Tag: air nozzles

Why doesn’t my “XYZ” work?

Published on by bdwagesLeave a comment
Pic by PoseMuse licensed by Pixabay

You’ve probably been there. You install a new Super Air Knife, or an EasySwitch Wet-Dry Vac (or any other product), and it doesn’t work as we promised. Or it works great for 2-3 years, and now it’s faltering. You have trouble shot everything you know to do. You’ve changed the filters, checked for leaks on the product, checked the connections, but still it is not performing as it was, or how it is supposed to. This is usually when I get the call, and more times than not, the issue is related to the air supply.

Whether this new item isn’t performing, or an older product has been working for 2 weeks, months, or years and stops, we first need to confirm the pressure. First, we need to make sure there is a T and pressure gauge at the point of use. Although psig is only one factor of the air flow, if it is too low (or too high in some cases) that is a definite problem. Without the proper psig, our tools will not function properly. If the psig is sufficient, and our product is not operating as claimed, the next thing we check is the SCFM.

There are a few ways of finding the SCFM…one is very easy and reliable, and the other can get you close enough to realize if there is a problem or not. The easy way is by installing a Digital Flow Meter near the point of use. Although the most reliable, it is not always feasible or cost-effective to have these near every air application in your system.

Without the Flow Meter, we need to start looking for reasons why the SCFM is not there. Whether a new install or an existing one, we need to evaluate the air flow by starting with the basics. Let’s start by identifying how much air your application requires. For instance, a Super Air Knife consumes 2.9 SCFM per inch, so a 48″ Super Air Knife will use 139.2 SCFM (at standard operation), that is equivalent to a 35 HP compressor dedicated solely to this 1 product. Assuming your compressor is large enough to flow this amount of air, we need to see what other products are being utilized in the system as well. Does your overall system have enough air to run each product?

So your compressor is large enough, the next step is to look at your line size. To run 139.2 SCFM, you will need a 3/4″ line and that is if you are within 20 ft of the source (compressor). If you are 150 feet away, you will need 1 1/4″ lines, and so on. This is an issue that pops up often.

The next thing we look for is any type of restrictions on the line. Are your filter and oil separators sized properly? Were there new products / stations added to the line. Is the product itself being maintained properly? Is your Air clean and dry? Are there any other line restrictions that could be interfering with the flow?

If all of these things check out, our last course of action is to get the product back for evaluation. We will tear it apart, many times needing to destroy it to find the cause. But proudly, I must say that we rarely find a manufacturing defect, but we look hard just in case, because we want to know as well. We can usually show you the issue, and find the root cause. Our reputation and quality is the highest in the industry, and it is not something we take lightly. We want to find a defect if it exists, so that we can immediately address them, and head off any future issues.

If you have one of our products that isn’t functioning as you hoped, or just purchased one that isn’t up to par, please look at some of the items mentioned above. And as always, reach out to us and let us help f we can.

Thank you for stopping by,

Brian Wages

Application Engineer

EXAIR Corporation
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Cover photo by gerralt / 25503 and licensed by Pixabay

Super Air Nozzles for the Blowoff, and the Win!

Published on by bdwagesLeave a comment

Just take a moment and really look at the precision that is engineered into these SUPER Air Nozzles. The fins, the angle of the holes. The only thing missing is a cape and an S on the front like this one on the right. At a quick glance, these nozzles look simple, but they are far from it. I’ve had multiple customers reach out because they are using a simple open pipe to blow off X, Y, or Z. It really is mind “blowing” to me to hear this. Just a few days ago, I spoke to a customer that has over 20, 3/8″ open lines that blow air 24/7. I can almost hear that problem from here, and I definitely can feel the pain of their money being waisted. Up to 80% of your air can be saved with the right nozzles vs. open pipe or tubes. If waisitng money isn’t enough, the noise alone would be deafening without the nozzles, and not at all up to OSHA standards.

These Super Air Nozzles comply with the OSHA standards 29 CFR 1910.242(b) for dead end pressure requirements, and 29 CFR-1910.95(a) concerning noise. The only exceptions to the noise level is when we get into our High Force nozzles. As you can imagine, if you are needing more than 90 SCFM of air, with 4.5+ pounds of force out of a nozzle, it will make some noise. By the way, it will still meet OSHA’s dead end pressure standard and the EXAIR defines how much unprotected noise exposure is allowed by OSHA with each nozzle above their threshold.

When we look at the fins and shapes of the holes, they are intelligently designed to maximize the coanda effect on each nozzle. This allows these nozzles to amplify the compressed airflow (black Arrow) up to 25 times or more. As the air travels along the outer wall of the nozzles it will entrain the surrounding air into the airstream. This results in a high velocity blast of air with minimal consumption.

If you have any type of homemade or makeshift blowoff system using copper tube, open pipe, or pipe fittings please take a moment and look at the amount of air that is being waisted. We can use these Super Air Nozzles to save an astronomical amount of air. Take a look at this Air Consuption table as a solid example:

As you can see on this table the 1/4″ Copper Tube uses 33 SCFM, and the 1/4″ Open Pipe uses 140 SCFM. Now when we install the 1/4″ Super Air Nozzle it drops the cunsumption down to 14 SCFM. The benefits do not stop there. The noise is dropped to 74 dBA, and you are no longer violating the OSHA requirements.

When you have a blowoff situation, please reach out and discuss our options. Many times the solution is as easy as using a Super Air Nozzle and sometimes you may actually need the Flux Capacitor. We are here to help guide you between these two extremes. Please feel free to reach out at anytime to discuss your Air Nozzle, or any other compressed air solutions.

Thank you for stopping by,

Brian Wages

Application Engineer

EXAIR Corporation
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Cover photo by Kranich 17, licensed by Pixabay. Superman “S” photo by JayKingSta14, licensed by Pixabay.

Plumb it Right for Full Performance!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Many times when we provide the air consumption of an EXAIR product, we get a response like…. “I’ve got plenty of pressure, we run at around 100 PSIG”. While having the correct pressure available is important, it doesn’t make up for the volume requirement or SCFM (Standard Cubic Feet per Minute) needed to maintain that pressure. We commonly reference trying to supply water to a fire hose with a garden hose, it is the same principle, in regards to compressed air.

When looking to maintain an efficient compressed air system, it’s important that you use properly sized supply lines and fittings to  support the air demand (SCFM) of the point-of-use device. The smaller the ID and the longer the length of air supply line, it becomes more difficult for the air to travel through the system. Undersized supply lines or piping can sometimes be the biggest culprit in a compressed air system as they can lead to severe pressure drops or the loss of pressure from the compressor to the end use product.

Take for example our 18″ Super Air Knife. An 18″ Super Air Knife will consume 52.2 SCFM at 80 PSIG. We recommend using 1/2″ Schedule 40 pipe up to 10′ or 3/4″ pipe up to 50′. The reason you need to increase the pipe size after 10′ of run is that 1/2″ pipe can flow close to 100 SCFM up to 10′ but for a 50′ length it can only flow 42 SCFM. On the other hand, 3/4″ pipe is able to flow 100 SCFM up to 50′ so this will allow you to carry the volume needed to the inlet of the knife, without losing pressure through the line.

Pipe size chart for the Super Air Knife

Another problem area is using restrictive fittings, like quick disconnects. While this may be useful with common everyday pneumatic tools, like an impact wrench or nail gun, they can severely limit the volumetric flow to a device requiring more air , like a longer length air knife.

1/4″ Quick Connect

For example, looking at the above 1/4″ quick disconnect, the ID of the fitting is much smaller than the NPT connection size. In this case, it is measuring close to .192″. If you were using a device like our Super Air Knife that features 1/4″ FNPT inlets, even though you are providing the correct thread size, the small inside diameter of the quick disconnect causes too much of a restriction for the volume (SCFM) required to properly support the knife, resulting in a pressure drop through the line, reducing the overall performance.

If you have any questions about compressed air applications or supply lines, please contact one of our application engineers for assistance.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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The Blog of all Blogs: A Quick Resource of Blogs that we Blogged

Published on by bdwagesLeave a comment

EXAIR started writing Blogs in 2008. Since then, we have written well over 2000 Blogs. There is a ton of information in our Blog section on the website. There is most likely a Blog or 10 written about nearly each one of our products. These are primarily written by application engineers that know a thing or two about our products. There are also many application Blogs, that may be very relatable to what you are doing. When you journey to our Blog page (or simply click Blog form EXAIR.com), simply type in a key word or two in our search bar. This search bar is located just below the first row of published Blogs on the right hand of the screen, here is a screenshot of that section (right). You can also choose to follow our blog here as well.

As application engineers, we get asked questions every day. Many of these questions are best answered in one (or more) of these 2000+ Blogs. Many times a picture or video can answer your questions much more precisely than a quick conversation or an email. Many times we will send you a blog link to help. Drawing from my own experience, and asking the other Application Engineers for their lists, I wanted to put our most referenced blogs in one helpful location. I’ve categorized these the best that I can, and hopefully this will be a useful resource for you today, and in the future.

OPTIMIZING YOUR COMPRESSED AIR SYSTEM

Six Steps to Optimizing Your Compressed Air System

This is one of the key sections to our blogs. One of our main goals is to help you optimize your system. Here are 6 blogs that go into detail on each of these key points:

  1. Six Steps to Optimization: Step 1 – Measure the Air Consumption
  2. Six Steps to Compressed Air Optimization: Step 2 – Find and Fix Leaks.
  3. Six Steps to Compressed Air Optimization: Step 3 – Use Efficient and Quiet Engineered Products
  4. Six Steps to Optimizing Compressed Air: Step 4, Turn it Off When Not in Use
  5. Installing Secondary Receiver Tanks: Step 5 in Optimizing Your Compressed Air System
  6. Six Steps to Optimization: Step 6 – Control the Air Pressure at the Point of Use to Minimize Air Consumption

INDUSTRIAL HOUSEKEEPING

This is a product line that has a lot of maintenance questions, probably because these products are used to clean up dirt, and where there is dirt, there can be problems, clogs and leaks:

One of the most common questions we have concerns the Reversible Drum Vacuum (RDV) refurbishment Blog. The RDV is used on the Reversible Drum Vac, and the Chip Trapper products. We offer a refurb service for a fee, but most of the time you can do this on your own by watching and following this blog: Cleaning the Reversible Drum Vac

The Chip Trapper has two very popular blogs as well: Finding and Fixing Chip Trapper Vacuum Leaks as well as Cleaning the Chip Trapper’s Directional Valve

CABINET COOLERS

  1. Calculating Heat loads for Cabinet Coolers
  2. Finding the correct internal temperature of your Electrical Cabinet – don’t use a temp gun
  3. Thermostat & Solenoid Valve
  4. How To Install An EXAIR NEMA 4 or 4X Cabinet Cooler® System
  5. EXAIR Side Mount Kits for NEMA Type 4-4X Cabinet Cooler® Systems
  6. Cold Air Distribution Kit Installation
  7. Installing A Dual Cabinet Cooler Hardware Kit
  8. How to identify your Cabinet Cooler

VORTEX TUBES

  1. Vortex Tubes for Dummies
  2. Adjusting the Vortex Tube
  3. Vortex Tube Cold Fraction – effects on flow and temperature
  4. Application: Creating Freeze Seals for water lines

SUPER AIR KNIVES

  1. Application: Bottle Drying with Super Air Knife (instead of blower)
  2. Application: Super Air Knives drying automotive parts
  3. How to position and mount your Air Knife
  4. Which Air Knife should you choose?
  5. Super Air Knife Plumbing Kits
  6. Maximizing Super Air Knives with Shims

LINE VACS / CONVEYOR SYSTEMS

  1. Why Line Vacs need ambient air
  2. How to drill out Line Vac Generator Holes for increased performance
  3. Application: Conveying Coffee Beans

AIR AMPLIFIERS

  1. Super Air Amplifier Ratios explained
  2. Air Amplifier vs Fan – for cooling
  3. Application: Super Air Amplifier evacuating smoke or fumes

AIR ATOMIZING SPRAY NOZZLES

  1. Choosing the right Atomizing nozzle
  2. No-Drip Nozzle repair video
  3. Atomizing Nozzle identification
  4. Application: Atomizing Spray nozzles and Gummy Bears

SAFETY AIR GUNS

  1. Putting the Safe in Safety Air Guns
  2. Safety Air Gun Accessories, Extensions, Chip Shields and more
  3. Chip Shield sizes and selections

GEN 4 STATIC ELIMINATORS

  1. Changing the Gen 4 Power Supply Fuse
  2. Replacing the rocker switch on a Gen 4 Power Supply
  3. Changing the high power cord on the Gen 4 Ion Air Cannon
  4. Application: Solving Static and Print quality in food packaging

E-VAC VACUUM GENERATORS

  1. How to build a custom E-Vac System
  2. Choosing the right size Vacuum Cups

ACCESSORIES – FILTERS AND REGULATORS

  1. Filter Separator and Pressure Regulator with coupling kit installation 
  2. Rebuilding an Automatic Drain Filter Separator 
  3. Overview of EXAIR accessories

CALCULATIONS AND MORE

  1. Calculating SCFM at any pressure
  2. ROI Calculations with EXAIR products
  3. Do you need a receiver tank?
  4. EXAIR’s Calculator Library
  5. EXAIR’s OSHA compliance

OPTIMZATION – EFC, FLOWMETERS, AND ULTRASONIK LEAK DETECTORS

  1. EFC – Application: Candy Company saves big money with EFC
  2. Flowmeter – How to install a Hot Tap Flowmeter
  3. Flowmeter – Moving and or using Block-Off rings

There are many more blogs and videos at your disposal. This is just a recap of many of our most used, most viewed and most helpful for the day-to-day conversations that happen here at EXAIR. If you have ideas for new blogs – we would love to hear that as well. Please feel free to reach out at any time for more information on any of our intelligent compressed air products.

Thank you for stopping by,

Brian Wages

Application Engineer

EXAIR Corporation
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter

Cover photo by clker-free-vector-image licensed by Pixabay