Tag: Cooling

How to Best Apply Vortex Tube Cooling

Published on by codybiehleLeave a comment

So, you have found yourself with a little bit of a conundrum. You need to cool a part but don’t know where to start and there are so many different options to choose from. In most cases when it comes to cooling with compressed air there are two different paths you can take. First is using a large volume of air at room temperature to blow across the surface area of the product. The other option is to use cold air from a vortex tube to drop the part’s temperature. In most case a large volume of air can be used to cool things down to relatively cooler temperatures; think cooling a cup of coffee using your breath. The issue you run into is when the temperature of the room air gets closer to the temperature you want to achieve in the end. In other words, when the temperature difference between your cooling air and your desired end temperature is small there is less cooling taking place with that same volume of air.

Mini Spot Cooler cooling down a bit used in milling plastic

This can be explained by looking at the cooling power formula:

Btu/hr = 1.0746*(CFM)*(Delta T)

In this case the Delta T is the difference between the temperature that you want to cool the product down to and the temperature of the air. This means the smaller the delta T is the higher the CFM flow will need to be to counteract the effect of the temperatures are so close to one another. Here are some examples of cooling a product and you are providing 1000 CFM of air to cool it.

Btu/hr = 1.0746*(1000 CFM)*(150F – 130F)

                Btu/hr = 21,492 Btu/hr

Btu/hr = 1.0746*(1000 CFM)*(150F – 100F)

                Btu/hr = 53,730 Btu/hr

As you can see the closer the Delta T is to 0 the less Btu/hr you get. Getting this kind of CFM flow is easy if you use something like EXAIR’s Super Air Knife or Super Air Amplifier. These systems take a small amount of compressed air and entrain the surrounding ambient air to increase the volume to a large blast. Take a look at model number 120022 which is the 2” Super Air Amplifier, this unit can produce 1,023 CFM while only using 15.5 CFM at 80 psig. But when you get close to cooling the temperature down to that room temperature or below it gets much harder; which only means that the temperature of the air being used to cool needs to be dropped. Dropping the air temperature can only be accomplished by using outside means like air coolers or in this case EXAIR’s Vortex Tubes and Spot Coolers.

EXAIR Air Amplifiers use a small amount of compressed air to create a tremendous amount of air flow.

Vortex Tubes and Spot coolers have some limitations. Generally they are not thought of products that produce large volumes of air (even though we make them up to 150 SCFM). And they are best suited for smaller areas of cooling, spot cooling, if you will. However, EXAIR Vortex Tubes do have one key feature that can help compensate for the lack of volume. LOW TEMPERATURE! The vortex tube can produce temperatures lower than 0F while stile retaining a good portion of air volume from the inlet.

Sub-zero air flow with no moving parts. 3400 Series Vortex Tubes from EXAIR.

For example, let’s look at model number 3240 running at 100 psig with 70% of the air from the inlet exiting the cold side (aka 70% cold fraction). At 100 psig the 3240 will use 40 SCFM at the air inlet and will have a temperature drop of 71F. If the compressed air has a temperature of 70F that means you will be seeing a temperature of -1F. Also, when using the 70% cold fraction you will see 28 SCFM of cold air flow. Now let’s plug those numbers into the cooling power formula.

 Btu/hr = 1.0746*(28 CFM)*(150F + 1F)

                Btu/hr = 4543 Btu/hr

As you can see, using a small amount of compressed air you can still net you a good amount of cooling if the temperature is lower. All in all, the best option for cooling products down to temperatures that are above ambient temperatures is something that can produce a large volume of air. For small areas that require cooling the product down to temperatures to ambient temperature and below, use EXAIR’s Vortex Tube.

If you have questions about our Air Amplifiers and Vortex Tubes, or would like to talk about any of the quiet EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR or any Application Engineer.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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EXAIR Cold Gun, Different Application, Problem Solved!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Recently I was working with a customer on sizing a EXAIR Cabinet Cooler when I found out they would be best suited by another EXAIR product! They wanted to cool some analyzer panel fins (heat sinks) while keeping dust off of them. This application said Cold Gun all the way!

I recommended our Model # 5315 Cold Gun Aircoolant System with two cold outlets. The Cold Gun produces a 50°F temperature drop from compressed air supply temperature and provides 1,000 Btu/hr. of cooling capacity. For example, if your compressed air supply temperature is 70°F you would effectively see 20°F air being discharged from the cold exhaust. The Dual Point Hose Kit splits the cold airflow into 2 separate streams, providing for a wider coverage area.

5315_SCGdual
Model # 5315 Cold Gun System with dual point hose kit

The customer decided to order a single unit and after a week of testing replied back…

“We tried one a week ago with excellent results! We are installing three more today. 

Thank you so much for your help! Our analyzer is running 31°F cooler than it had been with no more overtemp failures!”

It goes without mentioning, but this is the type of positive feedback we are thrilled to hear! It feels incredible when a customer takes time out of their busy schedule to acknowledge how EXAIR products provided the perfect solution for their needs!

BUT the story doesn’t end there… just last week, over 2 months since our last correspondence, the customer sent me another email that read…

“Just a follow up on the effectiveness of the cold air guns. We have not experienced a single failure of our TOC analyzers since the guns were installed two months ago.

The cold air solved the problem of our analyzer overheating — even during the hottest part of the summer.

Thank you for your excellent recommendation!”

I let the customer know how much we appreciated the awesome news and how happy we were to be able to solve their problem. At the end of the day, that’s what we strive for, to provide the best and largest selection of Intelligent Compressed Air Products on the market today.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Hazardous Location AND Overheating Electronics? We Have You Covered!

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Here in Ohio, we like to think we know a lot about the weather. Did you know there are more than 4 seasons? Heck, we have at least two Winters, and then a Pre-Summer, Spring, Summer, Heat is still coming – make it stop season, and Fall. Don’t forget the construction season where the lovely orange cones and barrels bloom on every major roadway, and then we also like to throw in brood weeks for the cicadas every now and then. Yeah, we get a full gambit of weather and the past week has brought out some heat. I know this isn’t just Ohio, we get calls from around the globe of atmospheric conditions that have caused issues within control panels. Some of these panels are in areas where the No Smoking sign is more than just a suggestion to better your health.

1 – Dust Explosion

That’s right, there are areas in manufacturing facilities that are governed by the standard due to a variety of conditions resulting in what is known as Hazardous Locations. NFPA and UL have a list of standards breaking these down into separate Classes, Divisions, and Temperature Classes. If you want all the details, the NFPA code is around 908 pages, cover to cover. The Classified UL mark shown below is one way of knowing that a product has been tested to these stringent standards and is okay to use in clearly marked environments.

UL Classified Markings

EXAIR offers Cabinet Cooler Systems that will meet these stringent standards and keep your enclosures cool in order to keep your production up and running. The top three tiers that we meet are:

  • Class I Div 1, Groups A, B, C and D
  • Class II Div 1, Groups E, F and G
  • Class III

The HazLoc Cabinet Cooler Systems are available in 8 different cooling capacities from 1,000 Btu/hr to 5,600 Btu/hr. and are manufactured to work in conjunction with a purged and pressurized control system. As well as with or without thermostatic control.

EXAIR’s Hazarous Location Cabinet Cooler Systems maintain Type NEMA 4/4X Integrity and are CE Compliant.

If you would like help sizing the correct system for your electrical panels, feel free to use the link, or contact an Application Engineer to discuss the applications and get one sized while on the phone with us.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS
National Business Development Manager

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 – Dust explosion 05.jpg, Hans-Peter Scholz, October 7, 2009, retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dust_explosion_05.jpg

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
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