How to Select the Best Air Cannons
Have you been experiencing frequent downtime due to blockages in your bulk material flow system? Read on and discover the best attributes of the air cannons which you should buy to fix that material flow problem.
Multiple Discharge Points
Chances are high that the blockages in the material transmission system can be traced to different points. Each of those trouble-spots requires a jet of air to force the materials to flow freely. Buy an air cannon which has ports that can allow air to be discharged at different points. Those points can be accessed by the use of hoses connected to the different discharge ports on the air cannon. You will then avoid the added cost of buying several air cannons with a single discharge point.
Strong Hose Construction
You should also pay attention to the materials from which the hoses taking compressed air to the discharge points are made. Select air cannons whose hoses are made from stainless steel. Such a material is good for two key reasons. First, any residual moisture in the air being blasted through the cannon will not degrade the material. Secondly, stainless steel is durable. Ongoing maintenance costs will therefore be affordable.
Electrical System Location
Some air cannons come with solenoid valves which are installed close to the air cannon. Such a design can increase maintenance costs because the solenoid valves will wear out quickly. This is because the valves are strained by the pressure from the air cannon. Better air cannons have solenoid valves which are installed dozens of metres away from the air cannon. That distance helps to prolong the life of the solenoid valves since they are safe from the blast of air from the air cannons.
Flexibility
Opt for air cannons whose valves can be upgraded in order to make them adjust to the evolving needs of your material handling system. For example, you may need to add air cannons with larger discharge ports to your bank of air cannons. The new air cannons should operate seamlessly using the existing valves. This will save you from buying additional accessories when those that you have at the facility still have some years before they are taken out of service.
Work with an air cannon supplier to design a system which will deliver the correct amount of compressed air at the right locations within the material transport system. Test the system and keep tweaking it until its performance reaches the optimum level for the improvement of your transport processes. For more information, contact companies like ESS Engineering.
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