I keep having problems with the blast gates on my dust collection system. Sawdust gets in the tracks for the gate and then the gate won’t close all the way. It also makes my gates hang up so they are hard to open. Any suggestions for a remedy? – Mike Perry
Chris Marshall: I don’t use many blast gates in my system, and the ones I do have are metal (similar to the type shown in the photo, above). They open and close by hand without issue for me. Just a thought here, but is your dust collector powerful enough for the system you have? Are the runs of ductwork straight or full of elbows that cut down the air draw? Maybe the reason why the gates are hanging up is that there isn’t enough suction in the ductwork to keep them clean. Or, their design just isn’t as good as it could be.
eZine readers, please chime in here if you have some suggestions for Mike to try! Maybe you’ve found some simple modifications for your blast gates that help keep them clean and sliding smoothly.
