EXAIR‘s line of Industrial Housekeeping Products consist of liquid and dry vacuums that utilize compressed air to operate. They do not have electric motors which most ‘all purpose’ vacuums rely on. In industrial settings with harsh conditions and rugged use, EXAIR’s Industrial Housekeeping Products are ideally suited for the everyday wear and tear.
Reversible Drum Vac with spill recovery kit!EXAIR liquid type vacuums, like the Reversible Drum Vac, the High Lift Reversible Drum Vac, and the Chip Trappers are reliable, versatile and easy to use. Installing onto an any closed head, 30, 55, or 110 gallon drum creates a high powered vacuum. It can fill a 55 gallon drum in less than 2 minutes. Then, with the turn of a knob, the the same pump quickly empties the drum. Useful for refilling coolant sumps, vacuuming floor spills, or transferring contaminated liquids to filtration tanks in minutes. Flow rate can be controlled with the knob.
EXAIR Reversible Drum VacsThe Chip Trapper has an internal filtration system to separate the chips from the coolant, allowing for disposal of the solids, and for pumping of the clean coolant back into the sump.
EXAIR Chip TrapperWhen you look at the vacuums, you’ll notice there is not an electrical cord. Because the EXAIR Industrial Housekeeping Products utilize compressed air for operation, they do not have the same issues with wear, breakdown and failures as electrical type vacuums. There are no moving parts in the vacuum units to wear out or break. They are maintenance free, just supply clean, dry air, and they will operate for a long time. For the the liquid type systems, there is a built in pressure/vacuum relief device and auto safety shut-off to prevent overfilling.
There are no motors and bearings to wear out and no impellers to clog. The Chip Vac is 50% quieter than a comparable electric vacuum. Safety is a top priority, and the use of the unit on wet floors and spills is not an issue when electricity is not involved.
If you would like to talk about Industrial Housekeeping products or any of the EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.
Are you tired of not being able to pick up your heavier material with your current vacuum? Is your material abrasive, does it have a high bulk density? Are you tired of your electric vacuum constantly burning up its motor? EXAIR’s Heavy Duty Dry Vac system is engineered with the power to vacuum heavy materials, materials with high bulk densities. It’s material resists abrasion from the harshest of debris, like garnet, glass, tumbling media and steel shot. This system has no moving parts which means no motors or bearings that can fail on you.
The Heavy Duty Dry Vac requires only 68 SCFM at 80 psig of compressed air to operate. Using a hardened alloy construction for the vacuum generator gives the system an increased resistance to abrasive material including sand and blasting material. Depending on your application and the volume of material you need to vacuum we provide 3 different sizes, 30-gal, 55-gal, and 110-gal.
Heavy Duty Dry Vac in operation
The design of the Heavy Duty Dry Vac allows the system to be mounted on your own drum and has a 0.1-micron filter bag installed on the center of the drum to allow air to escape and keep the material inside the drum. The enlarged size of the filter bag allows it to last longer before needing to be cleaned and/or changed out. Under the lid EXAIR has design features to aid in lowering the sound level down to only 82 dBA.
The Heavy Duty Dry Vac system comes in three different kits; these kits are the Standard, Deluxe, and Premium systems. The basic kit come with the Vacuum generator, the lid, and a lock ring to seal the lid onto your drum. The kit also includes the filter bag, 10’ Static resistant hose, and the aluminum chip wand. The basic system is everything that you need to get started with your own drum.
The Deluxe system Includes everything that the basic Heavy Duty Dry Vac system comes with but adds a few items: A magnetic tool holder, a 2-piece double bend wand, 12” floor tool, 11” crevice tool, 24” crevice tool, a skimmer tool with a detachable brush, and a 3-1/2” diameter bust brush with conductive bristles. All of the tools that come in the Deluxe system are of Aluminum construction. This system also adds the drum dolly to make it easier for you to move the system around.
If you do not have your own drum the Premium system includes everything Deluxe system does except adds a drum. Each Drum vac system comes in one of the 3 sizes listed.
For more information on EXAIR’s Heavy Duty Drum Vacs or any EXAIR‘s Intelligent Compressed Air® Product lines, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or any of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.
Cody Biehle Application Engineer EXAIR Corporation Visit us on the Web Follow me on Twitter Like us on Facebook
This blog will focus on the EXAIR Chip Vac, but the troubleshooting process and steps for achieving optimal performance are consistent among EXAIR’s entire line of air operated industrial vacuums.
There’s really not that much that CAN go wrong with an EXAIR Chip Vac System. They have no moving parts to wear or electrical components to burn out. As long as they’re supplied with clean air, they’ll run darn near indefinitely, maintenance free.
Murphy’s Law, of course, is still in full force, so if something CAN go wrong, it WILL go wrong. The Chip Vac is, alas, no exception. Good news is, because of the Chip Vac‘s simplicity, troubleshooting is simple as well. The most common problems we see with ANY of our engineered compressed air products (not just the Industrial Vacuums) are related to compressed air supply:
New users might not consider the air demand required by a new product, and may provide an inadequate supply line. The Chip Vac, for example, will consume 40 SCFM @80psig for rated operation, and will need a 1/2″ (inside diameter) hose to supply that, assuming a length of no more than 20ft. Hooking one up to a common 3/8″ hose on a 50ft reel, for example, will “starve” the Chip Vac, resulting in degraded performance.
Also, the preferred method of connection is a hose with threaded fittings on the ends. A local hydraulics/pneumatics shop can likely make these, while you wait. Push-to-connect quick connect fittings are restrictive by nature, and should be avoided. Quarter turn claw-type fittings are great…the main drawback (which can be solved with an upstream shutoff valve) is the line has to be depressurized to make or break the connection.
If you absolutely want to use a push-to-connect type, you can oversize it (use one made for larger hose with, say, 3/4 NPT fittings) and use bushing/adapters to get to your actual hose size.
If you must use quick connects, the 1/4 turn claw type (left) is the least restrictive. Push-to-connects (center) are likely to starve your product, unless you oversize them (right) like we do in our Efficiency Lab.
Speaking of supply issues, make sure nobody’s bumped into a valve handle & partially closed it (I have,) ignored the maintenance schedule & didn’t change a clogged filter element (I have,) or ran something into a copper line hard enough to crimp it, but not rupture it (I haven’t…that was Tim, who, aside from this incident, was really pretty good with a forklift.)
The issues above apply to not only any compressed air system, but most fluid power/fluid handling systems. Since this blog is about Chip Vac troubleshooting, let’s move on to some specifics. If you’re sure you’re getting proper air supply to the Chip Vac (by the way, a pressure gauge right at the inlet – like the one that comes with our Premium Chip Vac System’s air hose – will eliminate any doubt,) then let’s look at some potential issues downstream:
Dirt & debris can collect inside the Chip Vac itself, obstructing the outlet holes, and lowering your vacuum flow. You can disassemble and clean it pretty easily, though.
The Filter Bag can get clogged, especially if you’re vacuuming up a lot of dust or powdery materials. If this happens, turn the Chip Vac off and shake the Filter Bag to dislodge the material, allowing it to fall back into the drum where it belongs.
Speaking of which, if you find that, all of a sudden, the Filter Bag is clogging, remove the drum lid and check for the Silencing Hose. This serves two functions…the first is in the name (just a little discharge hose mitigates the sound level of the Chip Vac‘s exhaust flow.) Secondly, it directs the vacuumed material positively into the drum, limiting the amount that is “dust-storms” in the upper area of the drum, where it’s more prone to make it into the Filter Bag.
Pro tip: check for the Silencing Hose when you remove the lid to empty the drum. DON’T throw the Silencing Hose in the trash.
I’m not going to unequivocally state that this is an all-inclusive list (see “Murphy’s Law,” above,) but these are the Usual Suspects if you’re just not getting the most out of your Chip Vac. If you ever have any questions, though, give us a call. We’re here to help.
Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
A customer who produces bags of grass seed were experiencing a large amount of lost product due to spillage during the bagging process. Any spillage they would typically sweep up and throw away. This sweeping would take a good amount of time. Their goal was to determine a way to speed it up the cleaning and see if it was possible to reclaim the seed that was currently scrapped.
EXAIR has a broad line of industrial vacuums for a variety of jobs. In this case we recommended our Chip Vac.
EXAIR’sChip Vac is a compressed air operated industrial duty vacuum designed for vacuuming up dry (or mostly dry) products. The powerful vacuum is suitable for use with metal, wood, or plastic chips and is designed to thread into the 2” NPT bung on standard drum lids. The Chip Vac can handle dry or coolant soaked chips from fixtures, floors and work surfaces of machining centers, lathes, saws, mills, and a variety of other industrial equipment. It was also very suitable for this grass seed application.
Electrically powered vacuums or shop vacs are not designed to be operated in a rugged industrial environment. Filters clog, motors wear out, and you find yourself frequently replacing them. EXAIR’s Chip vac has NO moving parts to wear out, doesn’t require maintenance, and needs nothing but a source of compressed air to operate. In addition, the sound level produced is half of that produced by an electric vacuum.
From left to right: 5 gallon, 30 gallon, 55 gallon, and 110 gallon Chip Vacs are sized for any cleanup need.
Using the Model 6193 Chip Vac System they were able to reclaim lost product in and around the machines in less time and more efficiently. While the recovered seed could not be used in their certified premium product, they were able to add it to the “contractors” blend. Saving them around $2,500 annually!
Don’t waste your time, get yourself a vacuum designed for the job. One that’ll last year after year! With these systems in stock, ready to ship with an order by 3:00 ET, a unconditional 30 day guarantee and backed up by our 5-Year Warranty, there’s no reason not to give one a try!
