Tag: air guns

EXAIR Safety Air Guns – On Promotion Now!

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

August marks the beginning of our Safety Air Gun Promotion! For a limited time, order any EXAIR Safety Air Gun and receive a FREE Model #1126 Flat Super Air Nozzle with purchase. Head over to EXAIR.com to learn more about our Safety Air Guns and if you have questions or want to learn more, please contact any of our Application Engineers.

EXAIR Safety Air Guns are durable and comfortable to use. Each model uses an engineered Air Nozzle that provides superior performance by entraining large volumes of surrounding air. Safe operation is assured along with low air consumption and noise levels. Airflow that exits the nozzle can not be blocked, as required by OSHA standard 1910.242 (b).

You can see all of our Safety Air Guns and Air Nozzles on our website http://www.EXAIR.com. The following are the different models we carry and a few key points for each:

TurboBlast® Safety Air Gun, are the newest addition to our line and designed for extended use without fatigue during the most demanding applications, which require a huge amount of force to solve. These air guns produce up to 23 pounds of force! The TurboBlast air blow guns can be found removing slag from primary metal manufacturing processes, cleaning pulp from paper manufacturing machines and covering large or distant areas in need of cleanup. The rugged cast aluminum handle is covered with a soft, durable elastomer grip. Low profile trigger button will disengage if release. Our newest Safety gun provides adjustable flow, strong blow off force, 3′ and 6′ extensions and meets OSHA noise and pressure requirements.

Features & benefits of the new TurboBlast Safety Air Gun

EXAIR Safety Air Guns are made to withstand the demands of daily use, meet OSHA standards for noise and safety, CE compliant, designed for extended use and produce high blow off force.

VariBlast Precision Safety Air Gun is extremely lightweight and the most comfortable to operate during long periods of extended use. It features a variable trigger valve which produces varying force levels depending on how much the trigger is activated. The small diameter nozzle and extension will fit into tight spaces while providing strong blowing force.

The VariBlast Precision Safety Air Guns provides the most focused and precision air flow from EXAIR’s smallest engineered air nozzles.

VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun is a uniquely powerful gun which produces variable force depending on trigger activation. This cast aluminum gun is equipped with any of our 1/8 NPT engineered air nozzles. The VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun is small, comfortable and powerful while remaining light and ergonomic. It has two inlets for flexible air supply options.

VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun

Soft Grip Safety Air Gun has a durable cast aluminum body that is suited for rugged industrial use. The ergonomic design has a large trigger for easy operation and a convenient hanger hook for easy storage.

EXAIR Model 1210 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun

Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns are a powerful air gun with a durable cast aluminum body that is best suited for heavy use in rugged industrial environments. The ergonomic composite rubber grip and wide curved trigger can be used for hours without fatigue.

Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun

EXAIR’s selection of Safety Air Guns, with engineered air nozzles, will cover any air gun application in your plant, meet OSHA’s standards for safety and minimize compressed air consumption when compared to similar commercial air nozzles. Take advantage of our promotion to day and receive a free air nozzle.

Eric Kuhnash
Application Engineer
E-mail: EricKuhnash@EXAIR.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_EK

Industrial Air Gun Accessories For Safety And Convenience

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The words “safety” and “convenience” are rarely synonymous. Many times, in fact, they are seemingly at odds with one other:

  • Decades of data absolutely prove the importance of wearing a seat belt in a motor vehicle. In the dead of winter, when I’m wearing a heavy coat and gloves, it can be cumbersome to pull that belt across me and fasten it without removing those gloves that are protecting my sensitive hands from the brutal cold. I do it anyway, and so should you.
  • I don’t own a boat, but I have friends that do, and I find it hard to pass up an invitation to spend a nice summer afternoon water skiing, tubing, or just cruising down the river. Life vests on a hot sunny day are perhaps just as cumbersome as seat belts. No matter how good you can swim, though, there’s a big difference between jumping in the water for a refreshing dip and being thrown into the water after a collision with an unseen object. If you’re unconscious, or even just disoriented, that vest will save your life.
  • If you work in an area where you’re supposed to wear safety glasses (even if they fog up) or ear plugs (actually, if they’re uncomfortable, you have the wrong ones…or you’re using them wrong), they’re a miniscule inconvenience compared to losing your sight or your hearing.

Notice I said “seemingly at odds” above, because safety doesn’t HAVE to be inconvenient. I could trade my old bulky insulated gloves for a newer pair made of thinner material that still have decent insulation. People who boat regularly will have properly sized life vests (instead of one-size-fits-most) with snap buckles (instead of pull straps). There are a number of different styles of safety glasses and anti-fogging treatments for the lenses, for long term use in most any environment. Likewise for hearing protection – whether you like the headset-style that covers the ears, or plugs that insert into your ear canals, there are comfortable designs, and some neat technology that cancels harmful sound frequencies so you can even carry on a conversation, even in a loud environment.

EXAIR Corporation has a long history of adding convenience to compressed air use, while remaining well within the confines of safety (that’s something we don’t cut corners on in our products, operations, or company culture) and efficiency. We’ve got accessories, add-ons, tools, etc., for most of our product lines. It’s quite prevalent in our Safety Air Guns product line, and for good reason – there are a number of areas where some flexibility regarding the use of handheld tools not only add convenience, but also contribute even further to their safe use. Consider:

  • Reach. When blowoff needs to happen inside, behind, under, or over an obstruction, extensions are available for any EXAIR Safety Air Gun, so operators can keep their hands free of the obstruction, especially if it’s hot, sharp (or otherwise potentially harmful) or just dirty or wet.
  • Cleanliness. While they’re usually specified to comply with OSHA regulations regarding proper chip guarding while using compressed air for cleaning, Chip Shields also prevent the nuisance of getting yourself dirty or wet from blown off debris. They’re available on all our compressed Air Blow Guns except for the Super Blast models.
  • Reach, part 2. A particularly nifty little option on the Soft Grip Safety Air Guns is the ability to use a Stay Set Hose (as opposed to a Rigid Extension) for extra reach. Let’s say you have to get back to, and behind, an obstruction for blowoff. Simply bend the end of the Stay Set Hose to the angle required, and you’re in business! They come in lengths from 6″ to 36″ long.
  • Stubborn debris. Among the new products that EXAIR has introduced over the past few years, this one is my personal favorite: the Soft Grip Super Air Scraper. We took our 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzle and put a steel scraper blade on it, which assists the air flow by scraping (as the name implies) caulk, gaskets, sealants, tape, paint, etc., off the surface, as the air flow blows it away! It’s the perfect “one-two punch” for applications like these.
In addition to a variety of engineered Air Nozzles, you can customize your EXAIR Safety Air Gun with Chip Shields, Extensions, Stay Set Hoses, etc., to meet the particular needs of a specific application.

If you already have serviceable air guns that operators are used to and comfortable with (first law of human nature is “change is bad,” right?), all of our Super Air Nozzles have NPT threads…you may only be an adapter away from installing them on your existing devices. Speaking of adapters, we also stock a number of the “usual suspects” – an EXAIR Application Engineer can help you determine what your air guns’ existing threads are.

Thumb guns are convenient and inexpensive. Ones with cross drilled nozzles (left) are compliant with the first part of OSHA 1910.242(b). Fitting one with an EXAIR Chip Shield (center) makes it compliant with the second part. A Model 1102 Mini Super Air Nozzle (right) makes it quiet & efficient.

EXAIR Corporation offers a broad selection of quiet, safe, and efficient compressed air products, and one of the most comprehensive selections of handheld solutions in the industry. Whatever your need for a Safety Air Gun is, we most likely have you covered. Call me; let’s talk.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Efficiency Lab Leads To Big Savings

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

EXAIR Corporation manufactures quiet, safe, and efficient compressed air products for industry. We want our customers to get the most out of our products, and, in turn, their compressed air systems. To do that, we offer a unique service called the EXAIR Efficiency Lab. Here’s how it works:

  • An Application Engineer can arrange to have your existing compressed air device(s) sent in to our facility.
  • We’ll use our calibrated test equipment to measure the compressed air consumption, sound level, and force applied of those devices.
  • You’ll receive a detailed test report, along with our recommendations to implement an efficient, quiet, and safety compliant solution.
  • We’ll even send your tested device(s) back to you, at no charge, if you wish.

I recently had the pleasure of conducting just such a test on some air guns.  The caller was the Environmental Health & Safety Director for a plastics manufacturer.  The main concern was safety compliance…a recent audit had shown that some workstations were using handheld blowoff devices that did not comply with OSHA standard 1910.242(b), which limits dead end pressure of compressed air products used for cleaning to 30psi.

After discussing their typical uses for these (and other) air guns, they sent in a couple for testing.  Here’s what we found out:

“Thumb guns” are especially popular for blowoff because of their compact size, ergonomic design. and low price.

The air gun with the 7″ straight extension (top) is a “textbook” example of non-compliance with OSHA standard 1910.242(b).  Because it has an open-end discharge with no relief path, this one could cause an air embolism if it were inadvertently dead-ended into the operator’s skin – a potentially fatal condition.  It also uses a considerable amount of compressed air, and is quite loud.  At 80psig supply pressure:

  • Compressed air consumption is 40.7 SCFM
  • Noise level is 95.5dBA
  • Force applied, at a distance of 12″, is 13oz

For comparison’s sake, EXAIR Model 1210-6 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun is fitted with our Super Air Nozzle, on the end of a 6″ rigid extension:

  • Compressed air consumption is 14 SCFM
  • Sound level is 74dBA
  • Force applied, at a distance of 12″, is 13oz…same as theirs.
Model 1210 Soft Grip Safety Air is fitted with an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle. We can also supply it with a Rigid Extension and Chip Shield (right).

The other one is OSHA compliant (it can’t be dead-ended…the cross-drilled hole provides a relief path, but it was still pretty inefficient and loud.  At our standard test pressure of 80psig:

  • Compressed air consumption is 30.8 SCFM
  • Noise level is 94.8dBA
  • Force applied, at a distance of 12″, is 16.9oz

Although the force generated by the Model 1210 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun isn’t quite as high as theirs, it’s still our recommendation here.  Oftentimes, the flow and velocity generated by the engineered Super Air Nozzle is more than capable of meeting the needs of the typical blow off applications these types of air guns are used in.

EXAIR Efficiency Lab testing proves that replacing these air guns with our Soft Grip Safety Air Guns (or at least replacing the tips with EXAIR Super Air Nozzles…we also have adapters for that) will result in compressed air savings of 66% and 55%, respectively, and lower sound levels to within OSHA standard 1910.95(a) limits:

All EXAIR Soft Grip Safety Air Guns comply with these limits for 8 hour exposure.

If you’d like to know more about the efficiency & safety (or lack thereof) of your current air blow off devices, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Super Blast Safety Air Gun Improves Cleanup Process

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I had the pleasure of helping a caller out with a cleanup problem not long ago.  Normally, calls involving cleanups involve a discussion of how our Industrial Housekeeping Products might replace an electric shop vacuum or sump pump, but this one was about replacing a broom…with a Super Blast Safety Air Gun.

Now, I need to mention that the folks at Compressed Air Challenge have a list of Inappropriate Uses Of Compressed Air.  Using compressed air for cleaning is on that list, and I couldn’t agree more…as a blanket statement, that is.  Of course, the last paragraph of their document makes it clear that good judgement can, and should, always rule the day: “if safety enhancements, significant productivity gains, or labor reductions will result,” they say, a compressed air solution is certainly worth considering.

That’s exactly what the caller and I did.

See, he works in an equipment service shop.  Their technicians make the company money through billable labor – the time they spend fixing their customers’ equipment.  Of course, they have to spend time on tasks that aren’t billable to jobs…like tool maintenance, paperwork, and keeping a clean shop.  A particular item from a shop audit that caught his attention was the amount of time spent sweeping the floor in the welding area.  Not only did slag & dust get all over the floor out in the open, it accumulated under tables and behind the welding machines themselves.  This meant that technicians had to get down on their hands & knees, and reach brooms under those tables.  Not only was this cumbersome; it wasn’t even 100% effective…when replacing a machine recently, they discovered a surprising amount of debris in a “blind spot” that the broom just couldn’t reach.

After a discussion of the engineered Super Air Nozzles that are available on the Super Blast Safety Air Guns, the caller liked the idea of the Model 1213-7-3.  The hard hitting, tight air flow pattern of the Super Air Nozzle Cluster at the end of a 3 foot extension gave the perfect combination of power & reach for his application.

Super Blast Safety Air Gun makes short work of large area cleanup.

So, at the end of the day, (literally…that’s cleanup time, right?) a task that previously took about 10 minutes for them was reduced to just under two minutes.  Of course, that doesn’t figure in the cost of the compressed air.  The Department of Energy uses a thumbrule that states it costs $0.25 to generate 1,000 Standard Cubic Feet of compressed air.  At 98 SCFM @80psig, the Super Blast Safety Air Gun’s Cluster DOES use a decent amount of compressed air, so we did the math:

98 SCFM X 2 minutes X $0.25/1,000 SCF =   $0.049

We didn’t need to get in to payroll records, employee benefit packages, etc., to realize that an 80% reduction in labor, improved cleanup (air reaches where the brooms couldn’t,) and worker satisfaction (no more crawling along the floor beside the tables) was worth a nickel a day.

The Super Blast Safety Air Gun can be fitted with a variety of Super Air Nozzles, from our Model 1112 3/4 NPT Super Air Nozzle (4.5lbf at 12″) , to our Model 1120 1-1/4 NPT Super Air Nozzle (23lbf at 12″).

As an Application Engineer, I’m always looking for the best ways to apply our products, and quantify the benefits.  If you call me to discuss an application and the math doesn’t prove it out, I’ll let you know.  If you have a task you’re considering a compressed air solution for, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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