Month: January 2009

Secondary Receiver Tank, Anyone???

Published on by Neal Raker3 Comments

You’ve guessed it. I’m going to talk about compressed air receiver tanks today. But, not the big ones you see sitting next to the compressor or the aftercooler out back where the compressed air is produced. No, I would like to have a short discussion on the smaller ones that can be used throughout the compressor system. These (usually smaller) air receiver tanks can be placed close to applications where there are requirements for relatively short, high air consumption rate “events”. An “event” is any situation where compressed air is used.

Your next question might be, “Why is he bringing this up?” The answer is quite simple. In applications where you have a large rate of air demand over short periods of time, a receiver tank mounted close by to absorb the draw to the system makes perfect sense. In this case, a receiver tank does two things:

1. It allows the item using the compressed air to operate at full functioning pressure and volume to perform the intended task as designed.

2. It prevents that demand for compressed air from affecting the rest of the system, including the air compressors by acting as a bit of a shock absorber.

Air compressors “react” to demand by sensing pressure in the system and producing compressed air volume to compensate when there is a drop in pressure. The receiver tank takes that one compressed air event that may happen for perhaps only a few seconds and spreads it out over 1 or more minutes to even out the demand that the rest of the compressed air system sees over time.

So, instead of using the primary storage and compressed air piping system to blast out a huge volume of air for only one application, you can prevent the shock to the system and turn it into a continuous, smaller demand.  So, as they say, slow and steady wins the race in keeping your air compressor system operating as efficiently as it can. In some cases the use of a secondary receiver can make the difference as to whether a new compressor has to be purchased or not.

Do I have your attention now?

Oh, did I mention that EXAIR does have a 60 gallon receiver tank available for use with our products? We most certainly do. It is a 60 gallon model that we are making available for the express pupose of secondary air storage close to the application where you need it.

You can also use the EFC (Electronic Flow Control) in conjunction with the receiver tank to power any one of the many products EXAIR provides for various air moving applications.

If you think you might have an application that could benefit, please give us a call, send an e-mail or hop onto our chat to discuss the details.  Thanks!

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

Published on by Leave a comment

Ever start to unload the dishwasher, only to notice that half of the dishes still had food stuck on them because they weren’t properly pre-scrubbed?  Then, you have to leave them in the dishwasher to be run through another cycle.  Seems like a bit of a waste, right?  For a little more sink water and elbow grease in the beginning, you will save on dishwasher detergent and dishwasher water in the long run.

I had a customer come visit me with a similar scenario last week.  They manufacture inkjet printing machines for package labeling.  They were working on a particular project for a customer who cans soda pop.  The filled, inverted cans are moved along a conveyor to be dried, then date stamped on the bottom. 

The current drying process is a double shot of some 2″ flat plastic nozzles.  The airflow is aimed at an angle, to try to sweep the water out of the concave bottom of the cans.  Whatever water is missed by the first nozzle, the second one is supposed to take care of the rest.  But, this is just not working.  Even after passing under the second nozzle there is still some water remaining in the can.  So, when the ink is applied, it doesnt actually stick to the can.  It simply dissolves in the water. 

It seems, the customer tried to save money by installing multiple pieces of an inexpensive, yet ineffective nozzle.  And, because the nozzles arent doing the job, they are wasting more money in the long run.  Because each can whose date stamp doesn’t adhere properly has to be run through the drying and printing processes again.

So, I recommended to them our model 1111-4, 4-Super Air Nozzle Cluster.  This nozzle will remove all the water on the bottom of the can, in one pass.  So, there will be no need for multiple nozzles.  And because the one nozzle takes care of the water the first time, the cans do not need to be run through the printing and drying process more than once. 

The Super Air Nozzle Cluster certainly costs a bit more than two of the plastic nozzles they are currently using.  But, the money saved by not having to run the machine longer to deal with cans rejected after the firt pass, is much greater than the difference in the cost of the nozzles. 

So, the moral of the story is, a little more investment now, a greater payoff later. 

Emily Mortimer
Application Engineer
emilymortimer@exair.com

All I Can Think of is Saving Money

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

As money continues to tighten and I continue to see an increase in my heating bill this winter, I enter the mode of denying myself store bought coffee at $3.50 a piece, foregoing the restaurant lunch and keeping these old shoes around just a little longer. I am sure many of us feel the same way.

These are the easy remedies to my problem, just slight modifications of behavior. The hard part is spending the money on upgraded insulation for my old house. New insulation is a greater up-front investment for results that trickle in over a longer period of time – nevermind the fact that the insulation will pay for itself in about 5 years and I plan to stay in the house for at least another ten.

It just seems easier to hang on to the the $8.00 of lunch money (which typically gets spent some other way) than to invest in insulation and see the $8.00 show up in my heating bill.

Many of our products are the same way – spend some money to cover up those 25 open tubes with an efficient air nozzle, replace that drilled pipe with an engineered Super Air Knife or retrofit those conveyor line blow offs with the Electronic Flow Control just so you can see the savings trickle in every month.

It may seem like a hard decision now but next year the chances are that the products have already paid for themselves (a less than 1 year ROI is common) and when the economy picks back up, you are making more profit per product than you did years ago.

I do beleive I’ve just talked myself in to some insulation.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

Pampering Celebrities

Published on by Leave a comment

Every once in a while we get an “off the wall” application. I was contacted by a club house attendant from a very exclusive golf course. One of his duties was to clean their patrons’ golf shoes after they came off the course.

While their clientele patronized the amenities of the club house, he would clean the mud from their shoes using water. As one would expect, this made the shoe leather damp. When the golfers returned to finish the back nine, they complained about the wet shoes.

He was desparate for an alternative to water cleaning and asked me if I had an air blow off solution for him. I suggested the EXAIR Model HP1230 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun.

He ordered one out and tested it in the maintenance shop where they had compressed air. The two inch wide nozzle on this gun made quick work of removing mud from the cleats and sides of the shoes. Then with a few swipes from a dry rag, the original shine was restored.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com