Dry Ice Blasting: DIY vs. Outsourcing

Dry ice blasting can achieve impressive results, including removing layers of grime, soot and caked-on debris without water, chemicals, and mess, so many are tempted to consider purchasing equipment and doing it themselves.

While it provides a fast, effective and easy way to clean the most difficult machines, facilities and even electrical equipment, adding dry ice blasting to your in-house maintenance efforts can be a challenging and expensive endeavor.

However, do-it-yourself (DIY) dry ice blasting can make sense but it’s important to consider the following factors.

Cost

Dry ice blasting equipment can be costly: over $100,000 up-front plus ongoing expenses. Here are the costs involved:

• Production-grade dry ice machine: up to $100k (basic nozzle)
• Additional nozzles: $2k each
• Additional hose sections: $2k each (replacements and extension
• Diesel-powered compressor: $80k
• Diesel fuel: 50 gallons multiplied by market rate
• Dry ice pellets: around $0.50 per pound (around 1,500 pounds are needed per day)
• Personal protective equipment (PPE): varies
• Personnel: cost of 1-2 people to operate the equipment plus training and certifications

Challenges Sourcing Dry Ice

Pellets used for dry ice blasting are challenging to source, depending on your location. They also need to be used within five days before their quality degrades. A reliable supplier is a critical factor in being able to maintain your dry ice blasting timeline.

Because most dry ice suppliers don’t deliver, you’ll need to coordinate and pay for delivery and it’s important to find a supplier close to your location.

Training & Safety

Dry ice blasting is a powerful cleaning tool and poses a risk of serious injury considering the force of the blast and where it is used, including ceilings, smokestacks and other high and tight places – a respirator may be needed. Operators need to be well-trained, certified and physically fit for working in these challenging places.

The Calculation

The cost and challenging nature of DIY ice blasting doesn’t it’s not right for you. If you frequently need dry ice blasting and you have the trained personnel in-house, you can recoup your investment faster. For example, cleaning injection molds daily with dry ice blasting can work quite well.

DIY also makes work well when conditions aren’t risky and what needs cleaning are frequent, has easy access, and doesn’t require scaffolding, harnesses or engineered containment.

The Case for Outsourcing

Those with cleaning challenges that go beyond the ordinary are candidates for outsourcing dry ice blasting, including fragile substrates in historic restoration projects to the tight space and electronics in petrochemical plants and power plants, to the highly regulated food and pharmaceutical industries.

It’s recommended to request a dry ice blasting assessment prior to receiving a quote so you ensure the dry ice blasting contractor understands what you really need and so you can evaluate their skill and professionalism. And, while dry ice blasting is often the right choice, some environments are a better fit for sponge blasting paint of brick and concrete, or using hydroblasting and more abrasive blasting media.