Category: Vacuum

Cleaning Motor Fan Covers Using The Vac-u-Gun

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Having a background in industrial process pumps prior to my time here at EXAIR, I have become quite familiar with many different  abbreviations used in the selection of a motor for a particular process. Terms like ODP – Open Drip Proof or TENV – Totally Enclosed Non-Vented all refer to the NEMA rating of an electrical motor. Since all of the products we manufacture here at EXAIR are compressed air operated and don’t require any electricity or motors to operate, these terms haven’t been as frequent in my day to day conversations with our customers.

However, last week that changed when I took a call from an industrial motor manufacturer looking for a way to draw cast iron chips out of the fan covers used on their “TEFC” motors or Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled. A TEFC motor,  the most commonly used motor in general duty, industrial processes, has an external fan on the back of the motor and provides cooling by moving air over the outside of the motor housing. After the fan covers are formed, they are sent to a mill where the vent holes are cut, which creates small chips that settle on the inside and outside of the cover. They have been using an air gun to blow the chips away but some of the chips have made their way behind the fan blades and settled on the shaft, resulting in damage to some fans and motors themselves during testing. They wanted some type of small, handheld device that would allow them to treat the individual opening and grooves on the cover to vacuum the chips away and carry them to a scrap recovery bin.

Example of a TEFC fan cover on the back of an industrial motor.

Once again, EXAIR had the perfect solution, the Model # 6292 Vac-u-Gun Transfer System. The Model # 6292 Transfer System includes the Vac-u-Gun, a 10′ transfer hose, extension wands and additional crevice, brush and skimmer tools. A Vac-u-Gun is an air gun which can used as both a blow gun to blow away debris or a hand held vacuum to suck debris into a filter bag or moved through a hose into a collection vessel (drum, tote, garbage can). This would provide them with the desired handheld device that would easily allow them to transfer the scrap chips the to their scrap recovery bin.

Model 6292 Transfer System

The Vac-u-Gun, like most of our products, are IN STOCK, ready to ship. Give me a call for help with product selection or to discuss your particular process.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN
Back of Motor image courtesy of Shane Gorski via Creative Commons license.

Two Vacuums For The Price Of One

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I recently noticed on my mortgage statement that I own more of my house than the bank does now. That made me feel good, and it also gave me pause for a moment of reflection on all the adventures I’ve had as a suburban American homeowner.  Good times…then, another adventure happened:

I’m in the middle of a major (to me) construction project in our house. Now, if you’ve ever worked with drywall, you know that anything you do to it creates dust….sometimes in great volume. No worries, though – I’ve got a real nice portable wet/dry vacuum that makes light work of drywall dust & scrap. So, when I’m done for the day, I leave the area as dust-free and tidy as it was before (“tidy” is relative…there are two teenagers and a dog in my house.)

For the record, the dog was more interested in the new hole in the wall than the teenagers.
For the record, the dog was more interested in the new hole in the wall than the teenagers.

Anyway, the adventure happened last Saturday morning, when the basement sump high level alarm went off. I had to get the water out of the sump, and fast, so I could find out what was wrong with my sump pump. No problem…I’ve got that real nice portable wet/dry vacuum, right? That was full of drywall debris. So, I hastily dumped it into the garage trash can (making another mess I had to clean up later) and removed the particulate filter so I could drain the sump. Which it did, like a champ. It was a stuck float on the sump pump, which I remedied quickly, and all was well with the world again. At least in my (and my bank’s) almost 1/4 acre of it.

Speaking of the different things you can use vacuums for, I had the pleasure of talking with a caller the other day about industrial vacuum applications. When they wash down a particular area of their facility, they end up with puddles of water, mixed with lots of solid debris, all over the floor. They were using electric wet/dry vacuums (like mine) but had a recent scare involving a damaged power cord on a wet floor. Luckily, someone saw it before anything bad happened, but it made them think about other options…like compressed air operated Industrial Vacuums.

They looked at some dual Venturi systems, which would indeed replicate the function of their electric vacs, but at a considerable rate of compressed air consumption…over 100 SCFM (over 25HP worth of typical industrial air compressor load.) Their compressed air system simply didn’t have the capacity for this. They already had an EXAIR Reversible Drum Vac, and had plenty of capacity to run it since it only requires 19 SCFM @80psig (about 5HP worth of compressor load,) but it wasn’t greatly effective at picking up the solid debris. That’s where the EXAIR Chip Vac comes in to our story…it uses only 40 SCFM @80psig (about 10HP worth of compressor load) to clean up the solid debris that doesn’t get sucked up with the puddles of water & sludge that the Reversible Drum Vac takes care of.

Reversible Drum Vac (left) and Chip Vac (right) – two EXAIR Industrial Vacuums for lower cost (purchase AND operation) than wet-dry combo air operated vacuums.

And…(back to the title of this blog)…a Reversible Drum Vac AND a Chip Vac STILL cost less to purchase than the dual Venturi system they were looking at. Lower purchase cost. Lower operating cost. Two independent systems. That’s a win-win-win.  If you have wet…dry…or wet & dry…messes to clean up, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Darn Right, More Power

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

“Home Improvement” was one of the more popular TV shows of the 1990’s – the lead Character (I capitalized that on purpose,) Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, hosted a handyman show with his skilled & more sensible sidekick, Al Borland. Tim’s mantra, “More Power,” was often tempered by Al’s quintessential retort of “I don’t think so, Tim.” For your viewing pleasure, here’s a collection of (more than) a few times when Al’s warning went unheeded.

When discussing compressed air product applications, I’m often asked if EXAIR has something with “more power” than what the caller is currently using.  Sometimes, it’s even an EXAIR product that’s not giving the results they want.  Regardless, the answer is usually “darn right, we do!”

This was the case recently, when I had the pleasure of actually doing a conveyance test in our shop for a customer.  The product was broken glass, and they wanted to move a fair amount of it, in a hurry.

Last year about this time, I wouldn’t have even recommended a test of the product; our Model 150200 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac was our epitome of “More Power.”  Then, earlier this year, we introduced the Model 150300 3″ Heavy Duty Line Vac (also a 2-1/2″ model).

Yeah, we really don't have an "Al Borland" character on the EXAIR team...2" Heavy Duty Line Vac (left;) the new 3" model (right.)
2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac (left;) the new 3″ model (right.) Yeah, we really don’t have an “Al Borland” character on the EXAIR team…

The results were conclusive, and dramatic.  The 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac moved the broken glass at a rate of 10.8 lb/min. Considering that included a 15 foot vertical rise, that’s not bad at all.  Based on the difference in conveyance air flow alone (which we use as a VERY rough estimation,) I expected an increase of 40-50% with the new 3″ model.  Instead, I could almost hear Tim Allen’s signature grunt as the 3″ Heavy Duty Line Vac reached a conveyance rate of 24 lb/min.  More power, indeed.

If you’d like to discuss an air operated conveyor application, or 1990’s sitcoms, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Choosing the Right Dry Vacuum – Chip Vac or Heavy Duty Dry Vac

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A common question we get from our customers is, ‘I need a dry vac, should I use the Chip Vac or Heavy Duty Dry Vac.’  This is very good question, and we will take the time to better understand the application in order to best answer that question.

Both the EXAIR Chip Vac and Heavy Duty Dry Vac are designed to turn an ordinary 5 (Chip Vac only,) 30, 55, or 110 gallon open top drum into a powerful, industrial duty vacuum cleaner. Both are powered by compressed air, and have no moving parts to wear out or break, whereas the typical electrically operated system has motors and impellers that clog and break down quickly.  The Chip Vac and Heavy Duty Dry Vac are also quiet, at half the sound level of electric versions.

The Chip Vac is designed specifically for vacuuming chips. It creates a powerful direct flow that is ideal for metal, wood, and plastic chips.  Because it has a filter bag, in can also handle the occasional dusty material, and keep the surrounding air clean.

If the operation machines different materials, the lid can be removed from one drum and moved to another, to keep the materials separate for easy recycling.

4 R UMAX PL-II V1.4 [3]
The Chip Vac is ideal for vacuuming metal, wood or plastic chips

The Heavy Duty Dry Vac was engineered to vacuum more dry material in less time with less wear. The hardened alloy construction resists premature wear and the increased power makes difficult jobs and harsh environments more easily handled.

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The 110 Gallon  Heavy Duty Dry Vac provides maximum capacity for spill clean up

The Heavy Duty Dry Vac is ideal for abrasive materials such as steel shot, garnet, metal chips and sand, and is also useful for general purpose applications such as vacuuming floors, machines, work stations and machinery/equipment.

Like the Chip Vac, the Heavy Duty Dry Vac drum lid fits any open top drum, and can be moved from one drum to another facilitating recycling efforts.

Below shows the powerful performance of the Heavy Duty Dry Vac when considering large, heavy material and the increased performance you could expect.

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Vacuuming Rate Comparison, for Chip Vac and Heavy Duty Dry Vac

To discuss your application and for help deciding which dry vac would work best, feel free to contact EXAIR and one our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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