Category: Sustainability

Safety Air Gun Case Study

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

On the first of this month, my co-worker Jason wrote a blog about our case study program. Check it out here. Case Study: Make Your Case. He did a great job breaking the case study program down, and how it can save you money on compressed air and even get a credit to save money on the purchase of EXAIR products. It inspired me to write about one of the most common case studies I send to customers!

You can read and download the case study at the bottom of this blog, but below are the key points!

It is pretty common to get calls about blow-off guns not complying with OSHA dead end pressure and allowable noise exposure. And 9 out of 10 times we can help with that concern along with the added benefit of being more efficient and saving compressed air supply.

Before EXAIR, this customer used open-ended guns with large cross-drilled holes, while these cross-drilled holes allowed the guns to be compliant with the OSHA dead end pressure standard 29 CFR 1910.242(b) they resulted in a staggering 104 dBA. And because of how often they were being used they were not in compliance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95(a) allowable noise exposure. Not to mention, these guns consumed a whopping 49 SCFM @ the 80 PSIG supply pressure.

After EXAIR, in total, after a short testing phase, they bought 355 model 1250-12 Safety Air Guns. The 1250-12 reduced the sound level to 82 dBA (a 22 dBA reduction) and reduced the air consumption to 35 SCFM @ 80 PSIG (a 14 SCFM reduction).

When you worked the math out over a working year, they saved over $28,506.50 dollars in compressed air generation costs. And brought the sound level into compliance with their environment and working patterns. (Not to mention the $1,500 USD credit they got for providing the case study information)

1567_Soft_Grip_Safety_Air_Guns_help_reach_OSHA_compliance_and_reduce_compressed_air_useDownload

EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products have been making things better for compressed air users for over forty years. If you’d like to find out how MUCH better we can make things for you, give me a call.

Jordan Shouse, CCASS

Application Engineer

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Basic System Maintenance

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Maintenance is something that can have two different forms; preventative and reactive. At home, I try to ensure I perform preventative maintenance on my major appliances. For instance, I clean the coils on my A/C condensing coils at least once a year, if not twice. I change the intake air filter on the air handler once a month because it is a 1″ thick filter, which is the manufacturer’s recommendation. When it comes to our aging vehicle fleet of two, I do a combination of preventative maintenance such as tire rotations, fluid checks and changes, as well as reactive maintenance such as thermostat replacements and sensor changes when they go bad.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Mechanical Technician
1 – Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Mechanical Technician

Regarding industrial facilities, the same kind of maintenance can be found. I have worked in facilities where the only type of maintenance that is done is in fact reactive. You know the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That is legit how some of these facilities I have been through function. In fact, they will take parts off a broken production line that they are waiting on the parts for and put on another machine when it breaks down just to keep something going. The inventory of replacement parts was non-existent on-site and would cause downturns due to mechanical failures often. This has resulted in low up-time scores, which also sends production costs through the roof because they are trying to make up for downed lines by running overtime and increasing speeds on the lines that aren’t down.

While preventative maintenance can seem like it is costly and troublesome because it can take a machine out of production, I assure you it is still cheaper and easier than having that emergency maintenance call that comes after hours on a Friday. This is one of the main reasons we talk about installing point-of-use filters on systems that require clean compressed air. If you start to see more than a 5 psig drop across a filter, then you should look at replacing the filter element to ensure optimal performance like the video below showcases for model 9004. Should something like a main dryer fail, these point-of-use filters will help to collect any bypass or remnants in the system from just such a failure of up-stream equipment.

If you would like to discuss other preventative maintenance steps, like monitoring the usage of a system to see leakage when it starts, or how to clean and maintain your EXAIR products, contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 -PEO ACWA, 1/14/2019, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Mechanical Technician, retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/acwa/39775534373/in/photostream/

Video Blog: Optimize your Compressed air use by Turning it Off

Published on by Jordan T Shouse1 Comment

On October 24, 2023, I presented a live webinar covering the methods and advantages of turning the compressed air off when it’s not in use or unneeded.

Compressed air is often referred to as one of the major utilities in most manufacturing facilities due to the cost to generate it. A major benefit to utilizing compressed air is the speed at which it can be shut off and re-energized for use – in fact, this can be done instantaneously. Shutting down the supply of compressed air to an application while it is not needed can drastically reduce the compressed air consumption of the process over time. This is an easy tactic that can produce significant savings for your process and your facility, even if you have high efficiency pneumatic equipment installed, this can still garner notable savings.

Here is the playback for that webinar!

If you would like to discuss  any of EXAIR’s safe, quiet & efficient compressed air products, I would enjoy hearing from you…give me a call or shoot me an email!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

EXAIR Products “Built to Last”

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

When I hear “Built to Last” ads come to mind such as Ford Trucks and Craftsman tools. Advertising promoting product integrity will always get my attention. Although I have not owned a Ford truck, I have many friends that have and swear by them, so I’m thinking my next truck might be a Ford. I have owned a lot of Craftsman tools and put them through rigorous use and I never had to use the “Lifetime Warranty“. They were designed and built to last and this is how EXAIR designs and manufactures their Intelligent Compressed Air Tooling.

EXAIR Design and Engineering team designs our items with performance and repeat manufacture ability in mind. EXAIR products have no moving parts so very little maintenance is required. As long as a source of clean dry compressed air is supplied to the product and following our recommended Installation instructions not much can go wrong,

EXAIR NEMA 4X 316SS Cabinet Cooler System with Electronic Temperature Control installed on control panel in a pharmaceutical plant.

EXAIR has a “5 Year Built to Last” Warranty against defects in workmanship and materials on all compressed air products. This warranty applies under conditions of normal use, but does not apply to defects that result from intentional damage, negligence, unreasonable use, wear or exposure. An example of a non warranty situation would be using an abrasive material such as sand with our Aluminum Line Vacs. The abrasive nature of the sand will wear the aluminum Line Vac out well before the 5 years. Our application engineers will discuss your application and recommend products that fit your project and our 5 Year Built to Last Warranty.

EXAIR also has a 30-Day Guarantee that allows you to make a purchase and run trials to see the effectiveness of our product and how they meet your expectations. If the item provides desired results then great we are both happy but if you do not see the desired results then you have 30 Days from purchase to return the product. An Application Engineer can discuss your findings and issue a “Return Authorization” if needed. You will receive a full credit without any restocking fees.

EXAIR has confidence in our products to last and perform standing behind our products. Our confidence is why we offer both 5 Year Built to Last Warranty and the 30-Day Unconditional Guarantee. If you have any questions as to what EXAIR product will provide the best result for your application, please contact one of our qualified Application Engineers, so we can review this with you and make the best recommendation for your project(s).

Eric Kuhnash
Application Engineer
E-mail: EricKuhnash@exair.com
Twitter: Twitter: @EXAIR_EK