If you need to move liquid into – or out of – a drum, you’ve got options. There are many types of pumps with electric motors that you can hook a suction hose up to, insert it through the bung connection on the drum lid (or even take the lid off if it’s removable), and turn the pump on. They even make pumps that look like long wands with motors on top that’ll actually insert through, and thread into that bung connection.
No electricity? No problem…you can hook a suction hose to an air-operated double diaphragm pump, and it’ll work an awful lot like the aforementioned electric-motor driven pump. You can even get one of those drum pumps that fit the bung in the lid that runs on compressed air.
Thing is, those electric motors are going to burn out sooner or later. Sooner if you let them get dirty & wet; later, if you’re disciplined about taking the great pains it requires to keep them clean & well maintained. And they ALL have moving parts that’ll wear out (especially those loud and GROSSLY inefficient air motors)…nothing, it seems, lasts forever. You might come close, though, if only you had something that didn’t run on electricity and had no moving parts…
Dear reader, allow me to introduce you to the EXAIR Reversible Drum Vac. Instead of using a motor (electric or air) to turn a pump shaft, or using air to move diaphragms back & forth, the Reversible Drum Vac has a venturi inside that uses compressed air to pull a vacuum on the drum. With a simple turn of the knob, the compressed air supply reverses (as advertised) and lightly pressurizes the drum to empty it. The Reversible Drum Vac has a float in the bottom that keeps you from overfilling the drum (while pumping in) and a light spring poppet that keeps you from over-pressurizing the drum (while pumping out).
Here are a few examples of what customers use the Reversible Drum Vac for:
- Laboratory operators in a chemical processing facility use Model 6296-5 Deluxe Mini Reversible Drum Vac Systems to pump out the waste tanks under the lab tables. They’re then wheeled to the main reclamation tanks for safe disposal.
- Many machine shops use them to pump old coolant out of sumps for disposal. Some even use them to vacuum oil out of the collection trays when cutting oil is used for the machining process.
- A civil engineering firm that makes small scale models of dams & bridges uses one to de-water caissons…the watertight retaining structures that allow them to install the foundations. They can’t be used to move the thousands of gallons of water from the actual caissons, but they work well for the smaller volumes in their scale models.
- Foundries and other facilities that operate sand casting molds use them to clean up water leaks & spills around the molds. The ability to pick up the sand and the water, without any wear to the system, makes them preferable to electric shop vacuums.
- A meat processing facility uses one to clean up myoglobin – the reddish liquid that many folks think is blood in their medium rare steaks (it’s actually a combination of water & the protein that carries oxygen to the cells, and starts to form quickly as the meat is butchered) – so the cuts of meat are as free from it as possible prior to packaging.
The Reversible Drum Vac generates a suction head of -96″H2O when supplied with compressed air at 80psig, which is more than enough vacuum for applications like those listed above. Some applications require higher vacuum; for those, we offer the High Lift Reversible Drum Vac Systems, which generate suction head of -180″H2O. Here are some examples of those applications:
- A maker of bottled condiments (think barbecue sauce- or ketchup-like consistency) uses them to clean up accidents when bottles are overfilled, or a conveyor malfunction results in dispensing a bottle’s worth of condiment when there’s not a bottle under the nozzle. The 20ft hose gives them the reach to service several production lines from one centrally located drum, and the two-way pumping action allows them to easily pump the drum into their waste collection system.
- A precast concrete company uses one for various cleanup applications. The High Lift RDV‘s suction head is needed, in particular for their hydraulic oil leaks & spills.
- A ferry operator uses one to clean out the engine room bilge. They put the High Lift RDV on a deck above the engine room…the 20ft hose extends down to the bilge to pump it out, and when the drum is full, it reaches to the main deck so the drum can be emptied into their waste recycling company’s receptacle.
- A construction company uses one to clean up the slurry created during concrete cutting operations. The High Lift RDV is able to keep up with the slurry from even their largest saws, and the 20ft hose allows them to keep the drum conveniently out of the cutting area.
If you’ve got an application that you could use a 2-way liquid pumping system on a drum for, give me a call. Oh, and now through the end of April 2024, we’ll give you a free Vac-u-Gun with any qualifying Industrial Housekeeping Products purchase!
Russ Bowman, CCASS
Application Engineer
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