Category: Vacuum

When The Obvious Answer, Isn’t

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Certain EXAIR products are designed for specific applications. We’ll still get calls from folks who want to use them in situations different than what they’re intended. For instance:

*Reversible Drum Vacs for use with volatile liquids. Due to the very real risk of ignition, we do not specify our Industrial Vacuums for use with flammables. This is a case where we can’t help, but we do know some suppliers of suitable equipment for these situations.

*Cabinet Cooler Systems for anything but a totally enclosed electrical cabinet. Oftentimes, these alternate applications are really just in need of a reliable, consistent source of cold air, which can be more properly addressed with a Cold Gun, Adjustable Spot Cooler or Mini Cooler.

*Speaking of those particular Spot Cooling Products, we’re able to help many callers who inquire about these by simply pointing them in the direction of a Vortex Tube: they’re lightweight, compact, and with standard NPT connections for compressed air supply, cold flow, and hot exhaust, you can hook them up to darn near anything you want.

Coat_Conserve_Cool_Convey_Clean
A broad range of products, each with a broad range of applications!

Like the Vortex Tubes, a good many of our products’ designs afford adaptability to a wide range of uses. I submit, for your reading pleasure, these two wildly different Line Vac applications:

*A manufacturer of electrical connector devices needed to move small parts from a mass production line to their assembly area. A Model 6084 2” Aluminum Line Vac and our 6934-20 2” Clear Reinforced PVC Conveyance Hose (20ft Length) was purchased and installed. They operate it as needed to empty the production bin and fill the assembly bin; simple as that. This is a “textbook” job for a Line Vac.

*A service company that specializes in large compressors & engines was looking for a compact & mobile device to evacuate exhaust gases. This is normally where we start talking about Air Amplifiers (and we did) but their calculations called for more suction head than the Air Amplifiers will generate. Their calculations were right, and they’re putting Model 6060 ¾” Stainless Steel Line Vacs on all their service trucks. So, a “textbook” job for an Air Amplifier was actually a better fit for the Line Vac.

And speaking of “textbook” applications that take unexpected turns, another caller needed help with a “pick and place” operation that he’d purchased a small E-Vac Vacuum Generator and Vacuum Cup for. He needed to move these small media filters, one at a time, from a stack, into their product. Try as they might, they could NOT pick up just one of these pieces from the stack, which was about 3” in diameter, and about the consistency of a coffee filter….which was exactly what I used to replicate the application in the Efficiency Lab. I couldn’t just pick one up with the E-Vac either, so I tried to just use the open suction end of a Line Vac – even with the compressed air supply valve cracked open as low as I could manage, it still wanted to pick up 2 or 3 at a time. We’ve got one other product that generates a vacuum, and, crazy as it sounds, I attempted to apply our Air Amplifier in a pick-and-place situation. And it worked: with the supply valve cracked open (it wasn’t even registering flow to the smallest division on our rotameter flow meter,) the Model 120020 ¾” Super Air Amplifier was able to consistently pick up one (and only one) coffee filter at a time. So our “textbook” job for an E-Vac was solved by an Air Amplifier.

Sometimes, what seems to be the obvious solution, isn’t. With a little discussion, and possibly experimentation, though, the right answer will generally reveal itself. If you think this might be where you’re at with your application, give us a call. I can’t wait to see what happens!

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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A Better Way To Move Pellets

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I wrote recently about providing my sons as involuntary labor no-cost assistance to their uncle as he installed a garage door at our house. What I didn’t mention was the amount of time and labor that my eldest and I spent, clearing out the front half of the garage so that my brother-in-law could have the necessary unobstructed space to work quickly and efficiently. This included some climbing of my ladder to put some things in the attic space immediately above my garage. At first, it wasn’t bad – in fact, I realized how much I LIKED having a great big storage space that was out of sight; out of mind (my wife’s issues with my hoarding problems notwithstanding.) A few more trips up and down the ladder, though, and it got to be kind of a drag.

Perhaps that’s why I got so excited when I had the opportunity to discuss a Line Vac application with a caller today. Right off the bat, he said he was looking for something to replace his “bucket and ladder” operation. This is, of course, a textbook situation for a Line Vac Air Operated Conveyor.

The product in this case is just small particulate plastic regrind. This is an extremely popular application for the Model 6984 2” Aluminum Line Vac Kit. We’ve even got high quality clear reinforced PVC conveyance hose, available in lengths up to 50 feet, in stock. Slip a section of that on the inlet and outlet, and you’ve got an instant conveyor.

With a wide range of sizes and materials of construction, we've got your solution. Call us.
With a wide range of sizes and materials of construction, we’ve got your solution. Call us.

There are much better ways you can use your buckets – and your manpower – and your ladders, for that matter. If you’d like to find out how an EXAIR Line Vac system can work for you, give us a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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The HEPA Filter Protector

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

With our Heavy Duty HEPA Vac, it is very capable of capturing particles that are very small. You do not have to worry about re-entraining the dirt that you vacuumed back into the air. The filtration efficiency of the HEPA filter is 99.97% at 0.3 micron. Because it is so efficient, we place a prefilter on the outside of the element. This helps to capture the larger particles so that they do not prematurely plug the HEPA media. In extreme conditions with large amounts of debris, we do have another option. It is the model 901373 filter protector. It is a bag that will go on the outside of the prefilter and the HEPA filter. With a large influx of contamination, the filter protector will create a matrix from the contamination to create a cake. This cake, as it builds, will start to capture smaller particles and become more efficient. It is similar to a natural dam after a big rain. The large boulders and logs collect into a section, and then the smaller rocks and branches will collect behind it.

HEPA filter after 1 week
HEPA filter after 1 week

Under normal conditions, the standard HEPA filter with prefilter will last you for a while before replacing. It is dependent on the amount of dirt that is being collected. But, in those extreme conditions, you do not want to change the HEPA filter every week. This would be too expensive. That is why EXAIR found a cost-effective option to help, the filter protector. The model 901373 filter protector can be changed in a matter of minutes and the cost is less than 2% of the HEPA filter. Just like disposable shoe covers, they are inexpensive and they protect your expensive shoes. If you require any more information on our Heavy Duty HEPA Vac or the accessories, you can contact one of our helpful Application Engineers at EXAIR.

 

Filter Protector 901373
Filter Protector 901373

 

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

 

 

EXAIR Heavy Duty Vacuums Filtration: HEPA vs. Dry

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

 

I had a distributor that asked about the difference in filtration for the Heavy Duty HEPA Vac and the Heavy Duty Dry Vac. Besides the obvious thing that one is an “innie” and the other is an “outie” (HEPA filter is on the inside and Dry Vac filter is on the outside), there is a difference in the level of filtration. Model 901357 HEPA media is 99.97% efficient at 0.3 micron and Model 6804 media is 95% at 0.1 micron. What does this all mean?

In the simplest term, filtration is a method of separating. With air filters, we are separating particles from air. Particles, due to their mass and size, behave in certain ways as they pass through a fibrous media. The method of capturing the particles are done by 3 major mechanical methods:

  1. Inertial Impaction – Larger particles that are captured because they cannot follow the air stream around a fiber. It would be similar to hitting a golf ball into an oak tree. The tree is mostly open with air, but that golf ball always seems to hit that one little branch. The mass of the golf ball will not allow it to change direction as it comes towards the branch. Thus, we are looking for a lost ball. Captured!
  2. Direct Interception – Medium sized particles that can follow the air stream around some of the fibers. Because of the tortuous path and the inertial mass, they can contact fibers as they try to wind their way through the filter. This is similar to an extremely curvy road, and a vehicle with no brakes. As you start, you can keep on the road, but as the curves become sharper and tighter, your inertia will have you sliding off the road. Captured!
  3. Diffusion – Small particles with little mass are bounced around by the air molecules until they hit a fiber. It would be similar to a little clown car traveling on icy roads with truckers. If everyone had bumper pads, the little clown car will be bounced forward and backwards, side to side, and around and around. Whoops, you are off the road. Captured!
Diagram 1: Total filtration curve with individual mechanism by particle size
Diagram 1: Total filtration curve with individual mechanism by particle size

When we take an efficiency curve by particle size of an air filter, it resembles an inverted bell. In Diagram 1 above, you notice how each filtration mechanism is used to capture the particles by size. If you look closely, you will notice that the most penetrating particle size is between 0.2 and 0.3 micron. That means that if you go larger than 0.3 micron or smaller than 0.2 micron, the filter is more efficient. Say what? That is correct. With the examples above, a particle in the range of 0.2 to 0.3 micron has enough mass to resist the forces of other molecules but not enough mass to create a large inertia passing by or around the fibers of the filter.

Now lets apply these variables to our two types of filters. With Model 901357 HEPA media, the marker is 99.97% at 0.3 micron. Model 6804 media is 95% at 0.1 micron. If we apply the inverted curve analysis like in Diagram 1 to each of the filter medias, we can estimate the efficiency curve. As you can see in Diagram 2, the 901357 HEPA is more efficient at capturing particles than the 6804. So, when would you use the Heavy Duty Dry Vac or the Heavy Duty HEPA Vac? It is dependent on your dirty application and environment. If you require very fine filtration and/or very clean exhaust air, then I would recommend the Heavy Duty HEPA Vac. For most general industry environments, the Heavy Duty Dry Vac will work just fine. If you are still not sure, you can always contact our Application Engineers at EXAIR.

Diagram 2: Filtration Efficiency
Diagram 2: Filtration Efficiency

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb