Tag: troubleshooting

Basketball Season Has Come To An End

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

This past weekend was one filled with many emotions in the Farno household. It was the tournament weekend for my youngest daughter’s basketball team, which I was the assistant coach for. This was our second season as a team, and we still had to learn a new dynamic this season because we added a player, and we were bumped up in our league after a strong performance in the tournament last year.

With that, came a season that did not have as many wins when you look at our record. You wouldn’t know it because of how these girls played for the full season though. Not once did we have a girl want to quit or mention that they weren’t good because we were losing. This is due to the families of our teams believing in them and our coaching position and style. Our head coach continually pushed these girls that wins and losses happen. Is it fun to win? Yes, is it fun to lose? No. What can we do about it when we lose? We can evaluate what went well, what didn’t and did we improve over the last time we stepped on the court. We didn’t sugarcoat every loss, we also didn’t tear down and focus only on the negative. Instead, we worked on skills and then we worked on their mental perseverance. When they would get out hustled or when fouls didn’t seem to get evenly called, we would remind them and ourselves that there are only two things they can control. Their attitude and their effort.

The standings shown here won’t matter past this weekend and that is something that is hard to convey to a 10-year-old.

When a player was getting upset, whether based on their mistakes or another factor, like an aggressive player on the other team, we simply reminded them of the tools they are equipped with and that all they can change is their attitude and effort on the matter. We would point out these skills they had forgotten they had in the moment. This wasn’t always easy, and we weren’t always perfect at doing it by any means. At one point in the season, we had a therapy session during practice and went through each player to tell them how we have seen them grow this year and what they should be proud of. This was just as much for their self-confidence as it was for our own.

As the assistant coach of the team, I really try to run support for the head coach and make sure our subs are ready. If a player during the game has a question or issue, I try to handle it. During practices, I would act as a defender, or just support whatever the coach was trying to teach. I distributed a lot of band-aids and several instant ice packs. I also tried to always encourage them on the wins that I saw while they were on the court. The fact of the matter was, I was there as support for the entire team and I would always try to look forward to seeing what was going to be needed and anticipating what I would need to do, whether it was a parent volunteer for a scorekeeper, a concussion check for the girl that just got hip-checked to the floor, or a high five for the girl that just made her first shot of the game, or the one that missed hers. No matter what, I tried to be prepared and anticipate what was coming. Sometimes this worked, other times it didn’t. How does this connect to EXAIR?

Early one morning, I got to use a ride-on floor scrubber to try and mop the gym. The sun coming in, and the peaceful situation really made me appreciate my situation.

Well, I do the same thing in my role as an Application Engineer. When someone contacts us with a blowoff need or a static electricity issue in their process, I immediately go to work trying to connect the dots in my wild mind to what they need and how fast can we get this obstacle conquered together. If a customer has a product that isn’t quite working right, I start the process of what could have gone wrong, and I try to be methodical in my process of troubleshooting. This all comes from experience and I have been doing this for 15 years now. I never thought I would be an assistant basketball coach since the last time I played was in 6th grade. Well, I also never thought I would be a Certified Compressed Air System Specialist, yet here I am, because there was a need and I filled the need that was presented to me, just like the girls on this basketball team did.

By no means do I get every single product selection, or assistant coaching task right. By no means am I perfect, and I don’t claim to be. I do, however, try to make sure my attitude is focused on achieving the task at hand, whether it be helping a player set a good pick or a customer select the right vacuum, then I make sure I exert the effort needed to get the answers and solutions that both sides need.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Pressure Gauges – Why You Need Them & How They Work

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

There is hardly a day I work that I am not talking about the importance of properly installed pressure gauges.  These small devices can often get overlooked or thought of as not necessary on an installation.  When troubleshooting or evaluating the compressed air consumption of an application, this is one of the first items I look for in the installation.

As Russ Bowman shows in the above video discussing proper piping sizes, you can see the importance of properly placed pressure gauges.  This shows the worst-case scenario where the pressure drop due to improper line sizes gives the false sense to the operator that they are achieving full line pressure when in fact they are not.  In order to accurately measure consumption rates, pressure AT THE INLET (within a few feet) to any compressed air product is necessary, rather than upstream at a point where there may be restrictions or pressure drops between the inlet and the gauge. So how exactly do these analog gauges measure the pressure of the compressed air at the installed locations?

Pressure Gauge Model 9011

The video below shows a great example of pressure increasing and decreasing moving the Bourdon tube that is connected to the indicating needle.  The description that follows goes more in-depth with how these internals function.

Most mechanical gauges utilize a Bourdon-tube. The Bourdon-tube was invented in 1849 by a French watchmaker, Eugéne Bourdon.  The movable end of the Bourdon-tube is connected via a pivot pin/link to the lever.  The lever is an extension of the sector gear and movement of the lever results in rotation of the sector gear. The sector gear meshes with spur gear (not visible) on the indicator needle axle which passes through the gauge face and holds the indicator needle.  Lastly, there is a small hairspring in place to put tension on the gear system to eliminate gear lash and hysteresis.

When the pressure inside the Bourdon-tube increases, the Bourdon-tube will straighten. The amount of straightening that occurs is proportional to the pressure inside the tube. As the tube straightens, the movement engages the link, lever, and gear system that results in the indicator needle sweeping across the gauge.

If you would like to discuss pressure gauges, the best locations to install them, or how much compressed air an application is using at a given pressure, give us a call, email, or chat.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Do I Have To Install A Compressed Air Filter?

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac Kit – Model 152200

Recently I took a call from an existing customer that is questioning their Heavy Duty Line Vac Kit setup. They are experiencing around a 38 psig pressure drop from before the filter in the system to the inlet of the Line Vac.  At first glance, they assumed this was due to the filter restricting the flow. They then posed the question, “Do I have to run this filter or can I take it out?  I mean I already have a filter at my compressor.” The answer is yes, install the filter. It will keep dirt, scale and condensate from entering the Line Vac or other components downstream. In the case of a Line Vac, a filter will also prevent this unwanted debris from getting into the material being conveyed.

Example of an Improper Filter Setup

However, this is a great question, especially when assuming the filter is causing the pressure drop – but that was not the case for this application.  So more questions were asked to our customer to determine what the root cause of the pressure drop could be. Seeing a pressure drop across a filter can be caused by several factors.

One would be an inappropriately sized filter. This can restrict the volumetric flow of air through to the point of use causing a pressure drop.  All of the filters supplied with our product kits are auto-drain, have 5 micron filter elements and appropriately sized to operate the product at 80 psig inlet pressure so this was not the problem.

The next issue could be that the filter is clogged, this brought on another question.  If you see more than a 5 psig pressure drop across a filter from EXAIR then we suggest changing out the filter element as it could be clogged and not permitting the full volumetric flow through.  This installation was fairly new and a quick test without a filter element installed proved it was not the filter element that was clogged.

That brought us to the last variable, the length, size, and number/type of fittings between the filter and the Heavy Duty Line Vac. This length of pipe was more than 30′ in length and was only appropriately sized for a 10′ length or shorter run.  The customer was using a 1/2″ Schedule 40 black iron pipe to feed a 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac at 80 psig inlet pressure. The 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac Kit will utilize 75 SCFM at 80 psig inlet pressure.  That will need a 1/2″ Sched. 40 pipe that is 10′ long or less in order to not have friction loss within the feed pipe.  Armed with this information the customer is researching whether or not the line needs to stay that long.  If it does, they will have to re-plumb the system with a minimum of a 3/4″ Sched. 40 black iron pipe.

Luckily this was all able to be discussed within a few hours of time and the customer is on their way to an optimal supply system for their in-line conveyor.  One brief phone call took this customer from lackluster performance and thinking a product was not going to work for what they need, to performing beyond their expectations, and being able to keep up with their production needs.

If you have a product or any part of your compressed air system that you question why it may be performing or not performing a certain way, please do not hesitate to reach out to our knowledgeable team of Application Engineers. We are always interested in finding a solution to your needs.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Proper Plumbing Prevents Poor Performance

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

There’s nothing quite like an ice-cold Coke from McDonald’s. While there’s many reasons for this, one of the reasons for the unique experience of a McDonald’s Coke lies in the straw itself. In their drinks, they provide wider straws that are designed to help enhance the taste of Coca-Cola, or so they claim. Another impact of this is it allows you to drink significantly faster. The wider the opening for liquid to pass through, the more volume you’re able to drink. Imagine trying to drink your Coke, or any other beverage, through a coffee stirrer. I imagine you’re going to have a difficult time and a dry mouth as you try and force what little amount of liquid you can through the small I.D. of a coffee stirrer. Try that with a milkshake and the problems compound…..

The same is true when it comes to plumbing of your point-of-use compressed air products. I recently assisted a customer that was experiencing lackluster performance from the Super Air Knife they purchased. The application was fairly straightforward, they were hoping to reduce the rate of rejected material on their production line of plastic sheets. The sheet goes through a washing process to remove any residual contaminants, then would air dry as it made its way down the line. As the material dried, there were water spots left on the material that would have to then be cleaned off. In the hopes of speeding up the drying process, they purchased a Model 110060 60” Super Air Knife to provide a wide laminar sheet of air to dry the material.

WhatsApp Image 2018-12-13 at 15.49.45 (2)

When they hooked everything up, the flow from the knife seemed far less than they were expecting. They were supplying full line pressure (just over 90 PSIG), so in theory they should feel a strong blast of air from the knife. When they installed a pipe tee and pressure gauge directly at the inlet, they noticed the pressure was dropping to 35 PSIG while the knife was in operation. When this occurs, it’s indicative of a lack of volume of air. This can be caused by undersized compressor,  or improper plumbing. In their case, they were only plumbing compressed air to one center inlet of the knife. For a 60” knife, EXAIR recommends a minimum of (4) air inlets to ensure adequate volume.

SAK plumbingh

The size of these lines is also critical. You can’t force greater volumes of air through a smaller hose or pipe, just like you can hardly drink through a coffee stirrer with any great success. A 60” knife requires a supply pipe size of 1-1/2” for up to a 50’ run, if you’re trying to supply a knife of this length with a 100’long, ¼” ID hose, you’re not going to get the performance you expect. If you’re experiencing less than optimal performance from any of your EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products, there’s a good chance air supply is the culprit. The first step is determining what the actual inlet pressure is, install a pipe tee and pressure gauge right at the inlet. Then, give us a call and we’ll help work through the proper line sizes and ensure that you’re getting the most out of our products.

I hope I didn’t make you hungry or thirsty… But I think I know where and what I’m having for lunch 😊!

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