The muffler for the EasySwitch Wet-Dry Vac is a replaceable item; model 902176. The material can capture residual dust material from vacuuming liquid as well as dirty compressed air. In this video, I will show you how to change the muffler material. Watch it here:
If you have any questions about the maintenance process or the various spare parts we have available for the EasySwitch Wet Dry Vacuum System, please let us know. We are quite happy to help you keep your products working at peak effectiveness.
I had a customer that was visited by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). If you do not know, OSHA is a federal agency charged with the enforcement of safety and health standards. In order to protect workers, they can enforce fines and penalties for violations. Some of the main violations that they find are with compressed air guns. Open-type nozzles are very loud and will not meet the dead-end pressure requirements. Many companies will modify their compressed air guns to better fit their applications, but the problem occurs when they no longer meet OSHA regulations. The two directives are 29CFR Part 10910.95 (a), OSHA Maximum Allowable Noise Exposure, and 29CFR Part 1910.242(b), Dead-End Pressure.
A customer was using a smashed pipe on an air gun to blow across a table. With an “open” pipe design for a nozzle, the noise level can exceed 100 dB. This was a major concern. The customer called EXAIR because they needed to replace their existing air guns with a safer and quieter air gun. Just as a note, the main component that makes an air gun safe is the nozzle. With the EXAIR, Safety Air Nozzles, we engineer them to not only be safe by reducing noise and eliminating dead-end pressure, but also to entrain the ambient air to give a hard-hitting force with less compressed air. This will save you money.
In the application, they were cleaning the exit table from a machining operation. They had to clean the chips prior to the next part coming through. They needed 24” (610mm) to reach across the table. I recommended a model 1360-24 Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun with a 24” extension. The model 1106 Super Air Nozzle that is used with this Safety Air Gun could match the blowing force with less noise and compressed air usage. The noise level was decreased to 87 dB. With the unique design of the nozzle, it entrains ambient air to help create a powerful force to remove the chips. The model 1360-24 Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun would only use 60 SCFM (1,699 SLPM) of compressed air at 80 PSIG (5.5 bar). The unsafe air gun that the customer was using previously required 144 SCFM (4,078 SLPM) at the same air pressure. So, every time that they would use the EXAIR Safety Air Gun, they were able to save 84 SCFM (2,379 SLPM) of compressed air, saving them money and adding additional capacity back into their pneumatic system. The customer was so happy that they shot a short video demonstrating the operation of the Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun from EXAIR.
We are all individually responsible for safety. EXAIR has a variety of Safety Air Guns and Super Air Nozzles to make your operation quiet, safe and help meet the OSHA regulations. It can become very costly if you get a fine from OSHA. EXAIR can remove that concern as well as save you money by using less compressed air; a win-win scenario. If you need any help in determining which Safety Air Gun would best fit your application, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR. We will be happy to hear from and help you; like the customer above.
An oil and gas company was using a camera to watch a drilling rig. During the operation, water and mud could be slung toward the camera lens, and create spots. An operator would have to leave their position to clean the lens. Since they were looking for a way to force the water and mud away from the lens, but it had to be clear. Since air is transparent, they contacted EXAIR for our expertise.
As an air barrier, customers have used the Super Air Knives to separate material/heat/gases from different areas in similar applications. But, for this customer, they were interested in the Super Air Wipe; and at EXAIR, we state that there is more than one way to solve a riddle. With the speed of the water and mud, I was not keen on the ability of how well the Super Air Wipe could work. So, I decided to test it.
At EXAIR, we offer customers the option for us to test our products in different applications. This could also include testing your items with our products. EXAIR offers an Application Assistance form to help get this started. If we have the capabilities, we can setup a “mock” system to test and verify, and we can shoot a short video to present the information to you. This can include conveyance testing, product comparisons, cleaning, cooling; and, for the customer above, air barrier testing.
Their current operation was using a wiper to clean the glass. Like with any wiper, material can get wedged under the wiper and cause streaks, and it could scratch the glass lens. To stop replacing the wiper blade or in some instances, the glass lens; they were looking for a non-contact way to keep the water, sand, mud from the camera lens. Since it was difficult for them to determine the velocity of the material that would be heading toward the camera, they requested that I use water for my test. With a 1/4” (6 mm) O.D. tubing, they believed that it could represent a good velocity with a pressure of 20 PSIG (1.4 Bar) and a flow of 30 GPH (113.6 LPH). This would create a velocity of 9.3 mph (15 kph). Since the lens had a diameter of 2” (51mm), I recommended the model 2403SS, 3” Stainless Steel Super Air Wipe. Here is a video of the results with the inlet air pressure at 80 PSIG (5.5 Bar).
Water Test
To expand a bit more on the Super Air Wipe, it is designed to blow compressed air in a 360-degree flow pattern. This air pattern is directed at a 30-degree angle toward the center to blow the debris back away from the camera lens, just like a cone. The Coanda effect maximizes the entrainment of ambient air into the compressed air. This makes the unit very efficient and very powerful. The model 2403SS Super Air Wipe has an I.D. of 3” (76 mm) which gives it enough clearance away from the view of the camera. It is constructed of 303 stainless steel construction for corrosion resistance with a stainless-steel braided hose that connects the two halves together. The design is very rugged for outdoor use.
At EXAIR, we offer a 30-day unconditional guarantee on our stock products for US and Canadian customers to try things out. But sometimes this may not be enough. For the customer above, we were able to try something different to verify the effectiveness in keeping the camera lens clean. And at EXAIR, we will take that extra step to help our customers. If you have a pneumatic application that requires some additional service, you can fill out the Application Assistance form or contact an Application Engineer. We will be happy to help you, and perhaps we can put some “focus” on a solution.
In this video, I will be demonstrating the Bernoulli’s equation and how low pressure can be generated with either the Venturi effect or the Coanda effect. EXAIR uses this principle to make our products very efficient and very effective.
If you have any questions about how EXAIR uses Bernoulli’s phenomenon to create the most efficient products in the compressed air industry, you can contact an Application Engineer. We will be happy to help you.
John Ball Application Engineer Email: johnball@exair.com Twitter: @EXAIR_jb
