The next one that came to my mind was that of a bunch of old guys (my affectionate  name for retirees),  running around with metal detectors, finding everything from old bottle caps to lumps of gold just inches below the surface of the ground.

Jeff only scratched the surface about what he wanted to do but it had to do with a process called “dry washing” river bed gravel or “high bank” as I believe he referred to it. I’m not an “old guy” yet, but this kind of activity, I must say sounded quite interesting, especially with the possibility of a big payoff! My curiosity got the better of me and so, I looked around on the Internet and began to understand this whole process and that there is a community out there for whom this is, at a minimum, a serious hobby.

Dry washing is a process where the prospector has a pile of dry sediment material which consists of various sizes of gravel, sand, silt and hopefully some gold. Dry washing is basically a technique of sizing materials by size and by density so that you end up with a concentration of the finest and most dense material at the end. The concentrated material is further processed with water to hopefully end up with some gold.  I know my description of this process is not quite technically correct, but you get the idea that you have to process a lot of material to get down to a few pieces of gold. Check out this video explaining the process of dry washing.

Another issue that came to the forefront in my research about the dry washing method is that there is no shortage of the “do it yourselfer” types out there constructing their own rigs for this purpose. They range in size from small, manual units up to large, trailer mounted systems that can process many cubic yards of material per hour.

OK, so what does this have to do with my friend Jeff and the Heavy Duty Line Vac? Perhaps you have already guessed it. His interest was in getting the raw material into the dry washer that he had constructed in the first place. Most people feed their dry washer with a shovel or a 5 gallon bucket. On larger machines, this is pretty much a two-man operation to keep the unit fed properly.  And so, with the use of a mobile air compressor, the Heavy Duty Line Vac and some vacuum hose, he could simply vacuum up the material and be free to collect from anywhere he wanted within a 50 ft. radius of his dry washer and keep the dry washer fed with an appropriate amount of material to keep it operating at its optimum throughput.

Yeah, it’s a little out of the ordinary for us around here, but who wants to hear about another, run of the mill conveying application anyway?

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

I discussed with the customer the bulk density of his unit and the volume he needed to convey along with the size of the existing pipe on the unit.   With the pipe already existing it was determined that placing a unit of similar size would be the easiest method.  The inner diameter of the pipe in the system was 3” so our 3” Aluminum Line Vac was a direct fit for the application.   The amount of material the customer was looking to move was well under the capacity of the Line Vac.  This mean he could conserve even more compressed air and install a pressure regulator that was included with the Line Vac Kit to reduce the flow of the unit to his needs.  The unit when operated at 80 PSIG will consume 68.5 SCFM of compressed air, and be able to pull -14.7“ of water column. 

The unit was easily retrofitted into his existing hopper simply by removing a section of the pipe and installing the Line Vac in line with the product conveyance pipe. 
• The main benefits this customer received by installing our Line Vac were:
• No internal moving parts to wear out or break (bearings, seals, motors)
• The unit does not need any extra space from his existing conveying line.
• The Line Vac doesn’t suck air in off his floor where dirt and debris are to move his product.  This means the risk of contamination is gone. 
• If the need occurs he can increase the flow of his product to far more than the blower system was capable of.

Not only does the customer have minimal preventative maintenance cost now he is also able to convey his product more effectively and efficiently as needed for his production. 
If you have a product you are currently conveying or would like to know more about our Line Vacs feel free to contact us. 

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com

In the eighties we were in tall cotton with a networked computer system running a point of sale program offered by Radio Shack, life couldn’t get better.

In the nineties we had cell phones as big as a brick, PC’s with color screens and not the monochrome green, automated reorder systems for parts, equipment service tracking, and some of us were dabbling in something called the world-wide web thinking it might actually be used someday by customers looking for us.

Entering the 21st century, everyone is carrying around laptops, I-pads, flip phones with built-in cameras and all are interconnected. Service techs and sales staff can access equipment, customer and part records with just a few mouse clicks. Trucks get tracked and dispatched with the use of global positioning, and the internet has become an integral part of our business and personal communications.

At dinner parties, when asked what I do for a living, a frequent riposte is ” so you work for an old school brick and mortar company” In actuality nothing can be further from the truth. I counter question them as to how high-tech is their customer service.

• Can their customers talk directly with technical staff by online chat, e-mail. phone, and FAX ? EXAIR customers can.
• Can their customers attain product information, prints, manuals, and pricing 24/7 ? EXAIR customers can. All this is posted on the internet.
• Does their company interact with their customers through social media? EXAIR interacts with customers through Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging.

By now the conversation has generated shuffling feet and lowered eyes because they have come to realize their company’s automated telephone system is akin to the “old school” electric calculator.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com

For some of these applications the discharge port of the hose is just aimed into a bin or some form of a drum without a lid or filter anything to keep dust at bay. In other operations it may be going straight into something as small as a 5 gallon bucket.   Rather than blowing all of this debris, or sand, or dirt into air an open top container and risk it getting stirred up and released into the air, or missing the container and falling onto the floor you could channel it all into one container with one of our Chip Vac Containers.

            The Chip Vac systems are offered in 55 Gallon Drum, 30 Gallon Drums, and a 5 Gallon Container sizes.  Each of these is fitted with an EXAIR .1 micron filter bag that is both washable, and replaceable.  The advantage to using one of these Chip Vac Drum Lid Assemblies is that your debris can be contained into the correctly sized container for your operation and all of the exhaust air will be filtered by the .1 micron bag which means your trimmings, or chips, or sand will all remain in the container rather than blowing out onto the floor or going back into the atmosphere of your shop.

            The 30 Gallon Lid and the 55 Gallon Lid and 5 Gallon Lid all have a 2″ NPT Bung opening that you can adapt to fit your Line Vac hose size.  Pair the lid with a matching size drum dolly and when your drum is full simply remove the lid, wheel the full drum out of the way and a new empty drum in its place.

            We have seen this work in multiple applications as collecting sand from a drilling operation that was being performed on a sand casting, to material trim removal and metal chip removal from machining operations.   If you want more information on these or have a similar application feel free to contact me.

Brian Farno

Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com

In the U.S. alone, during the period 1980 to 2005, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) reports 281 explosions caused by ignitable combustible dust atmospheres. They resulted in 199 fatalities and 718 injuries. (ref 1) Similar data was compiled in the UK, where the Health and Safety Executive reported 303 explosions over a nine-year period. And German records show 426 similar incidents over a 20 year period. (ref 2)      

Since their report was published, the CSB has repeatedly requested that OSHA take more action to regulate the safety of operations processing combustible and flammable powders. The 2008 sugar refinery explosion at the Port Wentworth plant of Imperial Sugar should be a warning to a broad range of industries and just how risky and relevant dust explosions are.      

Sectors with recorded incidents of combustible dust fires and explosions.      

Analysis of over 1100 events the following processes have been found to be the leading causes.

·  Dust collection systems

·  Powder grinding and pulverizing

·  Silo & container filling

·  Powder mixing and blending

Electrostatic discharges account for 10% of known primary ignition sources. Even though the majority of combustible dusts have higher minimum ignition energy (MIE) than flammable vapors, the amount of energy available from electrostatic discharges within contained environments will ignite the vast majority of combustible dusts.

Several contributing factors though, need to be present to support the ignition of a combustible dust cloud: 

• A dispersed dust cloud-oxygen mixture that is above its Minimum Explosion Concentration (MEC).
• Physical containment of the dust cloud that will lead to rapid pressure build-up.
• A heat source with enough energy to ignite the combustible atmosphere

To prevent uncontrolled electrostatic discharges posing a fire and explosion hazard in powder processing operations, a thorough static audit should be conducted by qualified personnel. The audit should focus on investigating and identifying situations where a charge has the potential to accumulate on conductive and semi-conductive components.

For situations where there is a potential for components within the system to be isolated, dedicated grounding equipment should be installed to monitor and control the release of static electricity.”The American Petroleum Institute (ref 3) recommends that all connecting metal parts of  a vacuum collection system are conductive to less than 10 ohms

 I’ve only scratched the surface on this topic. Hopefully it has provided a greater appreciation for potentially dangerous applications in your facility and will prompt you to seek the assistance of a professional to insure proper installation of your equipment.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com

Foot notes:

(1) Report No. 2006-H-1 “Combustible Dust Hazard Study”, Chemical Safety Board (2006).
(2) Dust Explosion Scenarios and Case Histories in the CCPS Guidelines for Safe Handling of Powders and Bulk Solids”, Grossel, S.S., Zalosh, R.G., Center for Chemical Process Safety, (2005)
(3) API RP 2003: Protection Against Ignitions Arising out of Static, Lightning, and Stray Currents”, American Petroleum Institute (2008)

A customer who is making sand castings was drilling holes into the green sand before the casting was poured. The drilling process created a lot of dust and debris from out of the drilled hole. They needed a secondary cleaning operation to remove the debris so it did not affect the quality of the finished casting, and they did not always get the results they desired.

We outfitted this customer with a 1″ Line Vac which they were able to mount within 1/4″ of the drill bit to suck the debris right from the process and transfer it into a large container for future use.

This application worked out very well because our customer was able to get close to the debris they needed to remove. Many customers want to do the same thing but think they can mount the suction end of the Line Vac a few inches away from the material they want to remove. But it just doesn’t work that way…

Just like your vacuum cleaner at home, it is the vacuum air flow across the dirt which puts it in motion and into the vacuum cleaner. When you place an attachment on the end of your vacuum hose, you do not pull stuff from 3 or 4 inches away, you need to get close to it to pull it into the hose. It is the air flow across the dirt which picks it up.

If you took a penny and placed it on the floor, covered it with your vacuum hose and pressed a the hose on the floor to prevent any air from coming in and then turned on your vacuum – the penny would not move. But as soon as you lifted the hose and allowed some air to flow past the penny, the air would pick up the penny.

It’s the same way on our birthday folks – you don’t suck out your candles, you blow them out. In order to suck them out you would burn your lips because you have to get so close to the flame to get good vacuum air flow running by the flame to exhaust it.

So if you are considering a Line Vac to pull debris right from your machining process, make sure you can get in close proximity of the operation for success.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

So, you can see all of this stuff in and on the loaf of bread / bun. But how does a commercial bakery get this stuff onto the finished loaf / bun?  The bulk seed product usually comes in a barrel much as shown below.

The way it is done is by conveying from the bulk barrel up into the hopper of a machine that spreads the seed out over the width of the conveyor. The tool used to get the seed up to the hopper is our Line Vac product.  We have a variety of sizes from 3/8″ hose size all the way up to 5″ hose size. We also manufacture them in a variety of materials including Aluminum, 303 stainless, 316 stainless and tool steel. In this case the 316 stainless model made to fit 1-1/4″ hose model 6062-316 worked quite well for the customer.
The big advantages for the customer by going with the Line Vac solution were:
1. Keep production personnel safely on the ground and off of ladders to fill the hopper which was some 8 ft. in the air.
2. Eliminate wasted product being spilled from scoops used to fill the hopper while operator climbs ladder.
3. Easy management of the on/off function of the Line Vac allowed for more productive use of operator’s time while managing the process. The customer started by using a simple ball valve to turn the Line Vac on and off. However, they could also use one of our Electronic Flow Controllers with infrared sensor based level control in the hopper.

The result; a consistent product with evenly applied seed and done with minimal effort.

OK, I’m hungry now. Think I’m going go have two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

With the cost of prescriptions I hang on to unused or leftover prescription pills, syrups, creams and ointments because someday I will need them again. After reading an article from our local hospital I realized that this might not be a good idea because over time they lose their potency.

The next question is how to dispose of these. Flushing them down the drain sends them into our rivers and streams. The US Fish and wildlife has reported pharmaceuticals have crept into our water sources and is having a negative effect on fish and wildlife. The FDA has issued guidelines for disposal.

While we are on the topic of spring cleaning, I would suggest you update your catalog library. EXAIR has introduced a substantial number of compressed air saving products. Our OPTIMIZATION products focus on saving your air. And much of our core product line reduces your compressed air usage. You do not want to miss any opportunities to improve your processes by decreasing compressed air consumption and to save your company money. You can get the latest  catalog copy by clicking on this link or register in our Knowledge Base to add digital information to your library.

You will find 2D drawings and 3D models, both in multiple formats. You can also download digital catalog files, look through our long list of FAQ’s, view our products’ PowerPoint presentations and see our videos.  Over 800 applications can be sorted and you can take advantage of our air savings calculators to see how quickly you can get ROI or see how adding our air controlling product, the EFC, can  save you money.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com

In a manner of speaking, the source of the light is embedded within the painted surface itself. When these lines are painted, the paint actually has thousands of small glass beads mixed in with the paint as it is applied to the road. Glass beads have the physical property that they can refract and reflect light back to its source, your headlights. And so the glowing effect is achieved.

What does this have to do with EXAIR? Our 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac Model 150200 is used to replenish the glass bead hopper on the painting truck from a larger bulk holding tank on another truck. Plenty of compressed air is available on the bulk truck as a 185 CFM compressor is also on board. So, it made perfect sense to be able to use the conveyor. The hopper on the paint truck can easily be re-loaded with about 300 lbs. of bead in less than 10 minutes time. Before, the implementation of the Heavy Duty Line Vac, the customer had to purchase their glass bead in 40 lb. bags and load the hopper manually. A process that took every bit of 1/2 hour with all the climbing and handling of the bags. Model 150200 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac was selected for its highest available conveying capacity and also for its ability to resist abrasion from product running through the inside and from regular handling during use on the road.

With the new set up, the feed truck can easily pull up along side the painting vehicle, throw the hose into the hopper, turn on the compressed air and it is that easy. No more bags to deal with, no more spillage, no more risking operators climbing up and down from the feed hopper to load it.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

When we were kids, Mom reused jelly jars for juice glasses. Grandma recycled flour sacks into pillow cases. Anything headed for the dump Dad stripped of its nuts and bolts and saved them in recycled baby food jars. As we outgrew our clothes, we recycled them down to our smaller siblings.

Then there came the era of “planned obsolescence“.  The idea was not to make products designed to last, but they should be made cheaply and simply discarded and replaced. This would create jobs and stimulate a robust economy. So we became a wasteful, consuming, throwaway society.

Today we have come full circle. Catch phrases such as sustainability, recycle, and conserve are the rage. Oh really! That’s what we used to do. So is this really new or simply recycled from the past with a new coat of paint?

EXAIR does not subscribe to planned obsolescence. For 27 years we have built our products to last and back it up with a 5 year built to last warranty. Nozzles, jets, and air knives have been around forever. So their basic concept is not new. What is new is what EXAIR has done to design them to conserve compressed air, operate at low sound levels, and be compliant to OSHA directives without sacrificing performance.

If you need help in retrofitting your inefficient nozzles or have an application that requires the use of compressed air call one of our application engineers at 1-800-903-9247

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com