Vacuum suggestion

[Arizona Floors]

Any thoughts on the bosch 1773AK grinder(s) for medium sized thinset removal jobs? (1000+/- ft) I would like to add a few to my arsenal.

I know a few here have them, I'm just curious how much thinset, on average, one can remove in a day?

How dustless are they? I have a vacuum that will more than keep up with the dust.

How close to an edge will it grind?

Thanks

[chefwong]

I bought a makita planer. Worked great --- to the edge---.
I used it with a combo Hepa filter setup + bags in the vac. Very fairly dustfree. My only gripe would be the *shroud* on it. The bristles are VERY small at like 1/4 in length max.

[doitright]

Hi Jesse

Since you're in AZ, I presume your work is over concrete slabs. I would consider a floor machine and metal pads (in conjunction with your vac). You could also go wet, but then you'd have to contend with the sludge and water.

These are available in the concrete polishing industry, but now you're getting into a potential price issue for equipment.

[Arizona Floors]

John,

Yes all over concrete. I want to know if those bosch 5" grinders are worth it or not for larger areas. I'm going to order 1 next week. I know it would be good to have at least one.

No water, too much mess for me. I really like dry grinding with a good vac.

The floor grinders are pricey new, but not too bad used. Anyone ever use the blastrac bg250?

[mctile]

I like that demo hammer attachment. Sweet! I think a wide mouth with small holes might work well.

I use a milwaukee 7" grinder with a sawtec shroud and to a Blastrac 1216. I just started using a dust funnel made by Oneida which keeps the filter very clean so I do not have to clear the filter too often. Very dustless.

It goes pretty fast depending on the thin-set. The last job I did was about 300 sq. ft. and I was in and out by noon.

[chase2000gt]

Ive been having real good luck with my Sawtech brand grinder shroud, found it for $60 shipped!

[Higher Standard Tile]

I have the Alpha grinder, hooked up to a basic Rigid Vac with the midrange filter but always use a bag when grinding and no dust.

http://www.toolbarn.com/alpha-ecg-125.html


I pretty much grind ever slab I set over. I haven't yet met a slab that has a steel trowel and broom finish free of curing compounds, (or paint residue, cutback adhesive, etc.)

[Arizona Floors]

Matthew,

I have that bdc 1216 also with a 7" grinder/shroud (No dust deputy). I like the setup, but I'm hoping there is a faster grinder out there.

Trying to decide between an Edco TG-10 or blastrac bg250 for the larger areas. They both look good to me.

Isaac,

I'm going to look into the Alpha before I buy the Bosch 1773AK. I've been grinding every job too. I feel better setting over an excellent substrate. How close will it grind to the wall? (it looks very close) Do you have an easy time finding grinding wheels?

Thanks for the input!

[Brad Denny]

How many have considered investing in an air scrubber and using zip walls?

[mctile]

Jesse-

Sounds like we have similar setups. I would be very interrested in what kind of increase in production you see with with either the Alpha , blastrac, Edco or the Bosch.

Also, have you tried different types of cup wheels? I have always used the sawtec medium life cup wheels out of pure convenience (Local HD sells them) and have wondered what kind of results a different cup wheel would yield. Have you found any brands or styles that work better for certain situations?

[Tool Guy - Kg]

I've got a Bosch 1773 and it's pretty dustless. It reaches to within 1/2" of the wall.

It will grind 100 sq/ft an hour, but a decent amount of time is spent emptying and cleaning the vac. The cyclone filter mentioned in an earlier post would help a lot. I don't know if I'd want to use it all day long, though. I think the tool would handle it, but your wrist is gonna take a beating holding onto the barrel of the tool all day.

What grinding cup are the rest of y'all using?

[Higher Standard Tile]

The Alpha allows you to almost get perfectly flush with the wall. The shroud allows you to open it slightly when you need to hit the edges, but it will make dust unless you hold it perfectly tight to the wall.

The wheels have to come from Alpha. It has a special spring loaded head which allows the grinding wheel to adjust to the floor.

[bathroomremodeler]

Brad,

In my opinion, air scrubbers (negative air), zipwall and other low tech ways get you closer to dustless.

In the system mentioned in the OP, it really is not dustless. It can help reduce some of the "visible" dust, but having to shovel tile debris after you are through creates a ton of dust in of itself.

The implication that you don't have to plastic off rooms or furniture with their example is very suspect to me. Not that the system isn't better than doing it without the system ... just that saying "dustless" won't be true.

[StoneTooling]

The Alpha allows you to almost get perfectly flush with the wall. The shroud allows you to open it slightly when you need to hit the edges, but it will make dust unless you hold it perfectly tight to the wall.

The wheels have to come from Alpha. It has a special spring loaded head which allows the grinding wheel to adjust to the floor.

The Alpha Eco Grinder is a great product. Makita also started producing a dust shroud recently which has been a pretty popular item for us. It attaches to the Makita grinder you already own.

[Arizona Floors]

Brad,

I like the zip wall and air scrubber method. I wasn't familiar with it. I was thinking of building an enclosed collapsable room, I'm going to look into those further.

bathroomremodeler,

To me dustless is not the same as dust-free. Not trying to be misleading.

Your right it is NOT dust-free. It creates about the same amount of dust, maybe slightly more, as taking down plastic. Shoveling does create dust, it is more minimal than you might think though, as long as your careful about it.

The whole system can be improved. I appreciate all the suggestions.