Category: Compressor

When You Get To Asheville

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment
1 – Steve Martin & Edie Brickell – “When You Get To Asheville”

Over the past week, my amazing wife and I traveled to Asheville, NC for a long weekend away. This is our second year going down, and I can most certainly say that we will be going back. Our days consisted of going to a small mom-and-pop type diner for breakfast, loading the cooler with water, and then picking a hike to hit up. This time we hiked mostly in the Pisgah National Forest and while we did not hit the same elevation as last year, we still managed to double the first hike of the week on the second day and felt great once we reached the end. I also chose to make the hikes hard on myself by carrying my trusted GO-RUCK GR1 to carry our water, first aid kit, and a 30 lb. steel plate, because you should always choose the harder thing.

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While we weren’t at elevations like Pikes Peak in Colorado, we still felt the difference in the air between being in Cincinnati and being in the mountains. Maybe it was just the fact it was cleaner. When we crested a hill on the trail and stopped to take a quick break, we looked around and realized that after all the switchbacks we had just gone through, we looked over the valley we had just climbed out of and were at the tree tops of the valley and still nowhere near the top of the mountain. This got me to thinking about how I was working harder because I had a steel plate, walking too many lunches where I just sit for 30 minutes instead of walking and that is immediately connected to the ACFM calculations for an air compressor and just how a compressor will have to work harder to produce the same volume of air when elevated because the air is thinner. This is going to change the air density, which results in a lower atmospheric pressure due to higher altitude.

Altitude is just one of the factors that matters in the calculation to determine a compressor’s output at different locations. The other factors include relative humidity, which was way better in the mountains than here in Cincinnati, and the actual temperature, again better in Asheville than Cincinnati.

If you are wondering about the equations I am referencing, we’ve blogged about them many times and even have a Webinar that touches on the math and reasoning behind these different values. Check the equation below and the links above.

In case you were wondering, the post-Ruck/Hike hydration is always better after events, it also always helps to have a good partner in crime to enjoy all the experiences with you. Thankful for the ability to connect all these hobbies and my knowledge of compressed air on top of sharing it with others. If you want to discuss how to calculate some ACFM or SCFM consumption and outputs of your compressor or application, or if you want to talk about rucking, hiking, or any of your favorite trails, give me a call, chat, or tweet.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 – Steve Martin & Edie Brickell – “When You Get To Asheville” – CBS, Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RzhTN9zW3w

Double Dare, Double Dragon, Double Mint Gum

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment
1 -Classic Double Dragon Arcade Game from 1987! Spike & Hammer Save The World – This is the game I used to dump quarters in every visit to the mall.

It’s no secret, I’m a kid of the 80s. If you remember any of the three items in the title of this blog, then we may be able to be friends still, and I want to ask a question. How’s your sourdough starter doing? Okay, you got me, the blog isn’t going to be about sourdough, or one of my favorite TV shows from growing up, or the video game I always threw quarters into when we were allowed to spend some money at an arcade, but it’s going to be about Double Acting Reciprocating Air Compressors.

You may have heard from us about the many types of compressors before, and we would just like to make sure we have shared a few different viewpoints on these topics. The double acting compressor is a piston action compressor. Unlike the single action compressor, these will actually build pressure above and below the piston for each rise and fall, rather than just the rise. Because this generates twice as much air, these are generally found in larger sizes than the single acting compressors. This also means the compressor is constantly pushing a load out of the system whenever the motor is turning. While they do put more volume out and work with both directions of the piston, they have been found to only be around 32% more efficient than their single acting counterpart. Nonetheless, they are available in sizes that can supply an entire manufacturing facility and can be used efficiently when placed into a system that is designed correctly.

If you want to learn about more types of compressors, need help with your Konami cheat code, or what to discuss a point of use compressed air application, give us a call, chat, or email.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 – Classic Double Dragon Arcade Game from 1987! Spike & Hammer Save The World – Joe’s Classic Video Games – retrieved from – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SqYOHpUiDM

Turn it Off! Solenoid & Ball Valves

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

At EXAIR we pride ourselves on helping our customers optimize their compressed air usage. Our intelligent compressed air products are engineered to be quiet and efficient, saving you on compressed air consumption. We’ve written many blogs on the topic. Another, equally important way to save on compressed air is to turn it off when not in use; this is step 4 of the six steps to optimizing your compressed air system. We have several options that can help with this as well:

Manual Ball Valves – These allow the operator to shut off the air supply by hand. We offer full-flow ball valves that will not restrict flow, ranging from 1/4″NPT to 1-1/4″NPT. When you need a simple and effective way to control your air flow, these are a great option.

Solenoid Valves – These allow the user to turn the air supply on and off electronically, enabling the possibility of more automated systems. Our solenoid valves come in three different voltages – 120VAC, 240VAC, and 24VDC. We have these capable of handling a range of flows, with ports ranging from 1/4″NPT to 1″NPT. All of our models are RoHS and CE compliant, as well as UL listed.

As well as selling our solenoid valves separately, we have also integrated these solenoid valves into several of our other products – like our thermostat controlled Cabinet Coolers, or our Electronic Flow Controller – to provide an out-of-the-box solution. You can also control them through a PLC to tailor the solution to your application.

Even with the most efficient engineered compressed air product, it is always better to turn off your compressed air when it is not needed. Not only will this save money by reducing consumption, it will also extend the life of your air compressor. If you would like to talk to an Application Engineer to see if one of our valves could help you save money, give us a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Banner Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Types of Compressors: Single Acting Reciprocating

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

We often get asked for recommendations on what kind of air compressor a customer should buy. Although we would always recommend finding a local reputable air compressor dealer, and discussing your specific needs with them, we do know a thing or two about different types of compressors, and their benefits. In this blog I am going to discuss one particular type of air compressor – Single Acting Reciprocating Compressors.

Air compressors can be grouped into a few different categories. The first category would be positive displacement vs dynamic. Positive displacement can then be further subdivided into reciprocating and rotary. Within the reciprocating category, we have our single- and double-acting compressors. This compressor ‘family tree’ can be seen in the image above.

Single-acting reciprocating compressors use positive displacement to increase the air pressure. They do this by reducing the air volume within a confined space. They are called reciprocating (as opposed to rotary) because they use pistons that move back and forth. The single acting is due to only using one end of the piston to pull in and compress the air. In other words, the first stroke of the piston sucks the air inside the compressor while the air compression occurs in the second stroke.

Piston goes down: air draws in. Piston goes up: air is pushed out.

So, why would you choose a single-acting reciprocating compressor over the many other options? The main reason is its simplicity. This leads to several advantages:

  1. Price: They can cost less than other similar rated options up to about 5HP sizes. This is a great option for smaller industrial settings or for hobbyists.
  2. High Pressure: For single stage, compression pressures of 125PSIG can be achieved. However, with multistage cycles, pressures up to 6,000PSIG are possible.
  3. Durability: The construction is necessarily robust and rugged due to the nature of its design
  4. Maintenance: Preventative maintenance is typically easier with type of compressor.

Whenever we talk about the advantages, it is always important to note any disadvantages as well:

  1. Efficiency: They are less efficient than other compressor types, including the dual acting reciprocating that compresses air on both the up and down stroke.
  2. High Temperature: All compressors will generate heat by compressing the air molecules, but due to the friction of the reciprocating parts, more heat is generated by this type.
  3. Repair cost: Although preventative maintenance is easy, if something does break the cost of repair can be high. This is partly due to the robust nature of the construction.
  4. Noise: These are loud when in operation.

Regardless of which air compressor you have, it is important that your compressed air usage is efficient and safe. EXAIR’s intelligent compressed air products can help with that. If you want to discuss how you can increase safety and save energy, give me a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Find us on the Web
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Twitter: @EXAIR_AW