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don't waste your time on the plastic gates, these Jet blast gates are solid.my only complaint is the short length of the connector.a trifle difficult to get a solid connection to the hose.
LIKE ANY "OLD-SCHOOL," TESTOSTERONE-DRIVEN, ALPHA-MALE WHO IDENTIFIES WITH CHARACTERS LIKE "TIM, 'THE TOOL-MAN,' TAYLOR (TOOL-TIME), I JUST HAD TO HAVE THESE "RUGGED" BLAST-GATES IN MY DUST-COLLECTION SYSTEM. THE ALUMINUM GATES ARE VERY HARD TO OPEN AND CLOSE, AS THE GATE DOES NOT WANT TO "GLIDE" IN ITS TRACK (PROBABLY DUE TO DUST "JAMMING" THE SPACE BETWEEN THE GATE AND THE RAILS).THE PLASTIC BLAST-GATES GLIDE EFFORTLESSLY AND DO NOT SEEM TO BE AFFECTED BY "MY DUST" AT ALL.***THIS HARSH REVIEW "MAY NOT APPLY" IF YOU ARE EXCLUSIVELY CREATING WOOD-DUST IN A WOOD-SHOP*** I WOULD RECOMMEND CHECKING OTHER REVIEWS FROM WOOD-SHOP DUST-COLLECTION SYSTEMS.I AM NOW PREPARING TO SWITCH OUT THE ALUMINUM BLAST-GATES WITH THE PLASTIC GATES. I HAVE HAD THEM NOW FOR ABOUT A YEAR. I WAS "FORCED" TO ALSO PURCHASE THE "PLASTIC" BLAST-GATES TO SAVE MONEYJet JW1007 4-Inch Blastgate AS THESE PLASTIC GATES ARE NEARLY 1/3 THE COST OF THE ALUMINUM GATES. I HAVE HAD NO BREAKAGE OR MALFUNCTION AND THE GATES WORK VERY WELL WITH A GOOD SEAL. I INCORPORATED THEM INTO MY SYSTEM OUT OF NECESSITY, AS A TEMPORARY "FIX," UNTIL I COULD AFFORD TO REPLACE THEM. AND I DO.HOWEVER, I AM ALSO AN "OLD-SCHOOL TIGHTWAD" AND COULD NOT AFFORD TO OUTFIT MY ENTIRE SYSTEM WITH THESE "HEAVY DUTY' BLAST GATES.SO. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE PLASTIC BLAST-GATES Jet JW1007 4-Inch Blastgate.
MY INTENTION WAS TO REPLACE THEM WITH THE "MANLY-BLAST-GATES" AS SOON AS FINANCES PERMITTED.FOR MY APPLICATION, THE ALUMINUM BLAST-GATES ARE TERRIBLE AND THE PLASTIC BLAST-GATES ARE FANTASTIC. MOST OF MY "DUST" IS METAL-SHAVINGS AND GLASS-BEAD. THEY WORK SMOOTHLY AND ARE JUST AS RUGGED AS THE ALUMINUM GATES.
When you open and close the plastic gates saw dust and chips get in the slides,this blocks the slides from closing. The aluminum blastgates are well wirth the cost. My exhaut system works so much better since I took the plastic gates out. This causes a leak because it does not close all the way. The aluminum one's are open at the end of the slide so they can clean themselves and close fully.
I replaced all my plastic blast gates with these, and now my dust collection system works beautifully. The slides on the plastic gates get obstructed with wood chips and debris. When they can't close all the way, the entire system is compromised. Paying more for these gates is definitely worth it.
These are more durable then the plastic ones for sure. The locking screw is a pain when you want to quickly close and open gates. But they leak around the edges and the closing plate bounces around and does not really shut until backpressure builds up. Also the closing plate, if unit is mounted vertically, will close by itself due to gravity. Seems like it would not have been too much trouble to add the $.02 worth of gasket to properly seal the unit and give the closing plate some friction so it doesnt close by itself.The attachment throats are very short making it difficult to clamp to hose or pipe. Silicon caulk is the only way to attach it to solid pipe.
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