Customer Reviews

Jet JW1142 4-Inch Aluminum Blastgate

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This aluminum blastgate is a real workhorse, very well constructed and much more dependable than it's plastic cousin. The aluminum is put together with screws, the plastic blastgate is tack welded. When/if the tack weld loosens, you've lost your blastgate. Get the aluminum blastgate.

The aluminum will also hookup to the grounding system, making a much easier connection than the plastic gates. The only downside is that it is a little pricey, but a DC system is something that should be build to stay and to use, this aluminum blastgate will foot the bill.

These work much better than the plastic gates. They are put together with screws so that if needed they can be taken apart. They also conduct the static charge through the metal wire when used with the wire-reinforced hose. These are 5 stars for the quality, 3 stars for this price.

I went straight to the aluminum after reading the reviews about the differences between aluminum and plastic. There is no reason to skimp on dust collection and these really make life easy. One per tool or hose connection and you are all set. No worrys about quality here. These are tough gates, made for years of use and abuse.

In addition to being a good grounding connector for a smooth metal ductwork system, and being able to seal it with aluminum tape, it also has a cleaning advantage. Think about the irony of a blast gate. If you wanted to create an ideal headache for creating, and not being able to clean out trapped dirt, a blast gate is it. You have a lot of material passing by a narrow slit in the gate, and to make matters worse, opening and closing the gate are constantly packing it in. So you have this guillotine gate packing dust debris down into a tiny crevice on a regular basis. If you have been playing with blast gates for a while, you realize that cleaning out that packed in dust is a nuisance chore.
On a plastic gate, you are stuck with having to use a sharp tool to try and dig down into the crevice and loosen the packed in debris. With this Jet aluminum gate, you have the option of being able to unscrew the gate face and do a nice job of cleaning it out. You can even do that without having to disconnect the hoses, which makes it even less work.

Another nice feature about the Jet metal gate is that it has a locking knob. With the plastic gates, if they are not mounted sideways, then tend to slip slowly into a closed position. So if the gate is mounted with the flap sitting on top, with a plastic gate, gravity and vibration creates a gate closing movement. So I purposely mount them sideways in order to prevent that. That is not always the best angle depending on the configuration of your set up. With the Jet, having a locking knob, you can set it at any angle you want, and lock it into position. Nice feature.
All in all a very nice gate. Highly recommended.

I have now traded all my plastic blastgates for aluminum. They cost a bit more, but are worth it. They don't clog as easily,and if they do, are easier to clean. The setscrew helps to keep it open or closed. Don't waste your money on plastic blastgates.

These are more durable then the plastic ones for sure. 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. The locking screw is a pain when you want to quickly close and open gates. 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.

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.

The aluminum blastgates are well wirth the cost. My exhaut system works so much better since I took the plastic gates out. When you open and close the plastic gates saw dust and chips get in the slides,this blocks the slides from closing. 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.

Plastic blastgates cost almost as much as their aluminum cousins. So why buy plastic?