Month: July 2014

Back From Vacation With a Lot of Ideas

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Last week I went on the annual trip to Topsail Island, NC with my family and all of the in-laws.   The week lends plenty of time to relax, play on the beach, see a shark 10′ away from you in the water…you know the normal stuff.   I couldn’t help but think as to what my next project at home needs to be, not a “real” project at home but one I will enjoy, a hobby project if you will.   I went to my favorite place in North Carolina for some much needed relaxation and input, Saigon Sam’s, a military surplus store.  It’s really more than just a military surplus store, it has that museum feel as well due to all of the relics and weapons it showcases.

Saigon Sams

 

After seeing how a lot of military items have been re-purposed and watching a few of the old Professor videos, I have decided that my next project for home will be making a Tall Bike.  What is a tall bike you ask?  Absolutely awesome is what I would say.  The legitimate answer would be it is essentially two to three bikes welded together to form one really tall bike that is not easy to get on or off of.

2011-07-02 Bicycle Friends Tall Bike a

My hopes are that it will look something like the one pictured above.   However, due to budget constraints and my love for things that work instead of look good it may appear like the one below.

tandy

Just like here at EXAIR, even at home I am constantly thinking of new projects.   One of the newest projects that has wrapped up at EXAIR is the expansion of our Digital Flowmeter family.   These meters are now available to help you monitor your compressed air use on 1/2″ through 6″ schedule 40 iron pipe OR 3/4″ through 4″ Type L copper pipe.  The EXAIR Digital Flowmeters are simple to install and include a drill guide, drill and jig to make the process even easier. Also available is our USB Data Logger or Summing Remote Display to further the ease of collecting your compressed air use data.   If you want to compare two different lines that are the same size you can simply use a set of block off rings to clamp off the probe area while the Digital Flowmeter is in use on the other line.   This means you can easily use a single Digital Flowmeter and a few sets of block off rings to monitor all of your compressed air lines that are the same size.

dfm_sizes_pr_337w

These Digital Flowmeters are an essential first step toward understanding where your air is used, when it is at its highest use and where it is used. With this understanding, you can begin to work on making your air system more efficient and using your compressed air more effectively. Using flowmeters to monitor compressed air is the intelligent first step toward saving air and money for your company. Saving money on compressed air and operating an efficient system can help secure your competitive position now and into the future.

If you have any questions or want to know more about our Digital Flowmeter family, feel free to contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
@EXAIR_BF
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com

 

The High Lift Reversible Drum Vac – New Product from EXAIR

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

hlrdv

Throughout the course of the last year, engineers at EXAIR have been researching and designing our latest Industrial Housekeeping vacuum.  Now, with the release of our new catalog 27, we are ready to debut the High Lift Reversible Drum Vac.

The High Lift Reversible Drum Vac (HLRDV) maintains the same performance advantages of the traditional Reversible Drum Vac – no electricity, no moving parts to wear or replace, the ability to fill a 55 gallon drum in 90 seconds (or less), two-way pump action, built-in pressure/vacuum relief, auto safety shutoff, and stainless steel construction.  And, the HLRDV adds a new capability – it can vacuum liquid vertically  up to 15 feet!

If you had the new HLRDV in your hand, you’d never know the engineering and time that went into the changes.  In fact, the only thing you may notice is the new label with a blue background as opposed to the gray label found on the RDV.  But, inside is a series of revisions and proprietary design changes that allow for an 89% increase in vacuum lift while SIMULTANEOUSLY lowering the noise level by 3 dBA

Using 43 SCFM to create 120” H2O (1,218 SLPM to create 336 mm Hg), the HLRDV is the next generation of liquid vacuums from EXAIR.  If you have an application that needs a High Lift Reversible Drum Vac, such as cleaning out a below grade coolant sump, vacuuming liquid from an underground storage tank or pit, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

One Super Air Wipe doing the job of 3 Generic Air Wipes

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

Today, I had the opportunity to the work with a customer, who produces soft seals for the window and door industry. The soft seals are created through a multi-step process, where drying is critical for the overall quality of the product. After the extrusion of PPE (polyphenyl ethers) material, the seal is run through a water bath.  The next step is for the extruded PPE to be dried using compressed air.  After drying, a glue is applied to join the PPE soft seal to an aluminum frame.  If the PPE was not dry from the water bath, the glue would not bond the aluminum and soft seal together.

 

The customer wanted to replace their current compressed air drying system. The current system utilized (3) ceramic air wipes to dry off the PPE seal before the gluing process. He was relatively new to the company or the particular line, so he did not have all the history for the production line during our conversation. We were both wondering why three consecutive air wipes were used when one air wipe should be getting the job done, but we never could figure it out regardless. I pointed out that one EXAIR Super Air Wipe will clean off a variety cross sections in one pass. The old air wipes used 7.6 SCFM of compressed air for each air wipe or a total air flow of 22.8 SCFM to dry the rubber seal. Also, the old air wipes created 80 dB of noise. A correctly sized 1/2″ EXAIR Super Air Wipe would lower that noise to 75 dBA and lower the total air consumption to 13.9 SCFM.

AirWipe

By replacing three inferior ceramic wire dryers with one EXAIR model 2400 Super Air Wipe, the customer was able to get the job done better, reduce his noise level and save compressed air. EXAIR has the broadest line of problem solving compressed air products, if you have a problem area or an application you think we may be able to solve, please let us know. We are happy to assist.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
Davewoerner@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_DW

Going To The County Fair

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

My thoughts this week are full of flashing neon lights, calliope music, carnival games, food you wouldn’t think should be deep fried (but is, and it’s awesome,) 4H exhibits, and thrill rides. This of course, means the county fair starts this weekend.

County Fair

I grew up just a few miles from the fairgrounds, so I gained an appreciation for all things fair-related at an early age. That’s why I was particularly excited about the opportunity to help a new client specify a Cabinet Cooler System a while back.

EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems are very popular for keeping sensitive electronic/electrical components and controls cool & dry in “less-than-optimal” environments…which was the case for this client, who designs and builds thrill rides, and whose customer for this new ride has a traveling carnival, operating primarily in the southwest United States. The high ambient heat and prevalence of sand & dust, not to mention the regular teardown, transport & setup, meant that vent fans just weren’t going to get the job done. The ride operators have enough to do getting everything operational on a tight schedule, meaning that a refrigerant-type cooler – and associated maintenance – wasn’t going to work either.

Then the designer and I reached a critical point in the conversation: EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems require a ready supply of compressed air…something that isn’t always easy to come by when the equipment to be cooled is as mobile as this. Good news was, the ride has pneumatically actuated motion control, so they had an on-board compressor, and could simply tap into that.

4608The calculated heat load was just under 400 BTU/hr, so I specified our Model 4808-24VDC NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler System – 550 BTU/hr – w/Thermostat Control (24VDC). To date, it’s worked perfectly, and they’ve ordered two more, since they intend to make the Cabinet Cooler System an integral part of this equipment…a win-win-win: for us, them, and their clients.

At EXAIR, we take a great amount of pride in being a premier solutions provider for your compressed air product needs, whether it’s an application in your plant, or for OEM equipment that you’re building. We want you – and your clients – to get the most out of their compressed air usage. Give us a call and find out how an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product can help you do just that.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
(513)671-3322 local
(800)923-9247 toll free
(513)671-3363 fax
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Image from Anita Ritenour. Creative Commons