Which Dry Ice Cleaning Machine?
In this report we will discuss the options when choosing a dry ice cleaning machine to purchase. There are now a myriad of machines for sale, one to suit each application and we know how difficult it can be to make the correct decision, especially when considering the cost involved!
This report is completely independent, Optimum have zero affiliation with any of the manufacturers. What we do have is over 15 years of experience in using just about every machine on the market.
So below is a little help when choosing your first dry ice cleaning machine.
What Is Your Business?
Dry ice cleaning now comes with a lot more sub interests rather than the traditional industrial cleaning angle. There are companies setting up with the sole purpose of dry ice blasting vehicles. Or companies aligned soley to spray foam removal or oak beam cleaning. This will form a major decision in your purchasing. Basically, there is no need to buy a full pressure (16 bar), maxed out £30k machine if you need to delicately blast clean engines. The same applies to spray foam removal. It really doesn’t need to go above 10 bar to remove spray foam. So a consideration will be ‘How much pressure will i need my machine to run at?’
How Much Air Have I Got?
This brings us on to the next topic. Air consumption. There is no point have the all signing, all dancing £30k, 16 bar machine if you site air is a max of 7 bar! What you need to factor in to your decision making is compressed air. This will possibly be a more expensive purchase than you dry ice machine. And a lot of thought and research needs to go into this. When people contact me for advice, generally, it’s their lack of knowledge on how compressed air will perform within their system, that becomes the issue. Basically, you need pressure and the correct CFM to hold that pressure.
Which Accessories?
This is a tricky one. The ‘bolt-ons’ you will need depends on what you need to achieve. There is no point paying £800 for an extension lance if all of your work will be close quarters. Again, accessories are very expensive so choose wisely as there is a mind blowing array to choose from.
Servicing And After Care
Another hugely important aspect when decision making. Anything running at -79c is going to face issues. Dew point and moisture, freeze ups and blockages are all run of the mill problems. But, it’s the ‘under the bonnet’ issues that will probably need some manufacturer intervention. So, ask the questions, get the prices and definitely check out the competence. We have had some bad experience with bodged fixes over the years that have cost a fortune in both service and lost revenue.
Dry Ice Cleaning Machines: The Big Hitters
In my opinion Cold Jet have always had the number 1 slot when it comes dry ice cleaning machines. They have been around a long time and have an extensive range of machinery and accessories. This expertise comes, however, at a higher price than some of the low to mid range entry machines, that have now been introduced to market. A Cold Jet machine is definitely worth considering.
Number 2 on my list would have been Icetech. But, as Icetech has now been bought out by Cold Jet, the number 2 slot will possibly go to Cryonomic. Again, they have been involved in dry ice machines for as long as we have been trading. Robust machines with a good choice across all ranges. Their prices will be slightly lower than Cold jets too.
Number 3 would have to be the Asco Jet machines. Very similar to Icetech range, these machines are well built and, again, the company has been around a long time. Not sure on price scales but they have always been pretty much mid range, so expect to pay in the region of £15k to £17k.
There are lots of machines on the market that i haven’t tried, such as the Avro range or the Cryogen range, but generally i don’t think there’s many of the others that we haven’t used over the last 15 years.
If you would like any free, impartial advice when choosing, I’m more than willing to help!