Category: Vacuum

Maintenance Free And Proud Of It

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Caller: Do you sell rebuild kits?
Me: Yes, but…why?

This is a WAY oversimplified summary of the start of a popular conversation that an EXAIR Application Engineer might have with a caller looking to restore a particular product to proper operation. Truth is, most of our products have no moving parts, and if you supply them with clean, dry air, they’ll run maintenance free, darn near indefinitely. We’ve documented this in specific cases regarding a Reversible Drum Vac from 1999, a Vortex Tube from 1987, and a Cold Gun from 1985.

Product & year of manufacture, from top left: Reversible Drum Vac (1999,) Cold Gun (1985,) Vortex Tube (1987.) All still performing within factory specifications.
Product & year of manufacture, from top left: Reversible Drum Vac (1999,) Cold Gun (1985,) Vortex Tube (1987.) All still performing within factory specifications.

Caller: So…DO you sell rebuild kits?
Me: Yes, but…only when necessary.

It’s important to note that none of the products mentioned above needed any parts replaced to return to service. Sometimes, a good cleaning is all that’s required. We can help you with a video tutorial if you want to know how to restore a Reversible Drum Vac, an Air Knife, or an Atomizing Spray Nozzle, for instance.  And we’re making new videos all the time for product maintenance, operation, tips & tricks, etc.

Caller (again): So…you DO sell rebuild kits?
Me: Yes, of course!  I mean, who wouldn’t sell rebuild kits for their products?

Take our Safety Air Guns, for example. We offer Service Kits, if the trigger and/or internal valve of a Soft Grip or Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun starts to wear or leak, it’s super easy to replace. We’ve also got replacement springs for the “fail shut” feature of the ball valve of a Super Blast Safety Air Gun. Just about anything else that could be wrong with a Safety Air Gun’s performance can be addressed by cleaning the nozzle.

We also recently added Rebuild Kits for our Atomizing Spray Nozzles to inventory. These contain all of the seals (and moving parts, for the No-Drip models) to restore an EXAIR Spray Nozzle to rated performance.

Keep your EXAIR Atomizing Spray Nozzle (left) in perfect working order with a simple & inexpensive Rebuilt Kit (right of the nozzle.) Contact an Application Engineer to select the one for your product.

For other products, we can also provide replacement gaskets & seals for the Reversible Drum Vac & Chip Trapper products, O-rings for the Line Vacs, Chip Vacs, and Heavy Duty Dry Vacs, new elements for Filter Separators & Oil Removal Filters…just to name a few.

Bottom line: if your EXAIR product isn’t performing the way it used to, give me a call.  It will be my pleasure to help you get it working like new, so that you can continue to get the most out of it.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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EXAIR Video Blog: Replacing Industrial Vacuum Drum Lid Gasket

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Today’s video blog shows the replacement of a drum lid gasket on an EXAIR Industrial Vacuum.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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The Only Constant Around Here Is Growth

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But if there’s a second constant around here, it’s excellence. And if there was a third, it was this guy…right up until the day he retired:

Joe Panfalone, Application Engineer extraordinaire, holding our bounty of product awards from 2013. He's retired since, but he's not...EVER...forgotten.
Joe Panfalone, Application Engineer extraordinaire, holding our bounty of product awards from 2013. He’s retired since, but he’s not…EVER…forgotten.

Another thing we don’t want to forget – in fact, I’m writing this as a reminder to YOU, dear reader, is that EXAIR products are up for ANOTHER four Plant Engineering Product of the Year Awards this year.  If you haven’t familiarized yourself with this year’s entries yet, there are some VERY cool products to choose from, and I highly encourage you to check them out.  (Disclaimer: I was an engineer BEFORE I came to EXAIR, and as such, I fully recognize the value that our esteemed colleagues bring to the table with THEIR entries, but I remain convinced that OURS are the clear winners here, as I’m sure you will too.)

Voting ends this Friday, January 8th 2016, so please hurry.  We’re honored to have gotten the nod in four categories this year:

ETC Dual CC SystemsAutomation and Controls: The competition is pretty stiff in this category…I’m sure you’ll recognize the names of some major players.  But, considering the wide range of applications, the potential cost savings by regulating the use of compressed air, and the convenience afforded by the ETC Dual Cabinet Cooler Systems, it’s a real contender.

HLRDVEnvironmental Health: With the ability to vacuum heavier tramp oils, thicker sludge, more viscous fluids, and “in the floor” cisterns, the High Lift Reversible Drum Vac makes fluid transfer and spill cleanup quick & easy.  They’re in stock for 30, 55, or 110 gallon drums. If you want a drum dolly, additional vacuum tools, or even the drum itself, check out our Deluxe and Premium Kits.  With all due respect to the other entries, it’s the clear winner in this category.

Compressed Air1006ss: This has been a long-awaited addition to our already broad selection of engineered air nozzles: the Back Blow Air Nozzles, available in two sizes, can handle blowing out pipe, tube, etc. with inside diameters from 7/8″ to 16″.  You can get one installed on one of our Safety Air Guns, and they’re available with Chip Shields, and extension pipes up to 6 feet in length.  This is the most innovative product being introduced in this category this year, for sure.

Fluid HandlingNo Drip Atomizing Nozzle: The patented design of the EXAIR No-Drip Atomizing Spray Nozzle offers a stand-alone nozzle capable of controlling liquid flow without requiring a liquid control solenoid.  When the air supply pressure is shut off, so is the liquid flow…just like that.

This feature is available on any of our Atomizing Spray Nozzles.  For safety, efficiency, cleanliness, it can’t be beat.

Remember, voting ends this Friday.  I know there are some great products to choose from, but all of us at EXAIR would genuinely appreciate your vote for our products.  Of course, if you ever have any questions about how these – or any of our Intelligent Compressed Air Products – can make life easier, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Expert Assistance Results in the Best Product for the Job

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I’ve written before on the Principles of Operation of EXAIR products, and about how there may be more than one option to consider when choosing an engineered Compressed Air Product…here, here, and here.  This may, in fact, be the most valuable service that an Application Engineer can offer a caller: providing the BEST solution, regardless of what the initial idea was. Case in point:

A caller who was familiar with our Reversible Drum Vacs’ (RDV) two-way pumping action wanted to see if he could use one for a similar purpose: they were putting a thin plastic bag liner in an open top drum, and used an electric shop vacuum to suck the air out from between the drum and liner, essentially “form fitting” the liner to the drum. Then, when they fill that liner with their product, they reverse the shop vacuum, blowing air INTO the space between the drum & liner, to assist in removing the bag. This works, but the electric vacuum is loud, and they have to move the hose from one connection to the other every time they want to put a bag in or take it out of the drum.

Like I said, the caller was familiar with our Reversible Drum Vac, so he was picturing it pulling a vacuum on the drum to pull the bag in place (when the RDV is in the “fill” position) and porting air into the drum to expel the bag (when it’s in the “empty” position.)

With a simple turn of the knob, the Reversible Drum Vac can fill or empty a 55 gallon drum in 90 seconds!
With a simple turn of the knob, the Reversible Drum Vac can fill or empty a 55 gallon drum in 90 seconds!

Thing is, the RDV needs to be installed on a drum lid, and there wouldn’t be a very effective way to port it to the space between the drum & the bag. Here’s where our attention turned to another product: the E-Vac Vacuum Generator. Same principle of operation, but easily adaptable to their specific need, because it’s, quite simply, built for adaptability.

EXAIR E-Vacs provide instantaneous vacuum response, and are engineered for high efficiency to minimize air consumption.
EXAIR E-Vacs provide instantaneous vacuum response, and are engineered for high efficiency to minimize air consumption.

By plumbing the vacuum port (#4 above) to a tube inserted into the drum (same as their shop vac’s hose) they can quickly pull a vacuum, which pulls the bag into place. With a valve installed on the exhaust port (#5 above,) they can close the valve to port the compressed air supply back through the vacuum line, expelling the bag. No noisy electric motor, no constantly changing the hose, just a small (Model 800005M In-Line E-Vac Low Vacuum Generator w/Muffler, in this case) compressed air operated device, with no moving parts.

With (14) Models to choose from (seven sizes, all available in "High Vacuum" for non-porous products and "Low Vacuum" for lifting objects with a porous surface,) we've got the solution to your pick-and-place application.
With (14) Models to choose from (seven sizes, all available in “High Vacuum” for non-porous products and “Low Vacuum” for lifting objects with a porous surface,) we’ve got the solution to your pick-and-place application.

If you have a need for air flow, vacuum generation, cooling, static elimination, industrial housekeeping, atomized fluid spraying, bulk material conveyance, or just questions about improving your use of your compressed air, give us a call. We’re eager to help.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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