Tag: Commercial air mover

Adjustable Air Amplifiers: Product Overview

Published on by John BallLeave a comment
Adjustable Air Amplifier

EXAIR manufactures two types of Air Amplifiers: Super Air Amplifier™ and Adjustable Air Amplifier™.  The Air Amplifiers can be used to cool, dry, clean, ventilate, exhaust and many other uses.  In this blog, I will focus on the features and benefits of the Adjustable Air Amplifiers.

The main difference between the Super Air Amplifier and the Adjustable Air Amplifier is the fact the Super Air Amplifier has a shim inside of it that sets the gap for the air flow.  Force and flow for the Adjustable Air Amplifier is changed by turning the exhaust plug with a pin wrench.  This will open or close the gap inside, changing the amount of vacuum and air flow.  When the desired performance has been found, we have a knurled lock ring to hold the flow at the desired level. This is great for changing environments where needs are regulated to different conditions.

The Adjustable Air Amplifiers come in either 303 Stainless Steel or Aluminum and are sized from ¾” to 4”.  We offer them in a kit which will add a filter separator and a pressure regulator to the mix.  The filter will clean the compressed air, and the regulator will control the amount of pressure to enable you to “dial it in”, so to say.  We also have a deluxe kit which will add another item, Electronic Flow Control, or EFC.  This unit has a photo-electric eye to control a timing circuit to turn on and off the Adjustable Air Amplifier.  This helps to save on compressed air usage. 

The maximum temperature rating for the Aluminum Adjustable Air Amplifier is 275oF (135oC) while the stainless-steel version is rated up to a maximum of 400oF (204oC).  The stainless steel version is also used for chemical resistance and food applications. 

They do not have any moving parts, so they will last a long time and require no maintenance. Since they do not employ a motor, they create a laminar airstream which makes them effective and quiet.  They use a Coanda profile to generate a low pressure on one side to entrain a large volume of ambient air along with the primary, compressed air flow.  The Air Amplifiers amplify the exhaust air up to 24:1, making them very efficient for the compressed air used to create the output flow.  They are designed to have hoses attached to the discharge or suction side if you wish to move the air to or from another location. 

EXAIR has many uses worldwide where our Air Amplifiers are being used.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss your application, you can contact the Application Engineers at EXAIR.  We would be happy to help. 

John Ball                                                                                     

Application Engineer

Email: johnball@exair.com

Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Boosting Ventilation With Air Amplifiers

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Entering a confined space comes with a number of risks:

  • Physical hazards: mechanical equipment, falling objects, structural collapse, etc. Historically, these account for about 20% of fatalities associated with confined space entry.
  • Engulfment hazards: that’s a less horrific way to say “buried alive.” These are similar to some physical hazards, except the danger is from asphyxiation instead of being crushed. A prime example of this would be a farmworker falling into a grain silo in such a way that their head is submerged in the volume of grain. About 11% of confined space entry fatalities involve engulfment accidents. EXAIR Line Vacs are actually used in emergency responses to these.
  • Atmospheric hazards: Without adequate ventilation, carbon dioxide can build up, displacing the oxygen that workers need to breathe. Toxic and flammable gases are in this category as well, and whether workers are asphyxiated or poisoned, failure to provide a safe atmosphere accounts for almost 60% of confined space entry deaths.

Before workers enter a confined space, permits are oftentimes required. Atmospheric monitoring and ventilation are key aspects of such permits: Monitoring to ensure an adequate level of oxygen and the reduction of toxic & flammable gases to safe exposure limits, and ventilation to make sure that happens. It’s generally recommended to have ventilation/exhaust equipment capable of providing 20 air changes per hour.

EXAIR Air Amplifiers are an easy & reliable choice for providing the required ventilation. With no moving parts to break or electrical components to fail, all they need is a supply of compressed air. So, how do we choose the right one? Since we know we need 20 air changes an hour, the first step is to determine the volume of the space. Let’s say we need to enter a 10ft x 6ft x 6ft tank:

  • 10ft x 10ft x 12ft = 1,200 cubic feet
  • 1,200 cubic feet of air X 20 changes per hour = 24,000 cubic feet of air to change per hour
  • 24,000 cubic feet/hour ÷ 60 minutes/hour = 400 cubic feet per minute

In this case, we could specify a Model 6042 2″ Aluminum Adjustable Air Amplifier, which uses just 21.5 SCFM @80psig to generate a total developed flow of 430 SCFM (see table above). Minus the 21.5 SCFM of compressed air flow, that means it’s drawing 408.5 SCFM in from the tank.

If additional airflow is required, the ring gap of the Adjustable Air Amplifier can be easily increased by threading the plug out of the body until the needed flow is achieved. A Pressure Regulator can also be used to ‘fine tune’ the compressed air supply, and hence, the ventilation flow.

EXAIR Air Amplifiers are a simple, low-cost way to move air, smoke, fumes, and even light materials. If you’d like to find out more, or if you have a potential application to discuss, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Let’s Build A Blowoff System!

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

EXAIR makes a wide variety of Intelligent Compressed Air Products that can be used for blowoff applications. The first step is to consider what size, and shape, the airflow pattern needs to be. If it’s a smooth, flat surface, our Air Knives are ideal for that. If a more directed, focused stream of air is required, we have Air Nozzles, Air Jets, and Air Amplifiers. And if it’s for statically charged debris, we can put Ionizers on Air Knives (Super Ion Air Knives), Air Nozzles (Intellistat Ion Air Nozzles), Air Jets (Gen4 Ion Air Jets) and Air Amplifiers (Gen4 Ion Air Cannons.)

If you navigate the EXAIR website to our Blowoff Kits, you’ll see that we can provide a number of our quiet, safe, and efficient Air Nozzles with Magnetic Bases and/or Stay Set Hoses for a quick & easy Blowoff System. In addition to the half dozen or so systems that are specifically called out, you can also put together your own setup that best suits your application. Here’s how:

Example: Model 1100-9412 is two Super Air Nozzles on a Dual Outlet Magnetic Base with 12″ Stay Set Hoses.

If you’d like to discuss a blowoff application – regardless of size or shape – give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Venturi Effect in Use

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment

The Venturi effect describes the phenomenon where a fluid, such as air or water, accelerates as it passes through a constricted section, resulting in a decrease in pressure. This occurs because the fluid is drawn into the narrower area, and the increase in velocity leads to a corresponding drop in pressure. The effect is named after Giovanni Battista Venturi, who first articulated this principle in 1797.

A perfect example of the Venturi Effect can be found in our Air Amplifiers. Compressed air enters through the air inlet and flows into an annular chamber, where it is accelerated through a small ring nozzle. This high-velocity primary airstream follows the Coanda effect, guiding it toward the outlet. As a result, a low-pressure zone forms at the center, drawing in a significant volume of surrounding air into the primary flow. The mixture of the primary airstream and the surrounding air is then expelled from the Air Amplifier at a high volume and velocity.

The Venturi Effect is represented in amplification ratios. A ratio represents the relationship between two quantities, indicating how many times one value is contained within another. In the case of the Super Air Knife, this ratio illustrates the volume of ambient air that is drawn in alongside the primary flow of compressed air. With an impressive amplification ratio of 40:1, the Super Air Knife incorporates 40 parts of ambient air for every single part of compressed air, making it one of the most efficient air-operated knives available. This addition of mass enhances the device’s ability to deliver a powerful force, enabling it to perform more effectively in various applications.

The Venturi effect is integral to various EXAIR products designed for cooling, drying, and cleaning, alongside our vacuum generators. If your facility has a process that could benefit from an Intelligent Compressed Air solution, please reach out to us. We would be pleased to discuss your specific application and develop a solution that not only lowers your compressed air expenses but also enhances worker safety.

Jason Kirby
Application Engineer
Email: jasonkirby@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jk