Tag: comparison

Want to Know How Much Money you can Save? Use EXAIR’s Efficiency Lab

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Growing up as a kid of the 80’s I remember wanting a Nintendo 64. This was very much a want due to the excellent advertising and having friends that got them when they first came out. So, like many kids of the times, I set forth to present my case to my parents and sell them on the benefits to me receiving this 64 bit wonder of the world. These benefits all revolved around me doing chores and “helping” to earn money to go towards the end goal. Thinking back now, I really should have started to learn more about negotiating earlier in life because my parents and older brother really made out on the deal. The point is, I had to make sure that they saw a return on their investment. Mainly, I would be entertained and they would get some stuff done around the house without complaints.

1 – NUTS For Nintendo special on ABC news 20/20 from 1988

Well, flash forward to today and I still feel as though it is always an easy justification if I have supporting evidence of the benefits and even better, if there is some form of cost savings that will be had by spending money on a project or a tool. Often times the justification is the amount of time spent on a task. Well, here at EXAIR we completely embrace that justification culture and, in many cases, can provide you the information necessary to present to management or budget committee – the simple ROI your company will see when investing in EXAIR products. The best part is, this study is always free.

The way it works is pretty simple, we want to compare your current solution to our engineered products. EXAIR has a simple form that gets filled out (or you can call, e-mail or chat) explaining your application to us. We ask for a few key pieces of detailed information, and for you to send one of your current solutions (the nozzle, homemade device, or open tube for example). Then we run side by side tests in house to determine air consumption, noise, and force at the same pressure you are using at your facility. That’s right, this testing is all done here at EXAIR through our EXAIR Efficiency Lab. We document these performance characteristics and send a report showing a simple return on investment for you if you replace your device with an EXAIR engineered solution.

EXAIR’s Free Efficiency Lab

This information is then easily backed up by our 30 day guarantee on stock products. Get the EXAIR solution in, test it in your facility and see how the savings stack up. If there is anything that doesn’t stack up, you simply let us know and send the units back.

The entire Efficiency Lab and 30 day guarantee are offered to all of our customers that are within the US and Canada. If you would like to discuss what is possible for you and your team, please reach out to an Application Engineer.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 – Hertz, Steve – NUTS FOR NINTENDO special on ABC news 20/20 from 1988, 6/24/2010 – Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt4KG9ib8S4

Which to Choose: Cabinet Coolers Vs. Coolant Driven A/C Units

Published on by codybiehleLeave a comment

From ancient times humans have sought ways to cool themselves down, from the invention of the manual fan in ancient times to the modern A/C systems that are used to cool down entire buildings. Anymore these days there is a cooling system for just about anything; gaming PC’s have there own cooling system, personal fans that mist water for cooling down people, climate-controlled boxes for artifacts in museums, etc. But what about your electrical cabinets in your facility? Electrical cabinets that overheat can cause expensive shut downs and lead to unsafe operations where the doors are left open with fans blowing in. When it comes to electrical cabinets there are two well-known ways that are used to cool down electrical cabinets which are fans and A/C units. But there is a third option you can go with which is EXAIR’s Cabinet Coolers.

EXAIR’s High Temp Cabinet Coolers

Cabinet Coolers are compressed air powered cooling units that utilize a source of compressed air and vortex tubes to cool down enclosed areas. But why would you choose a Cabinet Cooler over an A/C coolant driven system? Each system has pros and cons that can be weighed against each other.

A/C Coolant Driven Systems:
Pros:
Can produce higher cooling loads effectively

Cons:
Expensive up front
Constant maintenance

Cabinet Coolers:
Pros:
Inexpensive upfront cost, lower lifetime cost
No moving Parts / No actual maintenance

Cons:
Smaller range for effective cooling

Even in extremely aggressive environments, EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems provide reliable heat protection for your sensitive electronics and controls.

A/C Units operate in most cases using a chemical known as Dichlorodifluoromethane more commonly referred to as Freon (Freon is a registered trademark of Chemours Co.). By compressing and decompressing the liquid you can cause significant temperature drops in the surrounding air that can be blown into an area. This process requires a lot of moving parts that will eventually wear out and need to be replaced at a cost. Cabinet Coolers don’t have that issue, since they use vortex tubes there are no moving parts to wear out. As long as you provide clean dry air to a Cabinet Cooler the system will run indefinitely. Another thing to keep in mind is that although Dichlorodifluoromethane is a safer version of the older CFC’s , the chemical is not completely safe. Freon can be harmful to the environment as it can breakdown ozone, and due to its its density it will displace oxygen and can cause rapid suffocation.

Cabinet Coolers use compressed air, air which we breath and is all around us. So, no hazards with its energy source.

How the EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System Works

Lastly, although A/C units are cheaper to run they are much more expensive upfront cost and upkeep cost. This means in the long run it is actually cheaper to use a Cabinet Cooler because it does not have any upkeep cost for maintenance and repairs, along with being much cheaper to begin with.

EXAIR’s Cabinet Coolers are currently on promotion – receive a free AC Sensor with the purchase of any Cabinet Cooler.

Take advantage of our promo today!

If you have any questions or want more information on EXAIR’s Cabinet Coolers or like products. Give us a call, we have a team of application engineers ready to answer your questions and recommend a solution for your applications.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

Compressed Air Quality and ISO 8573-1 Purity Classes

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

Airborne particles surround us everywhere.   In a general work environment, nearly four million particles per cubic foot is floating around us at any given time.  When a compressor compresses this air, the concentration increases substantially.  So, compressed air is not only expensive to make, but very dirty.  As the air exits your air compressor and travels into your pneumatic system, there is so much contamination that the International Standard Organization, ISO, created an Air Quality chart with Purity Classes.

ISO8573-1-2010

This chart is easy to follow and can be found in the ISO8573-1 standard for Air Quality.  It is used to select a cleanliness level for your compressed air system.  The contamination is categorized into three areas; Particles, Water, and Oil (reference above).  A Class is associated with a number for each category ranging from 0 (most stringent) to 9 (most relaxed).  As an example, an Air Quality value of ISO8573-1:2010 [1.2.4] has a Class 1 for Particles, Class 2 for Water, and Class 4 for Oil.  These Class values will show the maximum value in each category.

To define the categories in more detail, I will separate the three to discuss the origins and solutions.

  • Particles: For solid particles, this part comes from many different areas.  The surrounding ambient air that is being drawn into the air compressor is filtered; but the intake filter will only remove large diameter particles.  The smaller diameter particles will go through the filter and into the compressed air system.  Another part is rust particles that occur from steel air pipes and receiver tanks.  Over time, rust will flake off and create particles that can affect pneumatic equipment.  Other particles can come from components inside the air compressor, valves, etc., that wear and breakdown.  In the ISO column for Particles, it is separated into three different micron ranges and concentrations.  The removal of particles from the compressed air is done by traps and compressed air filters.  EXAIR offers two types; Filter Separators with 5-micron filtration and Oil Removal Filters with 0.03-micron filtration.  There are other types of filtration systems depending on your ISO requirement.
  • Water:  Humidity is a natural occurrence as water vapor in the surrounding air.  It can be measured as a dew point temperature.  This is the temperature at which water will condense and make rain.  Inside an air compressor, the air is ‘squeezed”, and the amount of space for water vapor is reduced.  So, it will condense into liquid form as “rain” inside the pipes.  Air that comes out from an air compressor will always be saturated with water.  To remove liquid water, a mechanical device can be used.  Inside a Filter Separator, a centrifugal separator will spin the air and remove the liquid water.  To remove water vapor, a compressed air dryer is required like a refrigerant, desiccant, deliquescent, or membrane type.  Each type will have a dew point range that they can reach.  As an example, a refrigerant type will reduce the dew point near 37 oF (3 oC).  That means that water will not condense until the temperature reaches below 37 oF (3 oC).
  • Oil: This category can be found as a liquid, aerosol or vapor, and it includes more than just oil. It contains small hydrocarbons, CO, CO2, SO2, and NOX.  Oil mainly comes from inside an oil-flooded air compressor.  As the air passes through the compressor, it will pick up remnants of oil aerosols and carry it downstream.  With high temperatures inside the air compressor, some of the oil will vaporize.  Even with oil-less type air compressors, carbon vapor can still be an issue.  Small hydrocarbons can come through the air intake and condense inside the system like water vapor above.  To remove the liquid and aerosol type of oil, Oil Removal Filters can be used.  They are designed to “coalesce” the small particles into larger particles for gravity to remove.  Oil vapor requires an activated carbon to remove.  These types of filter units will adsorb the vapor.  This helps to remove odors as well as dangerous chemical vapors that may be in the compressed air line.

There are a variety of pneumatic systems that use the ISO8573-1 standard.  This will include breathing air operations, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and the electronic industries.  If you need stringent requirement for your compressed air system, the Air Quality standard should be used by referring to the Class numbers above.  This helps to dictate the types of filtration and air dryers that should be used within your pneumatic system.  If you have any questions about your compressed air system, an Application Engineer at EXAIR can help.

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

 

ISO 8573-1 Chart by Compressed Air Best Practice.

Video Blog: Which EXAIR Air Knife Is Right For You?

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

The following short video explains the differences between the 3 styles of Air Knives offered by EXAIR – The Super, Standard and Full-Flow. All of these Models are IN STOCK, ready to ship, with orders received by 3:00 PM Eastern.

If you need additional assistance choosing your EXAIR Air Knife, please contact an application engineer at 800-903-9247.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN