Cheap small blasting cabinet light replacement
Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 4:56 pm
For all those who have the el-cheapo blasting cabinets like this one:
They are sold all over the world branded into each market under the local tool shops, ie HAFCO in Aus, Machine Mart in the UK, Harbourfreight in the USA etc etc.
I expect by now that your light will have failed... They last mere minutes it seems and cost $50+ to replace. Hmm... There is no proof that replacing it with another unit will last any longer than the first so like the rest of you I’d left it and it annoyed me.
Ive had a really good look over the system and conclude that while some of the wiring is cool, they transformer is cheap junk and gives out too much power (16v!), probably what killed it.
I decided it was time to upgrade it as I was getting tired of trying to shine lights into the box from outside whenever I wanted to tidy up a small part.
Firstly I stripped the tube out of the cabinet - two cable ties and un clip the wires inside the switch, which you also need to remove from the cabinet body.
I gutted the old tube by pulling off the ends (using some penetrating oil to ease them off – if you do this make sure you clean it off after, you don’t want it in the blaster), Then remove the alloy plate and the tube itself. Cut away all the tube circuits and safely dispose of that lot. Keep the plate, the outer cover, end caps and wire that goes to the switch. Also keep the transformer for now.
I bought one of these kits for $13 incl post. You might find em cheaper, but this worked for me
Its a lumilife and I got it from LEDHut in Aus. The strip is easily cutable with scissors and it comes with a 12v transformer and lead.
The beauty of the strip LEDs is that you can cut and extend them and I intended to fully customise it anyway, so it was time to cut it up. Always nice with a new part!
I used the backing alloy strip to lay out my new light on (its a reflector in the original setup) to mount the LEDs, using the convex side to spread the light around more than the concave would. I put tape where the connection points are situated so it didn’t short out on the alloy. It’s probably ok as it has double-sided tape there, but I didn’t want it short circuit when fitted.
My 1m of LEDs meant I had 3 strips to cut n stick on and then I wired the + and – together using wires cut from the lead that came with the unit. You can do that as you need to cut off the joint plug along with the wires that come from the LED strip as you will use the old feed cable from the cabinet so you get to use the old switch.
Now cut the wire with the connector off the old transformer so that you can extend the new transformer cable (which is always very short) and also can use the connector that goes into the switch on the side of the blast cab.
When its all cabled up you can test it.
Assuming its all works, carefully slide the strip back into the plastic tube and sit the end caps on. I had another test at this point in case anything had moved.
Put it back in the cab and adjust it a little downwards so it doesn’t send bright light into your eyes! Remember to lock the steel clamps with cable ties like original, and run the wires back through the lock nut in the cabinet, reconnect the switch and screw it back on.
Switch on and enjoy!
They are sold all over the world branded into each market under the local tool shops, ie HAFCO in Aus, Machine Mart in the UK, Harbourfreight in the USA etc etc.
I expect by now that your light will have failed... They last mere minutes it seems and cost $50+ to replace. Hmm... There is no proof that replacing it with another unit will last any longer than the first so like the rest of you I’d left it and it annoyed me.
Ive had a really good look over the system and conclude that while some of the wiring is cool, they transformer is cheap junk and gives out too much power (16v!), probably what killed it.
I decided it was time to upgrade it as I was getting tired of trying to shine lights into the box from outside whenever I wanted to tidy up a small part.
Firstly I stripped the tube out of the cabinet - two cable ties and un clip the wires inside the switch, which you also need to remove from the cabinet body.
I gutted the old tube by pulling off the ends (using some penetrating oil to ease them off – if you do this make sure you clean it off after, you don’t want it in the blaster), Then remove the alloy plate and the tube itself. Cut away all the tube circuits and safely dispose of that lot. Keep the plate, the outer cover, end caps and wire that goes to the switch. Also keep the transformer for now.
I bought one of these kits for $13 incl post. You might find em cheaper, but this worked for me
Its a lumilife and I got it from LEDHut in Aus. The strip is easily cutable with scissors and it comes with a 12v transformer and lead.
The beauty of the strip LEDs is that you can cut and extend them and I intended to fully customise it anyway, so it was time to cut it up. Always nice with a new part!
I used the backing alloy strip to lay out my new light on (its a reflector in the original setup) to mount the LEDs, using the convex side to spread the light around more than the concave would. I put tape where the connection points are situated so it didn’t short out on the alloy. It’s probably ok as it has double-sided tape there, but I didn’t want it short circuit when fitted.
My 1m of LEDs meant I had 3 strips to cut n stick on and then I wired the + and – together using wires cut from the lead that came with the unit. You can do that as you need to cut off the joint plug along with the wires that come from the LED strip as you will use the old feed cable from the cabinet so you get to use the old switch.
Now cut the wire with the connector off the old transformer so that you can extend the new transformer cable (which is always very short) and also can use the connector that goes into the switch on the side of the blast cab.
When its all cabled up you can test it.
Assuming its all works, carefully slide the strip back into the plastic tube and sit the end caps on. I had another test at this point in case anything had moved.
Put it back in the cab and adjust it a little downwards so it doesn’t send bright light into your eyes! Remember to lock the steel clamps with cable ties like original, and run the wires back through the lock nut in the cabinet, reconnect the switch and screw it back on.
Switch on and enjoy!
