Month: February 2009

Secondary Air Storage; What Is That?

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

In the typical compressor system, you have primary storage and secondary storage for the compressed air volume. The primary storage is the large tank or tanks that you will see near the air compressor, and auxiliary equipment used to cool and dry the compressed air.

Secondary storage is that compressed air which is located in the “distribution system”. The purpose of secondary air storage is for dedication to a specific end use application or to provide additional storage at the end of the distribution line or loop.

OK, so now we know what it is, but why have it? There are certain advantages to having secondary air stored close to an end use application. They are:
1. Maintain more stable pressures at points of use.
2. Improve the speed, thrust, torque or force generated within an application.
3. Control demand events (peak demand periods) in the compressed air system by reducing both the amount and rate of pressure drop or as they are more commonly called, “spikes” in demand.

When conditions permit, the use of secondary air storage along with an EXAIR product can greatly enhance the performance of the EXAIR product, especially when used in an intermittent (on/off) mode.

I would like to take this opportunity to let you know that EXAIR does also carry a 60 gallon receiver tank that can be used in this way. Following is a link to our web page where you can read more:  Model 9500-60 Receiver Tank. 

If you have any questions about how to integrate a receiver tank into your application, feel free to contact us at the factory.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

Cheaper Is Not Always Better

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Even in these tough economic times, going with a less expensive product to get a job done is not always the least expensive method in the long run.  Case in point is a customer I spoke to just this week who was drying small PVC parts on a conveyor. 

He had purchased one of our 3″ Aluminum Super Air Knives, in the hopes of replacing his current, very inexpensive, plastic unit.  However, upon installation, he was less than impressed with the results he got with our air knife.  He could not yet justify spending the money on our more expensive product.  So, he contacted us for an explanation.

First and foremost, whenever a customer calls us, unsatisfied with the performance of one of our products, the most important question to ask is “Have you verified the inlet pressure while the unit is in operation?”  More often than not, they have not.  But they are sure they have full pressure, because they have a high shop air main line pressure.  The recent customer I spoke to was no different.

Upon getting this response, my next questions are always to ask “What line sizes they are using?”, and “Are there any quick-disconnect fittings on any of those lines?”  Line sizes typically aren’t the issue.  But, again, more often than not, quick-disconnect fittings are being used, because they are convenient.  However, as we learned from Joe Panfalone’s recent post, they can be deceiving.  A quick-disconnect fitting that matches the air line size has a through hole diameter that is actually much smaller than the air line itself, causing a significant pressure loss and resulting in poor performance of the compressed air product at the end of the line. 

Again, our recent customer was no different.  He actually had well over-sized air lines for a 3″ Super Air Knife.  But, was also using quick-disconnect fittings.  So, I suspected that this was the most likely culprit for the low performance he was seeing.  It was quite likely that the quick-disconnect fitting was cutting off the air supply to the knife, not allowing it to operate anywhere near its full potential.  The customer agreed to remove the quick-disconnect fittings and do another trial run with our air knife to see if he would get better results.

This told me he was definitely not ready to give up on our product, and still saw it’s potential.  He even noted that our Super Air Knife was much quieter than his current air knife.  Now, some of this noise reduction may be attributed to the low flow he was currently seeing with our air knife.  But, even at a full 80psi of supply pressure, our Super Air Knife will only produce sound at 69 dB, comparable to your home vacuum cleaner. 

I also reminded him that even at a full 80psi of inlet pressure going to the knife, the air consumption of the 3″ Super Air Knife is only 9scfm for continuous operation, about 2 hp worth of air compressor.  This is significantly less than the air being used by his current air knife. 

One other aspect of our Aluminum Super Air Knife that makes it a better choice than his current plastic one is material durability.  This issue actually did not come up in our discussion, but it is an important one nonetheless.  Over time, the plastic unit is likely to get broken off again and again, needing frequent replacement.  Whereas our aluminum unit will have minimal if any risk of breakage, so it will be a one-time purchase. 

So, even though the purchase price of his current plastic air knife is less than the purchase price of our 3″ Aluminum Super Air Knife, the other benefits of our unit make it a better choice in the long run.  It will save air consumption, reduce noise levels, and be virtually maintenance free for the life of the product. 

Call us if you would like to hear more about our Air Knives, or any of our other air saving, noise reducing compressed air products.

Emily Mortimer
Application Engineer
emilymortimer@exair.com

Simple Steps, Big Gains

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

Last week’s post was not about my son’s inability to follow instructions, but rather the steps you may use to improve your compressed air system. You will see a list of these steps in the blog entry “Clear Instructions, Stay Focused or Split Your Chin Wide Open” from February 3, 2009.

I am going to go into more detail about each step starting with Number 1: Measure Your Air Consumption.

Knowing where you stand with your compressed air demand is important to be able to quantify the savings once you begin to implement a compressed air optimization program. Placing a value upon your compressed air consumption will also allow you to place a value on its costs and the savings you will reap once you start to reduce your consumption.

Our Digital Flow Meter is a product meant to be placed in multiple areas of your plant to quantify the current compressed air demand. It will allow you to identify the best places to begin reducing consumption, identify trends in usage, and measure the flow of leaks when the system is shut down. These values are critical to a successful optimization program.

The Digital Flow Meter is available for 1/2″ through 6″ schedule 40 steel pipe and 3/4″ through 4″ Type L copper pipe. We stock the 1″ and 2″ schedule 40 steel models, and can deliver the other sizes quickly.

Once you know where you stand with air usage, you can begin to reduce it by moving through the other 5 steps and taking action. Next week you will see how small leaks can add up to large air savings.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

Customer Service – Is There Such a Thing Anymore?

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I saw one of those infomercials for a kitchen gadget that  I thought would be a nice addition to the other gadgets we have around the house. Being the engineering type though, I wanted to research the details of the product so I went onto the Internet and downloaded all the manuals for all the models they had.

With a penchant for the biggest and the best I was enamored with their top of the line product. In my moment of weakness I pulled out my credit card and began to order it on-line only to find that they were out of stock.

I called the phone number that they gave on the TV to see when they would have stock. I got someone who seemed to only recite a pre-written script. I tried to explain to her that I wanted to know when they would have stock on the particular model I was interested in. This completely through her off course and she began to recite the prices and deals for their other models.  Totally frustrated, I emphasized that I was only interested in the one specific model. She then gave me another number to call (it was not a toll free number by the way). Their focus seemed to be more on selling, not servicing.

Calling that other number I was given, I got another script-reading person who could not get out of the loop of asking me what replacement part I wanted. I did not bother to ask her to transfer me to someone that could answer my question. That finished it for me. With such poor customer support I was not buying anything from them.

Being in customer service myself, I have a biased expectation. My company EXAIR’s business is based on being able to help the customer promptly and succinctly. As Applications Engineers we need not only posses technical expertise, but have the ability to listen to the customer and in our mind’s eye, visualize their application and how our equipment or some other alternative would be best applied. 

The downside though, is that I’ve come to expect that same level of customer service in my personal business relationships, only to be disappointed most of the time.  The upside is that I have the opportunity to work for a terrific company that provides terrific customer service and the satisfaction of having been able help to so many people solve their industrial problems.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com