A couple days ago I took a call from an extrusion company who was looking to increase the airflow in their plating operation. They manufacture several different shapes and styles of aluminum extrusions by the way of 8 large extrusion presses. On one of the presses they make a specialty line of products that are sent to a finishing operation to be anodized.
Above the anodizing process tanks they use a vacuum hood to capture fumes and send them to a scrubber system so the air can be cleaned before being exhausted. They were starting to see an increase in the level of VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) gases in the area and, after some internal testing, determined the existing system wasn’t moving enough air through the system for the gases to be adequately delivered to the scrubber tank.
Example of a scrubber system
After further discussion, the customer ordered our Model # 120022 2″ Super Air Amplifier to test under our Unconditional 30 Day Guarantee. Air Amplifiers are one of the most efficient products in the EXAIR catalog. Using a patented internal shim, they use a small amount of compressed air that passes through an internal chamber where it is exhausted through a thin gap at high velocity. This directed airflow creates a lower pressure at the intake side which draws in a large amount of free air. The 2 combining air flows result in a large volume of “amplified”, high velocity exhausting airflow, making them ideal for increased air movement.
Air Amplifiers entrain enormous amounts of “free” air, at ratios of up to 25:1!
If you have an application where you need to increase airflow or if you’re looking to vent or exhaust noxious fumes, an Air Amplifier is the ideal choice. For help selecting the best Model or to discuss a particular process, please contact an application engineer for assistance.
Any realtor will tell you that the three most important factors in selecting a property are location, location, and location. This simply means that houses with similar features – number of bedrooms, yard size, structure, garage (or not,) basement or not,) etc. – can be found in a lot of very different neighborhoods. Whether you want to live somewhere that’s convenient to the highway, close to (or not so close to) work, near your favorite activities, etc., odds are you can find a house that meets your material needs & wants within those geographical confines. Hence, location is your #1 consideration. And your #2 and your #3 as well…my lovely bride is a real estate professional, so I have this on good authority. And, so you know, #4 is price, and #5 is condition.
Electrical and electronics controls professionals will tell you that three of the most important things to protect their equipment from are heat, moisture, and dust. If you’re looking for a durable, reliable, and low cost method for that, we’ve got the solution: the EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System. Selection of the right system comes down to determining your heat load, and…the reason for today’s blog…the LOCATION in which it will be installed.
Let’s say it’s a control panel for one of the machines on a factory production line…indoors & dry. Our NEMA 12 Cabinet Cooler Systems provide protection against dust and oil from entering the enclosure.
NEMA 12 Cabinet Cooler Systems are oil tight, dust tight, and rated for indoor duty. They can also be installed to the wall of an enclosure (instead of the top) with a Side Mount Kit.
If the enclosure is outdoors, or indoors but subject to water spray (like in a wash-down area,) our NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler Systems are oil tight, dust tight, AND splash resistant. They ensure the inside of the enclosure stays dry through the use of a low pressure relief valve that seals when the cooler is not operating, maintaining NEMA 4 integrity at all times.
EXAIR NEMA Cabinet Cooler Systems provide additional protection to keep the enclosure dry inside.
Our NEMA 4X Cabinet Cooler Systems are made of stainless steel, and are commonly specified for food service area installations, and in corrosive environments. They’re also oil tight, dust tight, and splash resistant. These are also available in Type 316 Stainless Steel construction, for especially harsh conditions, or when this is otherwise specified due to the nature of the installation, such as critical food grade or pharmaceutical areas.
EXAIR NEMA 4X Cabinet Cooler Systems are made of corrosion resistant stainless steel for corrosive environments, and are also available with Side Mount Kits.
Regardless of the NEMA rating called for by the location, all EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems are available with a Non-Hazardous Purge option, which provides a slight positive pressure through a low (1 SCFM) air flow when internal temperature is below the thermostat setpoint and the solenoid valve is closed. This provides constant and reliable protection, even if the enclosure is not perfectly sealed, even in especially dirty or dusty environments.
All EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems are available with Non Hazardous Purge for constant, reliable protection from environmental contaminants.
High Temperature Cabinet Cooler Systems are also available when ambient temperatures can exceed 125F. These are popular in foundries, glass production facilities, and even non-air conditioned spaces in particularly warm climates.
High Temperature Cabinet Cooler Systems provide reliable heat protection in areas where ambient temperatures reach 125-200F (52-93C)
If you’ve got sensitive, mission-critical electrical or electronic enclosures that need reliable heat protection, EXAIR has the solution you’re looking for. If you know the required cooling capacity for your enclosure, you can select the right system directly from our website. If you’d like help in calculating your heat load, you can use our Cabinet Cooler System Sizing Guide…just fill in the blanks and click “submit” – your request will be forwarded to an Application Engineer for immediate attention. Or, if you’d rather, just give me a call. We calculate heat loads over the phone all the time; it only takes a minute.
Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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On the whole most of us are quite aware of the considerable savings that can be accomplished by wise use and recovery of energy. One way that a plant can save substantially is to capture the energy that an electric motor adds to the compressed air from the air compressor. As much as 80% to 93% of the electrical energy used by an industrial air compressor is converted to heat. A properly designed heat recovery system can capture anywhere between 50% to 90% of this energy and convert it to useful energy.
The heat recovered is sufficient in most cases to use in supplemental ways such as heating water and space heating, however generally there is not enough energy to produce steam directly.
Ingersoll Rand Rotary Screw Compressor
Packaged air cooled rotary screw compressor lend themselves easily to heat recovery, supplemental heating or other hot air uses very well due to their enclosed design. Since ambient air is directed across the compressors aftercooler and lubricant cooler where the heat can be easily collected from both the compressed air and the lubricant.
Packaged coolers are normally enclosed cabinets that feature integral heat exchangers and fans. This type of system only needs ducting and an additional fan to minimize back pressure on the air compressors cooling fan. This arrangement can be controlled with a simple thermostat operated vent on a hinge and when the extra heat is not required it can be ducted outside the facility.
The recovered energy can be used for space heating, industrial drying, preheating aspirated air for oil burners or other applications requiring warm air. Typically there is approximately 50,000 Btu/Hr of energy available from each 100 SCFM of capacity (at full load). The temperature differential is somewhere between 30°F – 40°F above the air inlet temperature and the recovery efficiency is commonly found to be 80% – 90%.
We all know the old saying there is “no free lunch” and that principle applies here. If the supply air is not from outside the plant a drop in the static pressure could occur in the compressor cabinet thereby reducing the efficiency of the compressor. If you choose to use outside air for makeup, you might need some return air to keep the air above freezing to avoid compressor damage.
Heat recovery is generally not utilized with water cooled compressors since an extra stage of heat exchange is required and the efficiency of recovering that heat is normally in the 50% – 60% range.
To calculate annual energy savings:
Energy Savings (Btu/Yr) = 0.80 * compressor bhp * 2,545 Btu/bhp-hour * hours of operation.
Now through the end of May, EXAIR is running a promotion on the Industrial Housekeeping Products that includes a FREE Vac-U-Gun with any purchase of an Industrial Housekeeping Vacuum System. EXAIR’s Vac-U-Gun is a low-cost solution to a wide variety of industrial housekeeping problems. The Vac-U-Gun has a durable die cast construction and no moving parts to replace or wear out.
Vac-U_Gun cleaning up shavings after a sawing operation
In addition to being easy to use, the Vac-U-Gun is also more efficient than ordinary blow guns. By injecting a small amount of compressed air through directed nozzles, a vacuum is then produced on one end and a high output flow on the other. The amplified outlet flow through the Vac-U-Gun is 12 times the compressed air consumption of the gun.
The Vac-U-Gun is capable of both vacuuming material, as well as being operated as a blow gun. In vacuum mode, the work surfaces can be easily cleaned by vacuuming the debris away rather than blowing it off of the surface. Rather than simply moving the material around the shop floor, it can be contained and transferred to a waste receptacle using the 10’ vacuum hose, or straight into the filter bag.
Switching from vacuum mode to blow mode can be achieved in just a matter of seconds. To change the Vac-U-Gun from vacuum to blow mode, simply remove the threaded cap and change the orientation of the generator inside. Since the Vac-U-Gun has a large 1-1/4” diameter air outlet, it covers much more surface area in less time compared to traditional air guns. This can help to reduce the time needed for a variety of different blowing, cooling, or drying applications. Due to the nature in which the Vac-U-Gun entrains ambient air, it allows for more force and flow through the gun at a minimal compressed air consumption.
The Vac-U-Gun system is available by itself, or in one of three different kits. It can be used with or without the 10’ (3m) vacuum hose or the filter bag. Various vacuum accessories are included in the kits to accommodate a variety of different materials and applications. If you’re looking for a versatile gun that can help boost productivity in a number of applications within your facility, look no further than the Vac-U-Gun.
