Now that spring is upon us, many of us start to think about spring-cleaning. Here at EXAIR we have a robust line of Industrial Housekeeping Products to help with this. If you’re looking for a powerful and durable industrial vacuum, then look no further than our Chip Vac:
EXAIR’s Chip Vac is a compressed air operated industrial duty vacuum designed specifically for vacuuming up chips and shavings. The powerful vacuum is suitable for use with metal, wood, or plastic chips and is designed to thread into the 2” NPT bung on standard drum lids. The Chip Vac can handle dry or wet chips from fixtures, floors and work surfaces of machining centers, lathes, saws, mills, and a variety of other industrial equipment.
We offer the Chip Vac in systems either with or without the drum. 5, 30, 55, and 110 gallon systems are available for a wide range of applications. If you already have spare drums in your facility, the Chip Vac is also available with just the lid assembly, Chip Vac, 10’ hose, tools, and filter bag to attach to the top of your own drums.
Regardless of whether you purchase the system with or without the drum, the drum lid and locking ring will easily fit onto the top of any standard open-top drum. This makes it easy to remove and place onto another drum so that different materials can be easily kept separate for recycling. Recycling companies will pay a premium price for pre-sorted chips and shavings. With the Chip Vac, it’s as easy as removing the lid and placing it onto a new drum in between jobs.
If you would like to discuss your industrial housekeeping application, please don’t hesitate to call! Visit exair.com to explore the full range of solutions we offer.
Water and water vapor can cause big problems in a compressed air system. That’s why compressed air dryers are a critical component of those systems. There are a few different types, and they all have their pros and cons. My colleague Jordan Shouse summed up the selection process pretty succinctly in a past blog: Compressed Air Dryers : What are they Good For? I particularly enjoyed his reference to Edwin Starr’s famous protest song, War (What Is It Good For?)
While they are all indeed “good for (as Jordan said) absolutely A LOT”, I wanted to take (another) deeper dive into one particular type. Membrane dryers are among the newer types of compressed air dryers. As the name suggests, they use a semi-permeable membrane whose structure allows molecules of certain fluids to pass through faster than others, thereby separating those certain fluids from the primary volume. Membrane separation technology is commonly used in:
Water purification and desalination (removal of particulates and salts)
Nitrogen separation (removal of oxygen and other trace gases)
Removing moisture from compressed air (removal of water vapor)
A membrane dryer is made of a cylinder containing very small polymer tubes that have a special coating inside. This coating allows the above-mentioned water & water vapor to pass through more readily than the nitrogen, oxygen, and other trace gases found in the atmospheric air that the compressor has drawn in.
As compressed air enters the cylinder, it’s directed through the polymer tubes, which allow water (but not air) to pass through their walls due to the difference in partial pressure between the gases (e.g., compressed air & water vapor) on the inside, & outside, of the tubes. Air flow, traveling in the opposite direction outside the tubes, sweeps the water out. The higher the sweep air flow rate, the lower the dew point of the compressed air out.
The advantages of membrane dryers are:
No moving parts to wear or break.
No electricity required.
Easy to install.
Unaffected by environmental contamination.
Compact design.
While environmental contamination isn’t a concern, they are very sensitive to internal contamination, like oil & oil vapor. Membrane dryers are commonly supplied with coalescing filters to minimize any issues there.
One disadvantage (kind of) is their limited flow capacity: the highest capacity membrane dryers are capable of passing around 200 SCFM, meaning they can only be used in small-to-mid-sized systems. I said “kind of” above because, if a certain part of the compressed air system requires a different level of dry air than the rest of the plant, membrane dryers are an inexpensive and easy way to provide that. That’s “kind of” an advantage, in that situation, actually.
Another disadvantage (kind of) is the amount of purge air they lose. Remember, membrane technology means certain fluids will pass through faster & more readily – but not exclusively – so they’re going to lose some of that brand new compressed air along with the water vapor. And the lower you want the dew point to be, the more purge air will be lost. However, the purge air loss is minimal when they’re discharging air dried to a dew point in the 40°F range, and that’s perfectly acceptable in many industrial compressed air systems.
I want to help you get the most out of your compressed air system, so when you think of compressed air, think EXAIR! If you’ve got questions, we’re here to help. Give me a call.
Russ Bowman, CCASS
Application Engineer Visit us on the Web Follow me on Twitter Like us on Facebook
When it comes to innovative solutions for industrial applications using compressed air, EXAIR has long been a trusted name, and our Evac vacuum generators are no exception. These compressed air-powered devices are designed to create a powerful vacuum with remarkable efficiency, making them ideal for a wide range of tasks—from pick-and-place operations to bag opening and even vessel evacuation. Whether you’re lifting parts, opening bags, or clamping materials, EXAIR’s E-Vacs offer a versatile, maintenance-free solution that optimizes performance while having ZERO moving parts to wear or breakdown, and let’s be honest, mechanical vacuum pumps are always breaking down. Let’s dive into what makes these vacuum generators stand out and explore some of their key variants.
EXAIR E-Vac Vacuum Generator
Our Adjustable E-Vac Vacuum Generators are the ones that typically fall into the “number of other applications” category above. While the In-Line E-Vacs are compact and reliably generate rated vacuum on demand, the Adjustable E-Vacs have some distinct advantages in certain cases:
Larger throat diameter. In-Line E-Vacs have a very tight throat, which generally doesn’t matter if they’re just hooked to Vacuum Cups that’ll be placed on a relatively clean surface. The wider throat of the Adjustable E-Vacs means that they can pass small debris from less-than-pristine surfaces that a Vacuum Cup might lift, or shavings that might fall into a work holding fixture on a machine tool. They can even pass liquids, so they’re sometimes used for small spill cleanup.
Adjustable E-Vac: How it works
Adjustability. It’s right in the name, of course, but it IS a big deal. While you can regulate the supply pressure of almost any compressed air operated device to vary the performance level, you can thread the plug into, or out of, the body of an Adjustable E-Vac to literally put it in a whole new performance band. This is beneficial if you’re picking up, or holding down, pieces of different sizes, shapes, and weights. Just loosen the locking collar, make the adjustment, tighten it back up, and it’s ready for use.
If you have questions regarding our Adjustable E-Vacs, or how to solve any issue with an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Product, feel free to contact EXAIR . One of our Application Engineers would be pleased to help you determine your best solution.
Not all liquid vacuums are the same. We have seen motor burnouts, loud noises, single directional flow, and potential hazards when using electrical motors. EXAIR manufactures a venturi pump to remove all those issues; the Reversible Drum Vac System. It does not have any moving parts to wear; has a two-way action to fill or expel liquid from standard drums; and is quiet. They only use compressed air to generate a powerful vacuum to lift the liquid, and with a simple twist of the knob, it will push the liquid out. And by using compressed air, no electricity is needed, making it safe. They work great for fluid transfers or liquid spills, and they can fill a 55-gallon (208L) drum in 90 seconds. How can this product be useful for you? If you work with liquids like coolant, waste water or hydraulic oils, the Reversible Drum Vac System is a simple, reliable product to have at your facility. In this blog, I will go over the specifications and packages that EXAIR offers.
The Reversible Drum Vac is constructed of stainless steel for corrosion resistance. It comes with a built-in safety relief valve to avoid over-pressurizing and an internal float to prevent over-filling. The air consumption is minimal; 19 SCFM (538 SLPM) at 80 PSIG (5.5 Bar), and has a low noise level of only 86 dBA. Systems are available in 5, 30, 55 and 110 gallon capacities (19L, 114L, 208L, and 418L respectively) in different packages.
The 5-gallon size is our Mini Reversible Drum Vac System. They are designed for tight spaces, quick clean-ups, and small sumps. We offer two types of systems; the Standard and the Deluxe. The Standard System, model 6196-5, will come with a 5-gallon drum, two-way pump assembly, shutoff valve, 10′ (3m) vacuum hose, a 90° quick release elbow, an aluminum chip wand, ABS spill recovery kit, two extension wands, a crevice tool, and a skimmer tool. The Deluxe System, model 6296-5, will include every item in the model 6195-5 plus a 5-gallon drum dolly.
For the larger capacities, the standard models will include the two-way pump assembly, shutoff valve, 10′ (3m) vacuum hose, a 90° quick release elbow, a standpipe, and an aluminum chip wand. The standpipe is cut to length for the properly-sized drum (the drum is not included in this option). The standpipe extends inside the drum to remove as much liquid as possible when emptying the drum.
The Premium system will include all the items in the Standard System and adds the drum with lock ring and lid, upgraded heavy-duty aluminum tools, ABS spill recovery kit, (2) crevice tools, skimmer tool, a magnetic toolholder and a 20′ (6m) compressed air hose.
The High Lift Reversible Drum Vac System converts a drum and dolly into a mobile pumping system.
As I mentioned previously, not all liquid vacuums are the same. The EXAIR Reversible Drum Vac System is maintenance-free for long-lasting use in industrial environments. We offer a 30-day unconditional guarantee for U.S. and Canadian customers if you wish to try one out. From now until May 31, 2025, EXAIR is having a promotion. With the purchase of one of our Industrial Housekeeping Products, you will receive a free Vac-u-Gun with a vacuum bag, a $174.00 value, with qualified purchases. If you have any questions about the Reversible Drum Vac System or any of our other Industrial Housekeeping Products, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR. We will be happy to help you.
