Both solenoid valves and ball valves function as on/off mechanisms to regulate flow within piping systems. Despite their similar roles, it is crucial to recognize the key differences between these two types of valves when selecting the most suitable option for your particular application.
Manual ball valves provide operators with the ability to manually shut off the air supply. We offer a range of full-flow ball valves, ensuring that there is no restriction on flow, with sizes available from 1/4″ NPT to 1-1/4″ NPT. These valves serve as an excellent solution for those seeking a straightforward and efficient method to manage air flow.
EXAIR stocks Solenoid Valves in a variety of sizes & voltages
Solenoid valves provide an electronic means to control the air supply, facilitating the development of more automated systems. Available in three voltage options—120VAC, 240VAC, and 24VDC—these valves accommodate a variety of flow rates and feature port sizes ranging from 1/4″ NPT to 1″ NPT. All models comply with RoHS and CE standards and are UL-listed, ensuring safety and reliability in their applications.
In addition to offering our solenoid valves as standalone products, we have incorporated them into various other solutions, such as our thermostat-controlled Cabinet Coolers and Electronic Flow Controllers, to deliver a comprehensive, ready-to-use option. Furthermore, these valves can be managed via a PLC, allowing for customization to meet specific application requirements.
It is advisable to turn off your compressed air system when it is not in use, even if you are utilizing the most efficient engineered products. This practice not only reduces energy consumption, leading to cost savings, but also contributes to the longevity of your air compressor. If you have questions about solenoid and ball valves, please do not hesitate to reach out.
As margins get tighter and the cost of manufacturing climbs, industries are looking for ways to be more economical. A big focus is on the compressed air system. Compressed air is considered to be the “fourth utility” behind gas, water, and electricity. Air compressors are necessary to run pneumatic systems, but they are the least efficient of the utilities. For every $1.00 that is put into making compressed air, you only get roughly 5¢ of work from it. So, it is very important to use this utility as efficiently as possible.
One of the biggest problems affecting compressed air systems is leaks. That quiet sound coming from the pipelines is costing your company a lot of money. A study was conducted by a university to determine the percentage of air leaks in a typical manufacturing plant. In a poorly maintained system, they found that 30% of the compressor’s capacity is lost through air leaks on average. Just to let you know, the majority of companies do not have a leak prevention program, so they will fall into the “poorly maintained” category. The chart below shows the amount of money that can be wasted by the size of the hole for larger leaks. Unlike a hydraulic system, compressed air is clean, so leaks will not be visible at the source. You have to find them by other means. There are four main methods to test your system for leaks.
Ultrasonic Leak Detector: When you have small air leaks, the turbulent flow will emit an ultrasonic sound. This method is the most direct way to find leaks in your system. With the EXAIR Ultrasonic Leak Detector, it can pick up these high frequencies in the range of 20 kHz to 100 kHz, above human hearing. This device makes the inaudible leaks audible. Some other features of the model 9207 are a sensitivity adjustment button, a signal strength display, and a headphone volume button. It has two attachments; the parabola attachment to locate leaks up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) away, and the tube attachment to define the exact location of the leaks.
EXAIR’s Digital Flowmeter w/ USB Data Logger
Digital Flowmeters: With Digital Flowmeters, you can continuously watch for waste. Air leaks can occur at any time within any section of your pneumatic system. You can do systematic checks by isolating sections with the Digital Flowmeter and watching for a flow reading. Another way to monitor your system would be to compare the results over time. With the Digital Flowmeters, we have a couple of options for recording the air flow data. We have a USB Datalogger for setting certain time increments to record the air flows. Once the information is recorded, you can connect the USB to your computer, and with the downloadable software, you can view the information and export it into an Excel spreadsheet. Once the information starts trending upward for the same process, you can focus your attention on finding the leak. It can also serve as a preventive measure if a pneumatic system is starting to fail.
Pressure difference: There are some equations that can be helpful in determining how severe the leaks are in the system. One method would be to look at a pressure gauge. For this method to work, you will have to estimate the total system volume, comprising secondary air receiver, piping, and air mains. After the compressor runs for a while to build to an operating pressure (P1). Then, you have to block the system off and measure the time. When it reaches a stopping point at pressure (P2), mark that time. Use Equation 1 to measure the leakage rate, Q in CFM. If the flow is more 10%
Equation 1:
Q = (V x (P1-P2)/T x 14.7) x 1.25
V = Volume (Ft3)
P1- Starting pressure (psig)
P2 = Ending pressure (psig)
T = Time (Minutes)
Compressor cycling time: First start by shutting off all the points of use of compressed air products so that there’s no demand on the system. Then, start the compressor and record the average time it takes for the compressor to cycle on/off. The compressor will load and unload as the air leaks, causing a pressure drop from air escaping. The percentage of total leakage can be calculated by Equation 2. The leakage rate will be given as a percentage of total compressor capacity lost. This value should be less than 10% for a well-maintained system.
Equation 2:
Leakage % = [(T) / (T + t)] * 100
Where:
T = loaded time (seconds)
t = unloaded time (seconds)
Compressed air leaks will rob you of performance, compressor life, and electrical cost. It is important to have a leak prevention program to check for leaks periodically, as they can happen at any time. I added some tips and tricks to help determine the severity of the leaks in your system. The EXAIR Digital Flowmeters and Ultrasonic Leak Detector will help you accomplish this and optimize your compressed air system. If you need more information, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR. Once you find and fix all your leaks, you can then focus on improving the efficiency of your blow-off devices with EXAIR products. It will save you even more money.
At the end of Naval Nuclear Power School, students who’ve just spent two years learning how to boil water must pass a comprehensive examination board before they’re released into the fleet as real live “Navy Nucs.” One popular question at these boards (in 1987 anyway) was to describe, in detail, the path a drop of seawater takes to become reactor coolant (a warship at sea must be self-reliant, and that includes making our own pure water.) A correct answer would prove the student’s knowledge of various piping systems, the steam distilling and water purification processes, reactor coolant chemistry maintenance, and, if you were lucky, a deep dive into the Six Factor Formula which mathematically defines the six events* that affect the probability of neutron multiplication, and hence, the sustainability of nuclear fission in the reactor core:
*Two of these six events relate to the thermalization of neutrons by the coolant. That’s why it’s considered to be a valid part of the ‘seawater-to-reactor-coolant’ question.
The block on the left represents a cubic foot of air at atmospheric pressure. The one on the right represents how much space the first one takes up when compressed to 100psig.
In that same vein, for today’s EXAIR blog, I thought I’d trace a Standard Cubic Foot (SCF) of air from the compressor room, through a typical industrial compressed air system, to its point of use. First, let’s define what that is: Imagine a cubic foot of air in front of you. If the atmospheric pressure is 14.5psia (average for sea level elevation), the ambient temperature is 68°F, and relative humidity is 0%, then that’s one Standard Cubic Foot of air. Now, let’s say this air is in an ideal compressor room – ‘ideal’ meaning those atmospheric conditions apply – and follow its path to an EXAIR Super Air Knife:
Filter, Part 1 (intake): When the air compressor draws our SCF in, it passes through filtration media to remove impurities like dust, oil, and moisture. It’s important to remember that this filter is there to PROTECT THE COMPRESSOR from those contaminants, not to provide any measure of cleanliness to the compressed air itself.
Compression: This is where our SCF gets compressed by reciprocal or rotating elements imparting energy to it, and it now occupies considerably less space than it did in the atmosphere. This also raises the temperature. When all the molecules that comprise our SCF get closer together, they run into each other more often, and that increased friction makes them hotter. Which can be bad, unless we do something about it.
After cooler: Hot compressed air can cause unsafe surface temperatures and can damage gaskets, seals, or other components in the downstream system. Cooling our SCF down is the first thing we want to do after compressing it.
Filter, Part 2 (discharge): While the Intake Filter takes care of impurities that could have damaged the compressor, the compressor itself can add some back into our SCF – like oil, wear particulate from meshing gears or seals on moving parts, etc. You’ll want to remove those as well, before letting them go any further in the system. Contaminants like that can really do a number on the operation and effectiveness of some types of dryers.
Dryer: While the intake filter removes some finite amount of moisture from our SCF before compression, the compression cycle increases the moisture concentration of it. Dryers come in different types and configurations, each with their own pros & cons, and certain types are more suitable for certain situations. Here’s a link to a blog on the subject by Jordan Shouse that’s both informative and entertaining!
Primary Storage: Once our SCF gets cooled, cleaned, and dried, it can take a little break if it’s not needed right away, in a receiver tank. Such a tank, like EXAIR’s Model 9500-60 60 Gallon Receiver Tank(right), near the compressor discharge, serves several purposes:
It maintains header pressure during any load transients that happen too quickly for the compressor to keep up in real time.
It provides further moisture removal, as any water that condenses in this receiver can be drained from a valve on the bottom.
It also allows the compressed air to cool further.
Distribution Header Piping: This is the “highway,” if you will, that our SCF travels to where it’ll be used. It’s not alone, either – there are sometimes hundreds, if not thousands, of other SCF’s passing through every minute. And if it’s not appropriately sized, there’ll be problems akin to traffic jams on crowded roads. The appropriate size and layout of the header piping will be determined by a number of factors – here’s a link to a blog with more details on that.
Airdrops: These are the branches from the distribution header that lead to the various points of use in the facility. Our SCF will take whichever one it gets directed to…in this case, the aforementioned EXAIR Super Air Knife. The proper size of the drop piping or hose will be determined by the compressed air consumption of the load(s) serviced by the drop, and its length from the header. In the case of our EXAIR Super Air Knife that our SCF is heading towards, the recommended in feed pipe sizes are listed in the Installation/Maintenance Guide:
The longer the drop length, the larger the diameter needs to be to compensate for line loss due to friction.
Filter, Part 3 (point of use): Good engineering practice calls for point-of-use filtration. Our SCF has already been through two filters, I know, but it’s also potentially picked up some more contamination along the way. Rust from the inside walls of iron pipes is the most common culprit. The EXAIR Super Air Knife that our SCF is heading towards needs its supply to be filtered for particulate to a level of 10 microns or less. EXAIR Automatic Drain Filter Separators have 5-micron particulate elements, and centrifugal elements that ‘spin’ out any remaining moisture. Depending on the needs of the application, we also have Oil Removal Filters with coalescing elements for oil/oil vapor. They also provide additional particulate filtration to 0.03 microns.
Regulator: It’s taken a good deal of effort and expense to get our SCF to this point, so it only makes sense to use it as efficiently as possible. A Pressure Regulator allows us to precisely ‘dial in’ the supply pressure so that we don’t use it (or any of the other SCF’s that it’s traveling with) any more than needed.
EXAIR Automatic Drain Filter Separators (left) can be directly coupled to Oil Removal Filters (center) and Pressure Regulators (right) for a compact installation, free from threaded connections.
EXAIR’s award-winning EFC Electronic Flow Control is a ‘plug and play’ system that can save you THOUSANDS of dollars in compressed air costs.
Shutoff valve: Years ago, I talked to an engineer at a company that was using one of our Super Air Knives to blow off parts that were passed in front of it by a robot. The robot’s arm turned & rotated the part in the air curtain to ensure it got completely blown off. This only took a couple of seconds, as the operators had ‘tweaked’ the arm movement to do it as quickly as possible. However, there were about 15 seconds between parts…and the Super Air Knife WAS BLOWING THAT WHOLE TIME. Since they’d already told me how great their automation techs were at programming the robot, I suggested that they go one more step and install a Solenoid Valve in the supply line to the Super Air Knife and use the robot’s logic to open it right before the robot got there, and close it right after the robot left. Step Four of our Six Steps To Optimizing Your Compressed Air System is to “turn off the compressed air when it’s not in use,” and by doing so, they reduced the compressed air consumption of this one Super Air Knife by about 80%. THAT’S optimized. If you don’t have existing logic to do this, our EFC Electronic Flow Control will do it for you.
The Super Air Knife: At long last, our SCF is ready to fulfill its purpose, and the Super Air Knife will help it do so in the most efficient way possible. It uses that SCF of air, along with all the others that pass through, to entrain a WHOLE BUNCH of SCF’s from the surrounding environment. The amplification ratio for EXAIR Super Air Knives is 40:1, making them the most efficient compressed air-blowing products on the market.
EXAIR Super Air Knives come in lengths from 3″ to 108″, and are available from stock in aluminum, 303SS, 316SS, or PVDF.
It’s been a LONG time since I’ve used the Six Factor Formula for the neutron life cycle in nuclear fission (and honestly, I haven’t missed it all that much), but every day, I use formulas and figures related to:
The time has finally come, and spring is here! The Cincinnati Reds are playing, Spring Soccer is happening early on Saturday mornings, and the FC Cincinnati Stadium is bustling here in Cincy. With that, temperatures are climbing, the grass and weeds are growing, and more and more families are out walking around and doing outdoor activities. With this, also comes warmer temps, and lots of spring allergies in the Farno household. As a dad, I have stepped into my role pretty well by trying to delay turning on the air conditioner until everyone else in the house is plotting my demise. This year, I achieved it by putting off the routine maintenance of the condensing coils.
In case you weren’t aware, here in the Midwest, where pollen runs rampant and the winds have been strong this year, it is a great idea to clean out the condensing coils on your home’s A/C system before turning it on for the year. Unfortunately, your home A/C system is not maintenance-free like the Cabinet Cooler Systems EXAIR offers; at the same time, your home needs a lot more than a few thousand BTU/hr of cooling capacity. When we first bought the home, I didn’t know this was a thing, as the home I grew up in didn’t have central air. We rocked Window A/Cs, and my parents still do. So, cleaning the outdoor unit was not part of my knowledge base. This is something I learned once the air conditioner wasn’t working, and I started to troubleshoot.
The main purpose of the condensing coils is to strip all the heat out of the refrigerant and get it to “condense” back into its liquid state to be pushed back through the orifice and continue to cool the air that is being passed over the A Coils inside the house. These coils are covered in fins that are very tightly spaced. The outside unit has a large fan that pulls the surrounding air in through the coils and exhausts the hot air up out of the top. There is no filter on that incoming ambient air, though, so all the leaves, cobwebs, pet hair, pollen, dirt, mulch, you name it, get pulled up into these fins. Over time, this starts to get a buildup, and the cooling fins will start to lose their efficiency. The fan won’t be able to pull as much air through, and eventually, the gas doesn’t get condensed, which then reduces the cooling and can cause other bigger issues. This is just like a refrigerant-based A/C panel cooler in a facility. Most of the time, they have at least a small filter on the air intake to try and reduce the contamination of the condensing coils. So I clean the A/C condenser at my house using a coil cleaning solution diluted down, a pump sprayer, and a regular garden hose.
The main thing to remember when cleaning this is that the majority of the dirt is from the air being pulled into the center by the fan. So I rinse the coils from the inside out and make sure I have free passage all the way through. The water doesn’t need to be a high-pressure rinse like an OmniStream nozzle or one of BETE’s NF Nozzles, just a simple low-pressure stream of water to get between the fins and push all contaminants as well as rinse the solution away. Remove any leaves or other unwanted debris from inside the unit and then bolt the fan and cage back down. Then let the family enjoy some cold air inside the house.
This type of maintenance is something that easily gets overlooked when looking at refrigerant-based electrical panel coolers. That is where EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems shine. The only filter you have to worry about is a redundant point-of-use compressed air filter that is included with the Cabinet Cooler Systems. No chemicals needed for cleaning, no water, no mess to change out a compressed air filter, just long-lasting performance. If you want to talk about how to change your control panels over to Cabinet Cooler Systems, contact an Application Engineer today.
