Tag: Mini Cooler

EXAIR Mini Cooler Is Ideal For Small Spot Cooling Applications

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

It was 23 °F (minus 5 °C) when I walked out the door this morning, and it was a shock to my system. The primary reason for that shock was the heat (generated from my house’s furnace) that maintains a comfortable temperature inside my home. Relief from that cold came when the internal combustion of gasoline that powers my car’s engine provided heat to the coils that the cabin fan passes air through on its way to the vents that maintain a comfortable temperature inside my car. Heat is a good thing this time of the year.

Heat, however, isn’t always a good thing. Just a few short months ago, I walked out of the building here at quitting time and the 100 °F (37.8 °C) temperature similarly shocked my system. The reason for that was I had just walked out of a comfortably air-conditioned building…and relief came when my car’s trusty air conditioning system started blowing refrigerated air from the same vents that heated air comes out of during these winter months.

Heat from processes like machining, welding, soldering, brazing, electrical losses, rotating or reciprocating equipment, etc., causes problems as well, and it’s not simply a matter of comfort. Removing heat from these processes is critical to sustained operation. Sometimes, a great amount of heat has to be removed. Power plants that generate electricity, for example, have massive pumps that send thousands of gallons of water per minute through huge heat exchangers that condense steam from turbines so that it can be boiled again to keep those turbines spinning.

On the other end of that spectrum are equipment like industrial sewing needles, lens grinders, skitters or small cutting tools, and soldering guns, just to name a few. These can all be successfully addressed with a focused stream of cold air…just like you get from an EXAIR Mini Cooler.

EXAIR Model 3308 Mini Cooler System w/ Dual Point Hose Kit is used to remove heat from this UHMW Polyethylene part, and the cutting tool. This not only keeps the plastic from melting, but also extends the tool life.

The Mini Cooler uses the Vortex Tube phenomenon to generate cold air from compressed air, with no moving parts, on demand. Since it’s a physical phenomenon, as opposed to a direct transfer of heat, the Mini Cooler is generating cold air at rated flow & temperature as soon as you open the supply of compressed air to it. You can turn it on & off as often, or as seldom, as needed. There are no moving parts to wear or electrical components to burn out. With a compressed air consumption of only 8 SCFM @100psig, even fairly small compressors (as low as 3HP for some) can operate a Mini Cooler continuously.

If an application requires a higher rate of cooling, other Vortex Tube operated products are available from stock:

If you’re not sure which Cooling Product fits your needs, EXAIR Application Engineers are standing by to help specify the right one for you…give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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EXAIR Mini Cooler™: Overview 

Published on by John BallLeave a comment
EXAIR Mini Coolers

EXAIR offers a line of spot cooling devices to blow cold air to remove heat.  Heat can cause premature failures and shortened tool life.  We use the Vortex Tube phenomenon to make very cold air without any moving parts or Freon.  They only need compressed air as the “engine” to spin the air streams into two parts; hot air and cold air.  They are maintenance free and can supply cold air down to a temperature of -50oF (-46oC).  EXAIR “dresses up” a Vortex Tube to make a more functional device for spot cooling.  In this blog, I will cover the smallest of our spot coolers; the Mini Cooler™.   

The EXAIR Mini Cooler was designed for tight areas to cool small objects.  It has a cooling capacity of 550 BTU/hr (139Kcal/hr).  It only uses 8 SCFM (227 SLPM) at 100 PSIG (6.9 bar).  The system will come with a manual drain Filter Separator with mounting bracket, a Swivel Magnetic Base with 100 lb. (45.5Kg) pull magnet, and a flexible hose kit.  We offer two options for the flexible hose kit; a Single Point Hose Kit, model 3808, and a Dual Point Hose Kit, model 3308.  The Single Point Hose Kit will give you one flexible outlet to easily position the cold air stream near the target point.  It will also include a round point tip and a flat-fan tip.  The Dual Point Hose Kit adds a split to have two separate cold outlets; still including the round and flat-fan tips.  With these features, the Mini Cooler is easy to mount, use, and move for optimal cooling and blowing. 

Model 3308

When using the Mini Cooler, the flexible cold outlets can easily bend around fixtures, spindles, and welding horns.  The swivel magnetic base gives extra adjustment at the base of the cooler to aid in “hard to reach” places.   To further the benefits of the cooler, the operating pressure can be changed to lower or raise the cooling capacity to meet your demands.  At 100 PSIG (6.9 bar), the cold air flow can reach a temperature as low as 20oF (-7oC).

Some applications for the Mini Cooler would include small diameter milling and drilling where the cold air can keep the tool cool and remove the chips.  It can also be used for soldering, industrial sewing, ultrasonic welding, or even small punching applications to list a few.  With the dual point hose kit, it is ideal for targeting two sides of a cutter, aiming at multiple blades where material is being slit, or cooling multiple ultrasonic points for faster cycle times.

If you believe that you have an application where spot cooling could increase production rates and/or extend tool life, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.  We can offer the Mini Cooler for smaller targets; or, larger versions like the Adjustable Spot Cooler and Cold Gun Aircoolant System™.  We are looking forward to hearing from you.

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

Have A Blast (Of Cold Air) With EXAIR Vortex Tubes & Spot Cooling Products

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The operation of a Vortex Tube is one of the more peculiar phenomena in fluidics, and a particularly unique method of producing cold air. Since they don’t perform “heat transfer” in the classical sense (see below), there’s no RATE of heat transfer…they’re generating cold air, at rated flow and temperature, instantly.

Compressed air enters the Vortex Tube (blue arrow) where the Generator imparts a spinning motion to the flow, which continues towards the “hot end” (red ribbon). The flow is forced to change directions and continue spinning, flowing in the opposite direction (blue ribbon). It’s at this point that the flow gives up energy in the form of heat, which is exhausted through the Hot Valve (red arrows) while the cold flow makes its way to the opposite end, where it exits at temperatures up to 129F colder than the compressed air supply.

EXAIR Corporation’s Vortex Tubes come in a range of sizes & cooling capacities, and are integrated into a number of Spot Cooler Products which add convenience and flexibility to their operation. Consider:

  • Vortex Tubes themselves are perfect for the most basic of installations. Small and Medium models weigh only a few ounces; you can thread them directly onto an existing 1/8 NPT (Small) or 1/4 NPT (Medium) fitting, if you have one (or can get one) adjacent to where you want to blow the cold air. Hot and Cold Mufflers can be added for sound attenuation, and the Cold Caps have 1/4 NPT (Small) or 3/8 NPT (Medium) female threads if you want to use a short pipe or hose to direct the cold flow.
  • Most spot cooling applications are best handled with the higher air flows and moderate temperature drops associated with a Vortex Tube product set to a high cold fraction. We have three distinct products that have a pre-set, non-adjustable cold fraction, aimed at these situations:
    • Mini Cooler Systems are quiet, compact, and ready to install in minutes via a Swivel Magnetic Base. They’re ideal for cooling small tools, needles in industrial sewing machines, saw blades, or lens grinders, just to name a few of the more popular applications. These come with built-in hot muffler, and are available with a Single or Dual Outlet Cold Air Hose Kit.
    • For applications that call for a higher cooling capacity, we offer the Cold Gun Aircoolant Systems. These have a bar magnet built in to the Cold Gun itself, integral Hot and Cold Mufflers, and, like the Mini Coolers, come with Single or Dual Outlet Cold Air Hose Kits. They’re most popularly specified to replace mist coolant in machine tools, but are also used on routers, grinders, drills, larger saws, and even some non-machining applications like chill rolls and setting hot melt adhesives.
    • For even higher cooling capacities than that, the High Power Cold Gun can be used. Size-wise, it’s identical to the Cold Gun, but it generates twice the Cold Gun’s flow of cold air.
Mini Cooler (left) and Cold Gun (right).

One of the main advantages of using these Vortex Tube products with the pre-set higher cold fractions is the prevention of freeze-up…while the cold air generated is usually just a little below 32F (0C), ambient conditions in the areas where they’re used typically add enough heat to prevent mass freezing of any moisture condensed in the cooling process. A number of applications, however, do indeed call for much colder air flow than this, and for those, we’ve got the Adjustable Spot Cooler:

EXAIR Adjustable Spot Coolers can generate temperatures as low as -30°F (-34°C) instantly, and on demand.

Their versatility makes them a great “utility player” – when very cold air (well below zero) is needed, the Temperature Control Knob is turned counterclockwise. If another application calls for higher flow (like the Mini Coolers or Cold Guns), it can be turned clockwise for instant adjustment of flow and temperature.

Adjustable Spot Cooler Systems are available with Single or Dual Point Cold Air Hose Kits, and come with three Generators: 15 SCFM (installed), 25 SCFM, and 30 SCFM, to select the compressed air consumption, and hence, the overall flow range.

If you’ve got a spot cooling application, EXAIR Corporation has a Vortex Tube solution for you. Give me a call; let’s talk cold air!.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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EXAIR Mini Cooler Overview

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

I recently had a chat conversation with a customer who was looking to cool the tooling on his CNC router, mill and lathe in his small machine shop. As the day went on the tooling would begin to heat up, it would warp the bit, causing irregularities in the finished product. In some cases the tooling was getting so hot, it would actually break, creating a safety concern.

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Model 3925 Adjustable Spot Cooler System has a Dual Outlet Hose Kit for distribution of cold air flow to two points.

He had reviewed some of our cooling products and was thinking of using our Cold Gun in the application but was concerned with the air demand. The Cold Gun consumes 15 SCFM @ 100 PSIG and provides a 50°F temperature drop (from supply temperature) with 1,000 Btu/hr. of cooling capacity. The problem was that his compressor only produces a little over 9 SCFM. I explained that the existing compressor would in fact be undersized as it doesn’t produce enough volume to keep up with the demand of the Cold Gun.

minicoolerWFAM_500
EXAIR Mini cooler with dual and single outlets

Due to the limited amount of compressed air available, our Mini Cooler System, Model #3808, would be the better solution. The Mini Cooler also provides a 50°F temperature drop with a little less cooling power, 550 Btu/hr., but this system only requires 8 SCFM @ 100 PSIG, falling within the existing compressor’s output capacity. The Mini Cooler also includes a magnetic base as well as flexible tubing to direct the cold air to the desired location, making it easy to move from machine to machine.

MiniCoolerLVpr2019_350
EXAIR Mini Cooler with dual Points

For U.S. and Canadian customers, EXAIR offers a 30-day unconditional guarantee to try.

If you want to learn more about the EXAIR Mini Cooler or any cooling product, you can contact an Application Engineer.  We will be happy to help you.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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