Continuing my series of EXAIR award winning products for 2014. Plant Engineering’s readers voted the Heavy Duty HEPA Vac a silver award for Environmental Health. The HD HEPA Vac differs greatly from most of the EXAIR products. We often improve a work environment by reducing noise level from compressed air blow offs or limiting the energy usage of a facility by conserving compressed air, but when EXAIR introduced the Heavy Duty HEPA Vac, we entered a new area of environmental health.
High Efficiency Particulate Air standards are set by the US Department of Energy. Originally, the standards were created to protect workers, the public and the environment from particulate that may be found in DOE’s nuclear facilities. (For more information on HEPA filtration consult DOE-STD-3020-2005.) The Heavy Duty HEPA Vac filter meets the HEPA standards to filter a minimum 99.97% at 0.3 micron level. Each filter is tested in strict accordance with IEST-RP-CC-007. After testing the filtration, vacuum and ventilation companies discovered the added benefit of using HEPA filtration is to remove particulate that may inflame allergies or asthmatic symptoms. Pollen, pet dander, and dust are physically too large to pass through the HEPA filter. For instance, most pet dander is 5 microns and will become trapped inside the circuitous air passage route inside the HEPA filter. Also, HEPA filters will even filter airborne pathogens. Engineering Toolbox list several nominal particle sizes to give you the idea of scope. By meeting these strict standards, EXAIR’s Heavy Duty HEPA Vac can be used in a whole new industry where HEPA filtration is required.
Tries to imitate the late Billy Mays
But wait there’s more!
We haven’t even talked about the HEAVY DUTY DRY VAC component of the Heavy Duty HEPA Vac. The Heavy Duty HEPA Vac features the same hardened alloy construction of the Heavy Duty Dry Vac. This alloy holds up to abrasive materials such as garnet, crushed glass, sand or hard materials like stainless steel chips, pipe plugs, or brass piping caps. We tested the conveying power of the Heavy Duty Dry Vac, it moved 32 pounds per minute of steel shot blasting media, 146% percent more than a standard Chip Vac. With all this vacuuming power, it still maintains a surprisingly quiet 82 dBA of sound level.
The Heavy Duty HEPA Vac would be the perfect item to clean out that clogged filtration system, or to clean up that spilled kitty litter that will clog up a standard electrical vacuum. It will not blow tiny particulate all over your shop and it can help protect your personnel from airborne particulate.
Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
Davewoerner@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_DW