Choose A Dust-and-Fume Collector
Datetime:2015-02-06 Hits:
Here are some important features for buyers to examine to ensure the right factors are considered when choosing a dust and fume collection system.
1. Rough and Ready
A well-designed dust collector integrates every component needed to make it operational (cabinet, motor, blower, control panel, safety features, filters) into one cohesive design. The only things that should be required on-site are simple electrical and compressed air connections. Too often, buyers have to spec a cabinet and the mechanical components separately, and then are faced with hours or days of labor expenses to wire and connect the individual components.
2. Get Wired
The best control systems monitor the collector's performance continuously, including the blower and the filter differential pressure; have built-in diagnostic features; and track maintenance history to help maintenance and engineering staff create a safer environment and maximize a collector's performance. A collector with an integrated control panel that has a digital touch screen interface is clean, sleek and far more effective.
3. Beware of Suction Loss
What does it take to keep a dust collector performing at peak efficiency? Clean filters for starters. The solution is simple enough: Regularly shake it clean of particulates and you can extend the life of the filter. So, most cartridge collectors include some form of pulse-cleaning technology intended to jar the dirt loose from the filter so it can fall into a containment bin.
But, here's the bottom line: Shooting a pulse of air through a filter might dislodge the surface dust but it doesn't necessarily achieve the goal. The natural tendency is for the air transporting the particulate to re-entrain, or re-deposit the particulate on adjacent filters rather than into the containment unit. In the end, this pulse-cleaning technology largely is ineffective because the re-deposited dust continues to plug the filters.
Collectors with advanced pulse-cleaning technology utilize a more highly engineered solution based on air-flow science. Each filter should have a dedicated electronic pulse mechanism or valve that is programmed in sequence. A sequential, double-pulse action will neutralize the tendency of the particulate to re-deposit on nearby filters. Even distribution of the pulse pressure through a cone or similar device helps ensure that the entire filter will be cleaned, not just the top or bottom.
Filter orientation within a collector is vital, too. Collectors that have filters in a vertical position provide much less exposed surface area for the potential re-deposit of particulates.
4. Gaze into the Future
Keeping a lid on rising operating costs is an ongoing challenge for everyone in business. Filters are one of those costs. Dust collectors should have high-quality filter media in order to help keep a plant cleaner and safer for employees. But how long are the filters projected to last? Three months? Six? A year? Are they simple and fast to replace when it's time to do so?
The correct size and design of a system also is crucial. If a collector is too small for the application, it will result in rapidly consumed filters.
Another operating cost to consider is the power a ventilation system consumes. The best collectors minimize energy usage when they start and stop automatically with a machine operator, and actively adjust their operating speed and power to match the level of activity as well as the condition and resistance of the filters.
