Tag: Volume

Proper Air Supply Line Size Equals Proper Performance

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Pipe_460top
Properly sized piping will allow your compressed air operated equipment to operate efficiently!

On any given day myself and my Application Engineering Brethren here at EXAIR have discussions with customers on air starvation of any given EXAIR Product.  The calls generally start off the same, “The Line Vac is not performing like it should”.  We at EXAIR absolutely want to help you get the most out of our products and we certainly want them to perform to your expectation.  However they must be supplied with clean/dry compressed air at sufficient pressure and volume.

Just the other day I was discussing a performance issue with a customer on a 1″ Line Vac.  The customer thought he needed a larger Line Vac.  I asked the questions regarding the diameter of his Supply Line and if he was using Quick Connect or Push Lock connectors.  He was attempting to feed this Line Vac with 1/4″ Poly Tubing through a elbow Push to Loc fitting.

This 1″ Line Vac was being severely starved for air and therefore not performing as expected.  The 1″ Line Vac require’s 14.7 SCFM @ 80PSI to reach the rated performance of 42″ of water column.

Below is a table for Pipe/Hose sizing from the Line Vac installation manual that you can use as a reference guide.  It is recommended that if using hose for the supply air to go up to the next size over the pipe recommendation.

Chart2

Don’t forget that quick connects and Push Lock fittings are not recommended and could restrict the air flow which will have a negative impact on performance.

If you would like to discuss Line Vacs or any EXAIR product,  I would enjoy hearing from you…give me a call.

Steve Harrison
Application Engineer
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People of Interest: Robert Boyle – January 25, 1627 – December 31, 1691

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Robert Boyle was born on January 25, 1627 in Lismore Castle, County of Waterford, Ireland.  He was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist and dabbled in many other areas of study. He published the book The Sceptical Chymist in 1661, and many consider him and his work as the foundation of modern chemistry.  He was a very devout Anglican, and published numerous works in this area as well.

Robert Boyle

One of Boyle’s most famous discoveries was to become the first of the gas laws, relating the pressure of a gas to its volume. With Robert Hooke, a young university student as his laboratory assistant, Boyle began experimenting with air.  Together they made their first great discovery, now known as Boyle’s Law.

J-Tube 2
Boyle used a ‘J’ Tube – Sealed on the Short End, and Open at the Long End

The experiment was performed using a ‘J’ shaped glass tube sealed on the shorter leg, and open to atmosphere on the longer leg.  Quicksilver (mercury) was poured into the tube, such that the level was equal on each side. The volume of the trapped air was noted. Additional mercury was poured into the tube and it was observed that the mercury did not stay level, and measurements of the heights on each tube leg were recorded.  The height difference of the mercury is effectively a measure of the pressure of the trapped air. Boyle, through the experiment and the data,  discovered a relationship between the volume and the pressure of air.  The data as published, is shown below.

Boyle's Data

Boyle noticed the pressure times the volume of air for the initial condition equaled the pressure times the volume at any other mercury height.

Known as Boyle’s Law – P ∝ 1/V,      pressure is proportional to the inverse of the volume

Alternately, PV = k,       pressure times volume is equal to a constant

For comparing the same substance under two different sets of conditions, the law can be expressed as P1V1 = P2V2

Of note is that Boyle’s Law, combined with Charles’s law and Gay-Lussac’s Law formed the combined gas law, and in combination with Avogadro’s law is the basis for the ideal gas law – PV=nRT, which include temperature, the amount of the substance, and the ideal gas constant to the mix.

It is noted that Boyle credited fellow scientist Richard Towneley for making the connection between the pressure of a gas and volume, but Boyle’s experiments and observations using the ‘J’ tube confirmed Towneley’s predictions, and the rest as they say is history.

If you would like to talk about compressed air 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.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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Experiment Data from the book New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects (1660)