Tag: industrial safety air guns

Safety Air Guns – Using Engineered Air Nozzles For High Performance

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Inexpensive air guns can be picked up just about anywhere, and you generally get what you pay for. Most will be very noisy and waste lots of compressed air.  And many will be unsafe, violating two of OSHA’s standards put in place to protect worker safety. The first is Standard 29 CFR 1910.95(a) which sets limits to the maximum noise exposure, and the second is Standard 29 CFR 1910.242(b) which says that the nozzle cannot be dead-ended, or exceed a 30 PSIG pressure limit.

These guns may seem like a perfect fit for a handheld blowoff application. The truth is, the cost saved up front will easily be paid throughout the cost of ownership.  This is due to the lack of an engineered nozzle which meets and exceeds the OSHA standards mentioned above.   The “cheap” guns often have a cross drilled hole to meet or exceed the OSHA standard for dead-end pressure. While this may be true, it causes a large wind sheer which escalates noise levels to well over the allowable noise level exposure set by OSHA.  These tips sometimes offer large force outputs because they are equivalent to an open pipe.  We have publicized numerous times about how an open pipe blow off does not permit pressure to be utilized all the way to the point of blowoff, and is also a waste of energy.

In order to determine how much compressed air your current blow guns utilize, the level of noise they product, and the sound level they produce, consider taking advantage of the EXAIR Efficiency Lab.  The Efficiency Lab is a free service that you can read more about here.

An EXAIR Safety Air Gun is engineered and designed to comply both of the OSHA standards mentioned above, ensuring safe operation for company personnel.  On top of the safety designed into the guns, we also ensure all of our guns are efficient by offering only engineered nozzles on them.

EXAIR offers (4) types of Safety Air Guns – the VariBlast, the Soft Grip, the Heavy Duty, and the Super Blast.  Each type of Safety Air Gun is offered with a plethora of nozzles, as well as varying length extensions, with or without the Chip Shield.

Safety Air Guns
The VariBlast, Soft Grip and Heavy Duty Style of Pistol Grip Safety Air Guns
Super Blast
The Super Blast Style of Safety Air Gun

 

We invite you to try out an EXAIR Safety Air Gun, and get the free 1″ Wide Flat Super Air Nozzle as a bonus. Click here for more details about this special promotional offer.

To discuss your application and how an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product can improve your process, feel free to contact EXAIR, myself, or one of our other Application Engineers. We can help you determine the best solution!

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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EXAIR Safety Air Gun Promotion

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From August 1st to September 30th, 2018, EXAIR will be giving away a 1” Flat Super Air Nozzle with the purchase of any promotional VariBlast, Soft Grip, or Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun.  EXAIR is stressing the importance of safety in the workplace with the EXAIR Safety Air Guns as well as the versatility of the different types of EXAIR Super Air Nozzles.

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This promotional item, the model 1126 1″ Flat Super Air Nozzle, has a patented shim to blow a 1” wide stream of air to clean surfaces quickly and efficiently and is a $45.00 USD value. For more details on the Promotion, click on the photo/link above. For more information about the Flat Super Air Nozzles, click HERE.

Inexpensive air guns can be purchased just about anywhere- online, via catalogs, and through industrial supply companies. Typical quality is less than ideal – broken triggers, leaky valves – a short lifespan in an industrial setting are merely a few of the issues observed.  Most are loud and inefficient – they just blow large amounts of compressed air, and at noise levels that violate OSHA requirements.  Some may even generate dangerous dead end pressure situations that that can result in serious or fatal injuries if blocked.

EXAIR’s Safety Air Guns have been engineered and designed to eliminate these issues. They are durable for use in industrial situations and comfortable to use for extended periods of time.  With an EXAIR engineered air nozzle, each model provides top performance by entraining large volumes of surrounding air into the air-stream. Operation is assured to be safe along with low compressed air consumption and noise levels.  Due to the design, the airflow that exits the nozzle cannot be blocked, as required by OSHA Standard 29 CPR 1910.242(b).

Safety Air Guns
The EXAIR VariBlast, Soft Grip and Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns

The VariBlast style of safety air gun offers variable force based on the range of trigger pull. Force can be varies, form a light breeze, to full force maximum output. This cast aluminum air gun can be fitted with any of the EXAIR 1/8 NPT engineered air nozzles.

The Soft Grip style of safety air gun  has a durable cats aluminum body suited for rugged, industrial use. The ergonomic design has a soft vinyl cover, a large trigger for easy operation, and a hanger hook for easy storage.

The Heavy Duty style of safety air gun is powerful with a durable aluminum cast body and ergonomic composite rubber grip, best suited for rugged industrial environments. Hours of fatigue free operation are possible.

With all of the Safety Air Guns styles, Chip Shields and Extension Pipes are available, from 6″ to 72″ in length.

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Soft Grip Safety Air Gun, with Chip Shield and 12″ Extension

With many nozzle options, from a whisper quiet 58 dBA and 2.5 SCFM of flow up to 60 SCFM and 87 dBA (still below the OSHA 8 hour noise level threshold) there is a model that will fit practically any application. Application Engineers are available by phone, email, and chat to review your specific blow off needs, and help to select the best possible solution available.

We invite to you to try out an EXAIR Safety Air Gun, and get the free 1″ Wide Flat Super Air Nozzle as a bonus.

To discuss your application and how an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product can improve your process, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our other Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_BB

Stay Set Hoses & Magnetic Bases – Precise Positioning for your Blowoff Application!

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

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Once you’ve selected an engineered compressed air nozzle for your blowoff application, you’ll likely need a solution to mount and position it as well. In some applications you may be able to simply replace the old solution with a similar thread, but if the installation is a bit more complex, or if it is a new installation entirely, you’ll need a means to do so. Here’s where EXAIR’s Stay Set Hoses and Magnetic Bases come into play.

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EXAIR’s Stay Set Hoses are available from 6”-36” in length with ¼ NPT male threads on each end, or a ¼ NPT male on one end and 1/8 NPT female on the other. 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. They’re easily repositioned as well, making them an ideal solution for applications that may require moving them around due to varying parts.

Stay Set Hoses can also be installed on any Soft Grip Safety Air Gun. Simply adding a suffix to the end of the any of the Soft Grip Air Gun model numbers will come with the Stay Set Hose installed. For example, the gun below is a Model 1230-36SSH. A Model 1230 Safety Air Gun, with a 36” Stay Set Hose installed. Having a Stay Set Hose on your air gun can allow you to reach into tight or awkward places that a traditional air gun won’t permit.

1230-6SSH
Model 1230-36SSH

In addition to the Stay Set Hoses, EXAIR also has Magnetic Bases available as well. The powerful magnet permits both horizontal and vertical mounting. A manual valve is also included that will allow you to vary the force and flow. Magnetic bases are available with one or two outlets and can be combined with any of our nozzles and Stay Set Hoses to create your own customized blowoff system.

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(2) 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzles w/ Dual Magnetic Base and 12″ Stay Set Hose

No matter the application, EXAIR has a solution for your blowoff. Give an Application Engineer a call today and we’ll help you determine EXACTLY what you’ll need with all parts available from stock!

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

What Is The Difference Between Pressure & Flow In A Compressed Air System?

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There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t receive a call from someone who has a need for a compressed air product and when I state the SCFM requirements of the device they respond back with the psi rating of their air compressor.  Many technicians simply do not understand the difference between the two.  Simply put psi (pounds square inch) is force and CFM (cubic feet per minute) is flow.

A simple illustration would be to contrast a 12 VDC powered air compressor that many people carry in their trunks to inflate car tires.  They will inflate your car tire to 35 psi in a matter of minutes.  While the air compressor at a tire shop can inflate a car tire in a minute or less.  What is the difference?

12 VDC Air Compressor
12 VDC Tire Inflator

 

Simply put, the flow. Both inflate the tire to the desired pressure but the one with largest flow (volume) does it much faster.  In the case of a compressed air product such as an air nozzle, the pressure required to operate is only one part of what is necessary to operate the device effectively, you need to have enough flow or CFM.

Let us now consider an EXAIR 1100 Super Air Nozzle, its rated performance of 13 ounces of force at 12″ distance from the nozzle is derived from supplying 14 SCFM @ 80 psi.  The typical home use air compressor that runs on 110 VAC (Generally 2 HP maximum) will not generate the flow (volume /CFM) at 80 psi to run the nozzle at peak force, just as it would not generate enough flow to fill the tire as quickly as the industrial compressor at a tire shop.

When an open tube, pipe or inefficient nozzle is placed at the end of an air line to provide blow off for cooling or cleaning it demands much greater volume from the compressor. If the compressor cannot keep up the force (pressure) of the system will decline. Replacing an open tube or pipe with an EXAIR engineered nozzle will require less compressed air volume which, in turn, will give the compressor more ability to provide full pressure and force upon your application.

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EXAIR 1100 Super Air Nozzle

If you would like to discuss air consumption of any of EXAIR’s engineered solutions, I would enjoy hearing from you…give me a call.

Steve Harrison
Application Engineer
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12 VDC Tire Inflator Image courtesy of Moto Service Dinamarca