Tag: compressed air safety

Compressed Air Safety in Industrial Environments: Key Risks and Best Practices

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

Compressed air powers tools, equipment, and cleaning processes in many facilities—but it can also cause serious injuries, damage equipment, and disrupt operations when used improperly. Here is a concise look at the main hazards and the practices that reduce risk.

Common compressed air hazards

  • High-pressure injection and flying debris: Air blasts can propel chips and dust into eyes and skin; air can also enter the body through cuts or openings and cause life-threatening injury.
  • Excessive noise: Blow-off and open pipes can exceed safe sound levels, contributing to permanent hearing loss and making communication harder.
  • Whipping hoses and failed fittings: A loose or damaged hose can detach and strike workers with significant force.
  • Contaminants in the air stream: Oil, water, and particulates can affect product quality, degrade tools, and create health risks in certain applications.

OSHA note: blow-off pressure limits

OSHA Standard 1910.242(b) requires compressed air used for cleaning to be reduced to less than 30 PSI at the nozzle when dead-ended (blocked), and to be used with effective chip guarding and appropriate PPE. Meeting this requirement is a baseline for a safe compressed air program.

Many facilities meet these standards by using engineered nozzles and safety air guns (for example, from EXAIR or similar manufacturers) that limit dead-end pressure, reduce noise, and improve blow-off efficiency.

Best practices checklist

  • Use engineered nozzles/air guns: Replace open pipes and improvised nozzles; choose designs that limit dead-end pressure and reduce noise.
  • Control debris: Use chip guards/shields and direct blow-off away from people and walkways.
  • Manage hoses: Secure connections, route hoses to prevent kinks and trip hazards, inspect routinely, and use whip checks where appropriate.
  • Wear the right PPE: Eye protection is essential; add hearing protection where noise is elevated; use gloves/protective clothing as the task requires.
  • Follow safe procedures: Never point compressed air at anyone or use it to clean clothing; depressurize lines before maintenance; train operators and post clear signage.
  • Maintain the system: Keep filters/dryers/lubricators serviced and repair leaks to improve safety and reduce energy waste.

The Bottom Line

Compressed air is essential—but it is not risk-free. When you pair OSHA-aligned pressure control with engineered tools, hose management, PPE, training, and routine maintenance, you reduce injuries, cut down time, and keep operations running safely.

Neal Raker, Application Engineering Manager
nealraker@exair.com

Accessories to Get the Most Out of Your Safety Air Gun.

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

EXAIR Has a useful selection of Safety Air Guns. Including the VariBlast Precision,  Compact, Soft Grip, Heavy Duty and Super Blast Safety Air Guns, along with the newest addition, the TurboBlast. These blow guns are available with a variety of air nozzles, chip shields and pipe extensions. (Click on the product link above to see a blog about any of the eight types of Safety Air Guns) They are durable, comfortable and ergonomic to use. These Safety Air Guns are designed with durability and comfort in mind while also being ergonomically safe to use. Safe operation is assured along with low air consumption and noise levels. EXAIR Engineered air nozzles are available in Type 316 stainless steel for superior corrosion resistance and mechanical wear, Type 303 stainless steel for corrosion resistance, PEEK thermoplastic for non-marring and chemical resistance or zinc/aluminum alloy for general purpose applications.

Flying Debris? – Chip Shields are durable polycarbonate shields that protect the operator from the risk of flying debris often seen when blowing off chips from machined parts. They are also useful to prevent coolant from splashing back, creating a mess during drying processes.

The Chip Shields are available for EXAIR’s VariBlast, Soft Grip and Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns. The Chip Shield can be used on Safety Air Guns with or without an aluminum extension. They may be purchased as part of a new air gun system, or retrofitted as a Chip Shield Kit.  Consult an Application Engineer for selection assistance.

If you have a blow-off process where the air is to be directed at a distance away from the operator, or into a hard-to-reach location, an extension is the solution. Available in lengths from 6″ (152mm) to 72″ (1829mm), with sizes to meet most requirements can be found. To add an extension to an air gun, simply add -xx to the current part number. EXAIR’s Stay Set Hoses are available from 6”-36” in lengths with ¼ NPT male threads on each end, or a ¼ NPT male on one end and 1/8 NPT female on the other.

Model 1310-12 Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun, With 12″ Extension & 1100 Super Air Nozzle

The Stay Set Hoses are rigid and allow you to maintain precise positioning of the blow off nozzle. The hoses have “memory” and will not creep or bend.

Options from 6″ to 36″

 If you need a 12′ coiled air hose, to use with your Safety Air Gun, we have them available and in stock. Available with 1/8 NPT, 1/4 NPT or 3/8 NPT male end swivel connections. Avoid tangled and messy air lines and keep things neat!

If you have an application and need help deciding which EXAIR Safety Air Gun and/Nozzle you need. Please contact us and ask for an Application Engineer. We are always happy and eager to help.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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

Aluminum Smelting: Cooling the Hot Spots!

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

Aluminum smelting is an important process to change alumina ore into aluminum, a lightweight metal.  This process uses high heat for a period of time to separate the oxygen from the alumina.  The temperature can reach over 1000oF (538oC) to cause this separation.  As a reference, two pounds (0.9 Kg) of alumina ore is needed to make one pound (0.45 Kg) of aluminum.  Inside the ovens and exhaust ducts, they are lined with a cement brick to contain the heat and fumes.  Over time, the brick can get weak and have hot spots.  Once the brick is compromised, the system has to be shut down for days to replace the brick.  This is an expensive process and time-consuming.  To help reduce the hot spots and extend the life of the brick, the smelting company was using ¼” copper tubes to blow compressed air to reduce the heat.  This was costing the company a lot of money to operate; so, they contacted EXAIR for a better solution.     

They may be inefficient, but they sure are loud…

EXAIR has been manufacturing intelligent compressed air products since 1983.  And one thing that we know how to do is to save money on compressed air blow-off applications.  For this company above, they had 90 open pipes throughout their plant.  I was able to do a quick calculation for this customer to compare the copper tube to a Super Air Nozzle.  A ¼” copper tube will use roughly 33 SCFM (935 SLPM) of compressed air at 80 PSIG (5.5 bar).  As a replacement nozzle in a hot area, EXAIR recommended a model 1100SS Super Air Nozzle which will use 14 SCFM (396 SLPM) at 80 PSIG (5.5 bar).  With a simple connection, they could mount the ¼” NPT Super Air Nozzle at the end of each tube.  With the cost to make compressed air at $0.25/1,000 ft3, we can calculate the air savings.    

33 SCFM (copper tube) – 14 SCFM (Model 1100) = 19 SCFM savings

The operation for the smelting plant was 24 hours and 7 days a week.  The amount of savings is as follows:

19 ft3/min * 60 min/hr * 24 hr/day * 7 days/week * $0.25/1,000 ft3 = $47.88 savings per week per nozzle.

Since they have 90 nozzles, this would save them $4,309.20 each week! 

How can we do this?  With cooling capacities, it is dependent on the mass of air that can be moved.  With our Super Air Nozzles, we are near an amplification ratio of 25:1.  This means that for every one part of compressed air, we can entrain 25 parts of ambient air.  Also, with our Super Air Nozzles, we can generate a laminar air flow which has a velocity profile that has the air moving in the same direction.  An open pipe has turbulent flow, which means that the velocity is traveling in different directions and not working together.  And the amplification ratio is very low.  I did a demonstration to illustrate this effect here: Video Blog: Laminar and Turbulent Flows.  The large volume of air creates good cooling without using too much compressed air to reduce the hot spot temperatures.  In keeping the temperature under control, they could continue operations and lessen the concern for untimely shut-downs and costly maintenance.

By using air to cool, you can do it safely and efficiently.  As a benefit, the Super Air Nozzles reduced the noise level as well.  Saving a lot of money; having an effective way to reduce stress on the cement bricks; and reducing the noise nuisance were great replacements for this company.  If you would like to speak about cooling applications, you can contact an Application Engineer; even something as large as a smelting oven.

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

Safety Air Gun Accessories!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

EXAIR Has a nice selection of Safety Air Guns. The VariBlast Precision and Compact, Soft Grip, Heavy Duty and Super Blast Safety Air Guns, and the newest addition, the TurboBlast are available with a variety of air nozzles, chip shields and pipe extensions. (Click on the product link above to see a blog about any of the eight types of Safety Air Guns) They are durable and comfortable and ergonomic to use.These Safety Air Guns are designed with durability and comfort in mind while also ergonomically safe to use. Safe operation is assured along with low air consumption and noise levels. EXAIR Engineered air nozzles are available in Type 316 stainless steel for superior corrosion resistance and mechanical wear, Type 303 stainless steel for corrosion resistance, PEEK thermoplastic for non-marring and chemical resistance or zinc/aluminum alloy for general purpose applications.

Flying Debris? – Chip Shields are durable polycarbonate shields that protect the operator from risk of flying debris often seen when blowing off chips from machined parts. They are also useful to prevent coolant from splashing back, creating a mess during drying processes.

The Chip Shields are available for EXAIR’s VariBlast, Soft Grip and Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns. The Chip Shield can be used on Safety Air Guns with or without an aluminum extension. They may be purchased as part of a new air gun system, or retrofitted as a Chip Shield Kit.  Consult an Application Engineer for selection assistance.

If you have a blow-off process where the air is to be directed at a distance away from the operator, or into a hard-to-reach location, an extension is the solution. Available in lengths from 6″ (152mm) to 72″ (1829mm), with sizes as to meet most requirement can be found. To add an extension to an air gun, simply add -xx to the current part number. EXAIR’s Stay Set Hoses are available from 6”-36” in lengths with ¼ NPT male threads on each end, or a ¼ NPT male on one end and 1/8 NPT female on the other.

Model 1310-12 Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun, With 12″ Extension & 1100 Super Air Nozzle

The Stay Set Hoses are rigid and allow you to maintain precise positioning of the blow off nozzle. The hoses have “memory” and will not creep or bend.

Options from 6″ to 36″

 If you need a 12′ coiled air hose, to use with your Safety Air Gun, we have them available and in stock. Available with 1/8 NPT, 1/4 NPT or 3/8 NPT male end swivel connections. Avoid tangled and messy air lines and keep things neat!

If you have an application and need help deciding which EXAIR Safety Air Gun and/Nozzle you need. Please contact us and ask for any Application Engineer. We are always happy and eager to help.

Jordan Shouse
Application EngineerSend me an email
Find us on the Web 
Like us on Facebook
Twitter: @EXAIR_JS