Tag: spring cleaning

Solving Performance Issues of Air Operated Industrial Vacuums

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

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
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Air Operated Industrial Vacuum Helps Reclaim Grass Seed and Save Thousands

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

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.

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EXAIR has a broad line of industrial vacuums for a variety of jobs. In this case we recommended our Chip Vac.

EXAIR’s Chip 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.

Chip Vacs-all
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!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Images Courtesy of Oregon Grass Seed Bag Creative Commons.

EXAIR’s Powerful Chip Vac for Keeping Your Plant Clean and Safe

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

March brings with it the first day of spring and April seems to have brought that first day where I believe spring could actually be here consistently. I don’t know about you, but boy am I ready for some warmer temperatures!! Naturally, spring is the time of year that we roll up our sleeves and do some of the deep-cleaning we’ve been putting off all winter.

Though, for any manufacturer or processor, “spring cleaning” is a year round affair.

Lucky for you, EXAIR has an entire line of Industrial Housekeeping Products that’ll get your shop tidied up for spring. In this blog, I’d like to dive into the Chip Vac. With its powerful suction, it’s an ideal solution for fast and efficient cleaning.

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Chip Vac cleaning up a floor spill

EXAIR’s Chip Vac is a compressed air operated industrial duty vacuum designed specifically for vacuuming up chips and shavings. 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 wet chips from fixtures, floors and work surfaces of machining centers, lathes, saws, mills, and a variety of other industrial equipment.

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.

The Chip Vac is sold in systems both with and without the drum. EXAIR has 5, 30, 55, and 110 gallon systems available for a wide range of applications. If you already have spare drums in your facility, the Chip Vac is also available with just the lid assembly, Chip Vac, 10’ hose, tools, and filter bag to attach to the top of your own drums.

All systems will include a drum lid with a locking ring that easily fits onto the top of a standard open top drum. It’s easy to remove and place onto another drum so that different materials can be easily kept separate for recycling. Recycling companies will pay a premium price for pre-sorted chips and shavings. With the Chip Vac, it’s as easy as removing the lid and placing it onto a new drum in between jobs.

Don’t waste your time this spring fooling with and replacing electrical vacuums. 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, an unconditional 30 day guarantee and backed up by our 5-Year Warranty, there’s no reason not to give one a try!

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

Spring Cleaning All Around

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

Now that Spring is officially here, my “honey-do” list has grown quite substantially as of late. Besides all the work we’ve done inside the house, moving our first son to his new room and putting the nursery back together for our second’s arrival, we now need to focus on the outside of the house (of course this is what my wife thinks is the #1 priority and hey, she is 9 months pregnant so I am going to agree!).

Spring Cleaning
They way I felt over the weekend!

First on the list is pressure washing the siding and since we were expecting temperatures near 65° this past Saturday, I wasn’t going to mind being outside. One problem though, the pressure washer was buried in the garage behind plastic tubs of old baby clothes (thank goodness we held on to these), bicycles, bags of old toys/clothes for donation and every other thing we’ve “needed to hang on to”, which meant that I was going to need to clean the garage before I could clean the house. Adding another item to the already lengthy, spring-cleaning list.

Are you looking to do some clean up around your facility? If so, EXAIR has you covered with our Industrial Housekeeping Products. ALL of these units are compressed air operated and require no electricity to operate so there are no motors to wear out or moving parts, making them virtually maintenance free!

For liquid only clean up, we offer 3 different products:

Reversible Drum Vac – attaches to any standard 30, 55 or 110 gallon closed head drum. Capable of empty or filling a 55 gallon drum in less than 2 minutes.

High Lift Reversible Drum Vac – Up to 15’ of vacuum lift and able to empty or fill the same 55 gallon drum in 85 seconds

Chip Trapper – incorporates the Reversible Drum Vac to filter solids from liquid and traps them in a reusable filter bag. The unit can they be turned into a pump to empty the filtered, clean liquid back to a tank or reservoir.

For dry materials, we offer 3 different products as well:

Chip Vac – Used for vacuuming wet or dry chips and deposits them into a steel drum.

Heavy Duty Dry Vac – Similar to the Chip Vac but made of hardened alloy construction for abrasion resistance and a higher vacuum rate.

Heavy Duty HEPA Vac – Used in dusty environments to filter contaminants to HEPA standards while providing the same high vacuum rate.

For help selecting the right product for your application, give us a call at 1-800-903-9247.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

 

Comet Cleaner image courtesy of garlandcannon. Creative Commons License