Utilizing EXAIR Accessories

Accessories

At EXAIR, we take great pride in our Intelligent Compressed Air Products, which are renowned for their efficiency and minimal maintenance requirements, thanks to their design featuring few or no moving parts. While we often highlight these advantages, we also do not want to overlook the importance of the accompanying accessories that enhance our products’ performance. These accessories play a crucial role in ensuring our compressed air solutions maintain their low maintenance and reduced noise levels, further solidifying their compliance with OSHA safety standards.

Compressed air filters and regulators are among the most essential accessories we offer, and we highly recommend their use with all our products, as well as with other brands. The Filter Separator effectively eliminates water, dirt, and rust from your compressed air system, while the 5-micron filter element prevents contaminants from clogging or damaging connected equipment. For more precise and additional filtration, an Oil Removal Filter should be installed downstream of the Filter Separator; it utilizes a 0.03-micron element to remove oil and solid particles. Our Pressure Regulators allow you to set the desired operating pressure, and we advise maintaining the minimum pressure necessary for optimal performance. This not only conserves air but also fine-tunes the efficiency of EXAIR products in various applications.

Good engineering practice calls for point of use filtration and moisture removal, such as that provided by EXAIR Filter Separators.
The Thermostat’s leads (left) are spliced into the Solenoid Valve’s ‘hot’ lead (bottom right), which essentially acts as the automatic temperature controlled ‘on/off’ switch for the Cabinet Cooler System. NEMA 4/4X versions include mounting hardware (top right).

We offer specialized accessories designed to enhance the performance of some of our products. For instance, our Line Vacs are complemented by the Line Vac Hose, while our Cabinet Coolers can be paired with Thermostats and Solenoid Valves. Additionally, we recommend Mufflers for optimal use with our Vortex Tubes. When it comes to our Air Knives, we provide several excellent options. The Universal Air Knife Mounting System offers a straightforward and dependable solution for mounting. For applications requiring longer knives or independent control of airflow sections, our Coupling Bracket Kits are ideal. Lastly, our Air Knife Plumbing Kits simplify the plumbing process for Air Knives exceeding 24 inches in length.

For those looking to connect Intelligent Compressed Air Products, we offer a range of compressed air hoses and fittings designed to enhance the convenience of installation. Coiled Hoses are an excellent match for our Safety Air Guns, providing greater mobility during operation. Additionally, our Compressed Air Hoses are frequently utilized with our Industrial Housekeeping products, ensuring that both the drum and dolly have the necessary reach for effective use.

Model 9256 6″ Stay Set Hose

If you are looking for an effective solution to mount or position your Air Nozzles, consider our Magnetic Bases, Stay Set Hoses, and Swivel Fittings, which can be combined to create a comprehensive setup.

If you have questions about our accessories, or anything regarding EXAIR and our products, please do not hesitate to reach out.

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

EXAIR Announces Brand Refresh and Commitment to Service and Innovation

EXAIR, a leader in engineering solutions, today announced the launch of a new brand identity as it enters its next chapter of growth. With this fresh approach, EXAIR has a clear perspective and a focus on what’s ahead. The commitment to forward momentum is backed by years of serving this industry and the promise to continue providing the best compressed air solutions on the market. The new look reflects the same innovation and attention to detail that have defined our approach to engineering and product design since our inception.

For 43 years, EXAIR has built its reputation on engineering excellence, product reliability, and long-term customer partnerships. The new identity reflects the company’s continued investment in innovation and forward-looking strategy, while reinforcing our foundation.

That commitment remains unchanged. The logo is new. EXAIR standards are not. The refreshed brand signals continued growth, expanded capabilities, and a long-term commitment to serving industrial customers with the same quality and responsiveness that built the company’s legacy.

            From Kirk Edwards, President of EXAIR: “I, for one, have been staring at the current EXAIR logo for 26 years – it represents where we came from and the hard work it took to get here. We have gained a lot of trust through performance, reliability, and our customer relationships under that logo. That trust earned will remain because it is, after all, the result of our people, customers, and commitment to doing things the right way. This brand refresh represents our strong and successful past while embracing new customer demands, emerging markets, and changing industries.”

The refreshed brand identity aligns with EXAIR’s forward trajectory and commitment to engineering solutions that deliver measurable outcomes. Customers and partners can expect the same approachable expertise and dependable support that have defined EXAIR’s reputation, now paired with a visual and messaging framework that reflects momentum and innovation. EXAIR will begin implementing the new identity across digital platforms, marketing materials, and product packaging in the coming months and will debut the branding publicly at the upcoming Grainger Trade Show. For more information, visitEXAIR.com or contact the applications engineering team for support and product guidance.

Care and Feeding Of Your Reversible Drum Vac

EXAIR’s Reversible Drum Vac couldn’t be easier to operate. Thread it in to the 3/4 NPT vent connection on your drum lid, install the Standpipe & Hose on the 2 NPT bung, hook up a compressed air line to it, and you’re in business. As long as your compressed air is clean & moisture free, your Reversible Drum Vac will run like new for a long, long time.

Should you start to see a decrease in performance, though, the first thing you’ll want to do is verify the compressed air supply, especially if something’s changed:

  • Did you get a new hose? The Reversible Drum Vac uses 19 SCFM @80psig for rated performance. That’ll require a 3/8″ ID hose, assuming a length of no more than about 20ft.
  • Are there any restrictions in the line? The usual suspects are clogged filters, partially closed valves, or push-to-connect quick-connect fittings.
  • Are there any vacuum leaks in the hose, its cuffs, the drum, or either threaded connection? If the lid’s removable, is that gasket intact?
Pro tip: a pressure gauge, right at the inlet, will give you instant indication of an air supply issue with your RDV (or any compressed air-operated product.)

If you’ve eliminated all of those potential problems, it’s time to take a look at the Reversible Drum Vac itself. The Reversible Drum Vac has tight internal passages that contamination from even the cleanest compressed air systems can build up in, over time. Good news is, we made it super easy to disassemble & clean, and better news: this almost always restores it to as-new performance. We even have a video that walks you through it:

You may be surprised not at how much, but how little contamination you find inside the Reversible Drum Vac. We offer factory refurbishment service for them as well…the procedure in the video is step-by-step what that service consists of, except we also replace the Shim, O-Rings, & Float, and when we reassemble it, we verify performance on the same fixture that every single new Reversible Drum Vac that we build gets tested on. Recently, a customer sent a Reversible Drum Vac in for refurbishment services after we’d spent some time talking on the phone, exchanging emails, and even a brief Engineering Consultation web meeting, troubleshooting their loss of vacuum. I was particularly curious about this one, so when it came in, I tested it (on our calibrated test fixture) for performance, and found it was only generating about 22% of rated vacuum, and only 17% of rated flow. I figured it was clogged (with a capital CLOGGED) so I match marked the body & plug (just like we show in the video) and took it apart:

I was frankly surprised at how little contamination (which appeared to be rust from the customer’s compressed air piping system) caused such a dramatic loss of vacuum.

We then completed the Refurbishment Service and tested it again. Performance was verified to be within specification for a new High Lift Reversible Drum Vac.

I offer to share the Cleaning & Refurbishing video with just about anyone who calls to discuss performance (or lack thereof) of their Reversible Drum Vac. Some still want to send theirs in for Refurbishment Service, and that’s fine. If you have a Reversible Drum Vac that’s not working properly, I’m here to help you get the most out of our products — any of them — give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

UL Classified Explained

A UL Classified mark from UL Solutions signifies that a product has undergone testing for specific hazards or performance criteria under controlled conditions, rather than having completed a thorough and comprehensive safety evaluation. This classification is particularly relevant for industrial equipment, construction materials, and products designed to withstand fire, such as fire-resistant doors. It is important to understand that while a UL Classified mark indicates a level of safety and performance, it does not equate to a full UL Listing, which involves more extensive testing and evaluation processes. Therefore, products bearing the UL Classified mark should be viewed as having met certain safety standards, but users should remain aware of the limitations of this certification in terms of overall safety assurance.

Key Aspects of UL Classified Products

  • Targeted Evaluation — Targeted evaluation focuses on assessing specific characteristics, such as fire resistance, toxicity, and impact resistance, rather than adhering to comprehensive safety standards. This approach allows for a more precise understanding of a material’s performance in critical areas, ensuring that essential safety aspects are thoroughly examined.
  • Specific Usage — These products are designed for particular environments or applications, including hazardous areas, explosive settings, or specialized construction projects.
  • Distinction from Listed – Classified products differ from UL Listed products in that they are not subjected to the same rigorous safety evaluations. While UL Listed items are assessed for comprehensive safety standards, Classified products only comply with a subset of these requirements.
  • Labeling — Labeling typically features a statement that clarifies the limited scope of the evaluation, such as indicating that it is “Classified with respect to” a particular property. It is essential to adhere to the specified language when crafting responses and to consider any relevant modifiers without explicitly mentioning them.

Many of our products are UL Listed or UL Recognized; however, the Hazardous Location Cabinet Cooler Systems undergo additional evaluation to confirm their safety when utilized correctly in classified environments. UL Classified provides various levels of certification. These cooler systems are specifically engineered for use with purged and pressurized systems in designated hazardous locations.

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

If you have questions about our UL classification, or anything regarding EXAIR and our products, please do not hesitate to reach out.

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