Month: November 2015

Contaminated Air Supply Leads To Unwanted Results

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment
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Rust from the air supply found inside a compressed a Reversible Drum Vac.

One of the greatest attributes of EXAIR products is their ability to stay in operation for years on end without any maintenance.  With no moving parts to wear out, there really is little-to-no upkeep required.  So, when we receive notice from a customer that an EXAIR product is not working properly, we most always seek to establish the pressure, volume, and quality of the compressed air supply.  By examining these three variables, we can usually pinpoint the source of the performance discrepancy.

I had an exercise in this routine a few days ago with a Reversible Drum Vac (RDV).  The RDV had arrived at EXAIR after the customer noticed a drop in performance.  The RDV went from operating normally to gradually loosing strong vacuum when vacuuming liquids out of a coolant sump.

The end user and I discussed the air supply pressure, line size, and available volume of compressed air to operate the RDV which all seemed to be in order.  Compressed air supply pressure was 80 PSIG, they were using the EXAIR supplied (properly sized for the product) compressed air hose, and the unit had functioned in this exact setup for some time, so we were confident in the ability of the compressed air system to supply adequate volume.

In most cases, when an RDV gradually loses vacuum, or experiences a change in performance without a change in application parameters, contaminants from the compressed air system can be found inside of the RDV.  And, that is exactly what happened here.

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Reversible Drum Vac “plug” – notice the rust on the everything below the O-ring (everything in contact with the compressed air supply)

I first tested the RDV for vacuum level and flow, both of which were low.  When I disassembled the RDV I noticed what looked like rust on all surfaces which are in contact with the compressed air stream (photo above).

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Internals of the Reversible Drum Vac “body”; littered with rust

Then, I peered into the body of the drum vac and saw the root of the problem – dirt and rust from the compressed air system had accumulated within the RDV, restricting compressed air flow and causing the decay in performance.

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Rust and shim as they were dumped out of the Reversible Drum Vac body
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Another photo of the rust

After a quick cleaning of the RDV, performance was perfect and the RDV was ready to go back into operation.  The end user and I discussed my findings along with proper air filtration to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.  They were glad to know their RDV was in working order, and we were both glad to confirm the root cause.  With a new filter separator installed at the compressed air line feeding this RDV, trouble-free and maintenance-free performance can be expected for a long time to come.

If you have a similar application need, or think an EXAIR solution may benefit your process, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Good Barbecue, Sticky Sauce Packets, And Ionizing Bars

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

During my time in the Navy, I grew quite fond of a particular barbecue restaurant that operates a chain of locations throughout the southeast United States. There was one right around the corner from my house in Fernandina Beach, Florida, and ever since moving to Ohio, I have the occasional tinge of regret that I didn’t eat there more often. On a subsequent trip down south, I took my Yankee girlfriend (now my lovely bride of 19 years) to eat there, and she got hooked as well.  We’ve actually planned vacation travel routes, and have chosen lodging, based on proximity to one of their restaurants.

This weekend, I found myself driving back from a quick trip to see good friends in South Carolina, and thought it would be nice to surprise my wife with some of her favorite pit barbecue slow cooked ribs. So I called in a carry-out order to their northernmost location, just off the highway in southern Kentucky…less than 2 hours from home! If the tail winds and the traffic patterns were in my favor, I’d be home in time for dinner. They weren’t, and I wasn’t, but that’s another story; not one I care to recount here.

As they were assembling my order, I told the manager what big fans we were of their fare. He truly appreciated the compliment and our loyalty…as I had really poured it on about their sauce (pun intended,) he heaped a couple of generous handfuls of individual barbecue sauce packets into a separate bag and handed it to me with the BIG bag containing the precious cargo of ribs, pulled pork, baked beans, cole slaw, and cornbread. The cornbread did not finish the trip; I succumbed to temptation somewhere south of Lexington. It wouldn’t have reheated well anyway. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I brought some of that pulled pork for lunch today, and as I squeezed the last bit of delicious sauce out of the packet, I noticed the corner that I’d torn off was sticking to my hand…not because it was sticky with sauce, but because of a little static electricity.

It’s mid-November here in Ohio, and this stuff is going to start happening…bits of plastic or paper sticking to our hands, our hair going wild when we take off our hats, shocks from doorknobs, etc.  The torn corner of the condiment pack, though, reminded me of a VERY successful Static Eliminator application.

A customer who makes & fills individual condiment packets for the restaurant industry was experiencing shorter-than-advertised life from the print heads that labeled the packets.  The supplier suggested that it could be related to static charge, so they contacted us.

After purchasing a Model 7905 Digital Static Meter, they found that their film, once unwound from the roll, developed a high static charge.  They installed a Model 7018 18″ Ionizing Bar upstream of the print head, which reduced the static charge considerably.

Initial static charge of almost 17kV (left) is almost completely dissipated by the Ionizing Bar (center) to just 0.04kV (right)
Initial static charge of almost 17kV (left) is almost completely dissipated by the Ionizing Bar (center) to just 0.4kV (right)

They went from replacing (5) print heads per month to only replacing (2) per month…exactly what the manufacturer told them the life span would be, based on their usage.  Another win-win for EXAIR and a satisfied customer!

If you have a problem with static charge, we can help.  Give us a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Proud Coach (and Dad)

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

If you read the EXAIR blog you may have noticed that a few of my recent posts have involved being an assistant coach for my son’s youth football team. We finished our regular season schedule with a 9-1 record which earned us the #2 seed for the playoffs and a 1st round bye. Pretty good for a first year team with only 3 kids who have played before and 14 newcomers.

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Proud to be #8’s dad! (and coach)

Our school district had several K5 and 1st graders sign up for youth football this year so we needed to have 2 teams – our squad was Milford Team White and the other was Milford Team Red. As fate would have it, the Red team won their first round game and would be our semi-final game opponent. A lot of our players go to school and our friends with kids on the other team, which created a bit of angst as they didn’t want to lose to them and, as one player said, “hear about it all week at school”. On the other hand, a few of them didn’t want to beat them because they knew it would end their friend’s season. As coaches we had to convince these little guys that it’s ok to be buddies but for 32 minutes (game time) they need to be focused on why we are here because their friends on other team are going to do everything they can to send us home.

Game day arrived and we assembled our team for check ins and warm ups. After our allotted 30 minutes warm up time we took to mid-field where we won the coin toss and elected to start the game on offense. We have had some issues during the year with our center to quarterback exchange so we had worked on that all week in practice, though apparently not enough. The first snap dropped to the ground and the other team jumped on the ball. Our defense was able to stop them from gaining 10 yards so we got the ball back on downs and our offense stepped to the line for our second series. Once again we dropped the snap but were able to recover the ball, so we called a timeout to calm our guys down and get them refocused. Facing a 2nd and 10, we cleanly snapped the ball and handed it off to our running back who raced down the sideline for the game’s first TD. We converted the 2-point conversion and secured a lead at 8-0.

Our excitement was short lived as the other team was able to break through themselves and score their first TD but were unable to score the 2-point conversion. Holding a 2 point lead at 8-6 with only 2 minutes left before halftime, our QB/center exchange issue again reared it’s ugly head and we fumbled the ball away to the opposing team. With time running out in the first half, they were able to navigate their way down the field and score another TD and this time the conversion to hold a 14-8 advantage at halftime. We headed to the sideline to regroup and reenergize our boys for the second half.

In the second half the opponents recognized our snap issues and they started to blitz on every defensive play. Their plan worked and in the second half we were only able to complete 2 “clean” snaps. Our defense held strong but with us not being able to move the ball on offense, we ended up losing the game by a final score of 14-8.

It was hard to see our kids so disappointed about losing but that’s part of playing a sport. There has to be a winner and a loser and at the end of a season, there is only 1 team that is truly happy. For me personally, I was bummed that it’s over but as a coach, I couldn’t be more proud of these little guys. Many have never played ANY type of organized sport and they gave it their all and have grown so much in the last few months. To finish the season with a 9-1 record and 3rd place overall is a victory for any 1st year team and coaches. This has been one of the best decisions I have ever made and I am truly going to miss it. So until next year, WAR EAGLE and good luck to Milford Team Red, bring home that championship trophy!

Milford Eagles Team 17 White
New addition to my son’s trophy shelf.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

 

 

Thank You for Your Service

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

To the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard veterans and current personnel:

Thank you to all of you who have served in our armed forces to keep our freedom intact. You have our respect and support.

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Retired Army 1st Sgt. William Staude, of Elliott, Pa., salutes the Colors being carried by Soldiers from the 316th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, stationed in Coraopolis, Pa., as they march past him during the Veterans Day parade in downtown Pittsburgh, Nov. 11.

The reason we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11 is because this is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended the World War I hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany in 1918. Originally called Armistice Day, it was changed to Veteran’s Day in 1938. This is a day we should all celebrate the soldiers who are still alive and served in the forces at anytime, during peace or war.

From everyone at EXAIR – Thank you.

Image courtesy of The U.S. Army. Creative Commons license.