface.
What builds up, and why it matters
On this kind of work the problem is hardened concrete slurry, asphalt, hydraulic oil, clay and general site build-up. Heavy equipment is usually cleaned with pressure and chemicals, which drives water into pins, bearings and electrics and leaves runoff to deal with.
Machines are cleaned at the yard or on site, without a wash pad. The people who call us about loader are usually equipment managers and owner-operators, and the thing they are actually worried about is water forced into bearings and electrical connections.
The method
Why dry ice and not the alternatives
- Non-abrasive
The pellet is soft and sublimates on impact, so the work is thermal rather than mechanical. Machined faces, plating, paint and gaskets survive it.
- Low moisture
No standing water in a harness, a bearing or a cabinet, and no dry time before the equipment goes back into service.
- No secondary waste
Sand, soda and walnut shell all have to be swept and hauled. Dry ice leaves only the contaminant it removed.
- Often no teardown
Much of this work is done in place, which is usually where the real saving is. The labor is in the disassembly, not the cleaning.
More construction work
Related jobs we get called for
Questions we get asked first
Will it damage the surface underneath?
On most substrates, no. The pellet is soft and sublimates on impact, so it does thermal work rather than mechanical work. We still test an inconspicuous spot first on anything unusual.
Do you have to take the equipment apart for loader?
Usually far less than you would expect, and often not at all. Cleaning in place is where most of the saving comes from, because the labor is normally in the teardown and reassembly.
How much mess does it make?
Far less than the alternatives, because the blasting media disappears. What is left is the contaminant itself, which we contain and clean up.
Do you come to us?
Yes. The whole rig is mobile. Compressor, hose and operator arrive at your shop, plant, driveway or dock, anywhere across South Florida from Miami out to roughly a hundred miles.
What does a job cost?
It depends on the equipment, the contaminant and the access, so we will not throw a number at you over the phone without understanding the work. Describe the job and we will give you a real figure.
How soon can you look at it?
Send photos and a short description and one of the owners gets back to you. If you have a shutdown or a deadline, say so up front and we will tell you honestly whether we can hit it.
The comparison
How this compares to the usual methods
- Hand scraping
Hours of work for an inconsistent result, with gouges where the blade slipped.
- Media blasting
Effective and indiscriminate. On soft metal or a finished surface it does damage you then have to fix.
- Pressure washing
The water has to go somewhere, and on most equipment that somewhere is inside it.
- Solvent and degreaser
It dissolves the deposit and often the finish underneath, then leaves a film behind either way.
- Dry ice
Thermal contraction cracks the bond between deposit and surface, then the pellet gasses off. Nothing abrasive, nothing wet, nothing left.
What comes off
What comes off, and why
If it is bonded to the surface rather than part of it, there is a good chance this takes it off. The list below covers most of what we are called out for.
- Resin and mold release
Release agent and resin build-up on tooling, where a solvent fix trades one residue for another.
- Paint and coatings
Taken off in a controlled way when what is underneath matters more than speed.
- Salt and corrosion product
A constant in South Florida. Removing it without stripping the protective finish is the whole trick.
- Ink and printing residue
Ink and coating on anilox and press rollers, surfaces where changing the texture changes the print.
- Food residue
Carbonized product build-up in a plant where neither standing water nor a chemical film is acceptable.
- Grease and oil
The soft film that holds dust and swarf against metal. It is what makes a part feel dirty long after it looks clean, and it comes off first.
- Carbon and soot
Heat-bonded black deposit. Because heat put it there, a sudden cold front is what breaks its grip.
How a job runs
Nothing about this should be a surprise
Nobody should have to guess what they booked. This is every stage of a job in the order it happens.
- We look at access and containment
Hose run, compressor position, what needs masking, and where the contaminant is collected. For food and electrical jobs the containment plan takes longer to settle than the blasting does.
- We test a small area
An out-of-sight patch comes first so pressure and pellet size are proven before anything that shows. Soft alloys, older paint and bare metal each want different numbers.
- We blast, then clean up
The ice is gone on impact. What is on the floor afterward came off your machine, and clearing it is ours to do.
- You look before we pack up
Walk it with us before the hose goes away. A second pass while the compressor is still running costs nothing; a return visit costs us both.
- You describe the job
What it is, what is on it and whether it can stop. If the answer is that dry ice is wrong for it, you get that answer first, not last.
What to expect on site
Cold surfaces are the one aftereffect. Depending on the piece that is either a few minutes of patience or some condensation while it returns to room temperature.
Air comes from our own compressor. You do not need to provide power, water or a connection of any kind.
We cover what should not be hit before anything gets blasted. It takes minutes and saves arguments.
The media is solid CO2, nothing toxic and nothing left behind, but it pushes oxygen out of a closed room. Ventilation gets planned before the hose is connected.
Send us the job.
Give us the job, the address and a rough description, pictures if you have them. The call back comes from Giancarlo or Kenny directly.