Tag: cleaning

Spring Cleaning & Free STUFF

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

That’s right in case you didn’t notice, Spring is upon us and that generally means a good amount of cleaning is coming into your lives. I have been cleaning up the yard, garage, patio, shed, and even basement just trying to get everything for being outside more and making sure all of my equipment is ready to go for the warmer weather. The good news for you is that EXAIR is making Spring cleaning even better in your industrial setting with our new promo.

Right now, purchase any EXAIR Industrial Housekeeping System and receive a FREE Vac-U-Gun! The best part about these pneumatically driving vacuums is that there are no carburetors to clean them, and no batteries to charge, just plug them into your shop air and go. Whether you need a liquid vacuum, dry vacuum, or wet/dry vacuum, we have a product that will fit your need and if you aren’t sure, we have a dedicated team of Application Engineers here to help.

EXAIR's new Chip Trapper
EXAIR’s new Chip Trapper

For liquid vacuums, we offer the Chip Trapper which permits you to filter solids from the liquid being sucked up, then pump the filtered liquid right back out of the 30, 55, or 110-gallon drum. Filter bags are available in 1, 5, 25, 50, 100, and 200-micron ratings. The High Lift Chip Trapper is the same principle just near double the vacuum level so you can suck more viscous liquid or sub-grade sumps clean.

The Reversible Drum Vac and High Lift Reversible Drum Vac use the same vacuum generators as their Chip Trapper counterparts and give you the ability to use a 5, 30, 55, or 110-gallon drum to empty a sump and pump all the contents into another container. (5 gallon is only available in the standard Reversible Drum Vac, no High Lift version.) I know I’ve told the story before, I used to utilize a Reversible Drum Vac when I was in the metal cutting industry. As I was setting up trade show booths full of metal cutting machines, I would hook my RDV up to the drums and pump machines full of premixed coolant, then at the end of the show, I would suck all the sumps dry and be waiting for load out while other booths would still be fooling around with an electric vacuum or waiting on another service that had a large tow-behind system.

(Left to right) Chip Vac, Heavy Duty Dry Vac, Heavy Duty HEPA Vac

When it comes to dry vacuums, the Chip Vac, Heavy Duty Dry Vac, and Heavy Duty HEPA Vac are all ideal due to their no moving parts and simplistic design to get the job done. Whether it is a machine shop cleaning up chads and chips, a grinding shop cleaning up fines, or even a general facility cleaning dirt, debris, and scraps from the floor, these vacuums hook straight to shop air and are ready to work. The filters can all be cleaned and reused or replaced if you chose. They again, fit standard drum sizes and can even include the drum with the purchase.

For critical dust containment, the HEPA EasySwitch Wet-Dry Vac System is your durable, reliable, compressed air operated solution!

Lastly, our EasySwitch Wet/Dry Vac is the only vacuum I know of on the market that can be converted from wet to dry in less than 10 seconds and still have no internal moving parts. The unit is honestly a game changer compared to the electric equivalent and doesn’t have a motor or impeller to wear out.

Then, to top any purchase of those units off, the current promotion enables end users in the US or Canada to receive a Vac-U-Gun for free. This is a tool that many utilize to blow down a workstation, then turn around and vacuum everything up off the floor.

If you would like to discuss any of these systems more in-depth, since I stayed at a high-level explanation, please feel free to contact an Application Engineer.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Cleaning Foam From Beer Bottles

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

I was contacted by a company that was bottling beer; and they had an issue that they wished to solve.  They were producing 35,000 bottles per hour in two different sizes; the 24 oz. (710 mL) bottles and the “stick it in a brown paper bag” 32 oz. (946 mL) bottles.  The problem area was located at the wash system after capping the beer bottles.  They sprayed a solution of water and a low-concentration of chlorine dioxide as an antimicrobial agent.  Sanitation is at a premium to eliminate any bacteria growth. 

Currently, they were using two sets of three liquid nozzles that were spraying a flat pattern at the top and both sides of the bottle, just under the cap (reference photo below).  The issue that they were experiencing was too much solution was being used as well as creating a slip hazard on the floor outside the wash system.  They tried to reduce the liquid pressure to lessen the amount of solution, but the stream was not strong enough to clean properly.  So, they asked if the EXAIR Air Atomizing Nozzles could be a better solution.

Washing system

With liquid solutions, the smaller the particle size, the greater the surface area.  With higher surface areas, less liquid can be used to cover the same target area.  For this application; I recommended the model EF1040SS External Mix Atomizing Nozzle with a narrow-angle flat fan spray pattern.  The liquid spray pattern matched their current nozzles, and the liquid flowrate produced by this Atomizing Nozzle was within their recommendation.  By adding compressed air, we can shear liquid into much smaller particle sizes.  And as mentioned above, we can use less liquid to cover the same area.  Another feature of the EXAIR External Mix Atomizing Nozzles, the liquid and air pressures are independent.  Unlike the liquid nozzles that they were using, the liquid pressure can be changed while the air pressure can be increased.  Now, they can get a hard-hitting force to remove the beer foam while using less liquid.  This was exactly what this customer needed.   

EF1040SS

I suggested six pieces of the EF1040SS to replace each liquid nozzle to keep the same coverage around the caps.  The stainless-steel construction makes the Atomizing Nozzle corrosive resistant for Food and Beverage applications.  The flat fan pattern is able to reach multiple bottles and hit the target area evenly.  The amount of solution can be controlled by the liquid pressure and by the manual liquid needle valve.  So, the setup can be “dialed” in for the exact amount of cleaning solution needed to clean the bottles without flooding the floor.  This was important for safety as well as saving the company money by using less solution.  For this application, they were able to use about 20% less liquid.

If you have high-value liquids that you would like to spray evenly, efficiently, and effectively; EXAIR Air Atomizing Nozzles can do that for you.  We offer three different port sizes with a variety of liquid flowrates and spray patterns.  If you would like to discuss more about an application or need help in selecting the correct model, an Application Engineer will be happy to assist you.  For the customer above, the bottles were cleaned and ready to “pop the top”.  

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Photo: Empty brown beet bottles by manfredrifchter.  Pixabay License

Save Compressed Air with the EXAIR Electronic Flow Control

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

The best way to save compressed air is to simply turn it off when it’s not being used. This might seem pretty simple, but there may be processes in your facility where this couldn’t be achieved by just turning a valve. In applications where product is traveling along a conveyor, and must be dried, cooled, or blown off, there is likely some spacing in between the parts. It isn’t necessary to keep the blowoff running constantly if there’s periods of intermittent spacing. To help reduce the overall load on the air compressor, implementing a solution to shut the air off in between each part can have a dramatic impact. EXAIR’s Electronic Flow Control, or EFC, is designed to improve efficiency by reducing overall compressed air usage. It utilizes a photoelectric sensor that detects when the part is present. When it’s not, it triggers a solenoid valve to close and shut off the compressed air supply.

efcapp
EXAIR EFC

One way to use the Electronic Flow Control would be for Turning a Atomizing Spray nozzle on to coat your product.  For example see the photo below where you could use the EFC to sense the pants coming down the line. Then turn the air supply on to spray a bleach solution to get the weathered look you are after. Once the pants pass the EFC will turn the nozzle off, replacing a manual operation awhile saving compressed air and your liquid solution!

Another use would be to tell when a hopper that is being filled by a Line Vac is empty or over filled.  You can adjust the sensor and the control module to sense that the hopper is empty and it will turn the compressed air on to the Line Vac to then feed the hopper.  Then set the timer module so it will run for the length of time it takes to fill the hopper.  The other way would be to place the sensor at the top of the hopper and have it sense when the pile of media has reached the full level.

The EFC models available from stock can accommodate flows up to 350 SCFM. For applications requiring more compressed air, EFCs with dual solenoids are also available. If you have an application in one or more of your processes where intermittent compressed air use could help save you money, give us a call. We’d be happy to take a look at the application and help determine just how quickly the EFC could start paying YOU

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

Send me an Email
Find us on the Web 
Like us on Facebook
Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

Doughnuts vs Donuts – Better Quality Thanks To A Super Air Knife

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

The two words, doughnut, and donut are synonymous with each other.  In research, the spelling donut is another Americanized word that didn’t catch on until the late 20th century. Either way, there are still multiple types of doughnuts. One of my favorites is shown below by one of the best donut manufacturers, NASCAR.

Maybe you are a little riskier and like some donuts that have a little less horsepower and a little more spice to them. Something like a ghost pepper doughnut that has a combination of spicy and sweet flavoring to satisfy your morning cravings for food. If so, you may be interested to know that an EXAIR Super Air Knife could have helped in the manufacturing process.

Animation Dreaming GIF by Matthew Butler - Find & Share on GIPHY

A regional bakery has opened up production and after months of determining their recipe and icing selection, they still needed some help on getting the glazing level correct on the finished doughnuts. The baked goodness would travel under a waterfall of glazing and several variables would lead to the amount of glazing that would build up/ remain on the doughnut. After testing these variables out the customer still wanted a better coating so they called EXAIR.

30″ 316 Stainless Steel Super Air Knife removing surplus glaze from doughnuts

The solution, a 30″ 316 Stainless Steel Super Air Knife to mount over the conveyor and blow down the surplus glazing into the catch pan for recirculation.  The variability in force from a gentle breeze up to a forceful, glaze stripping blast, was exactly what the baker ordered.  This setup has been in practice for months now and nothing but positive results have been tasted, I mean seen.

If you would like to discuss any point of use compressed air application, please contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 – One Minute of Donuts with Joey Logano, Pennzoil, Jul 30, 2015 – Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFqjbmsUdIM&feature=emb_logo

2 – Donuts TV -Matthew Butler – retrieved from – https://giphy.com/gifs/animation-sweet-3oKIPCBcZs82sv9nsQ