Dust collectors are required in facilities for multiple reasons. After installation, they are often forgotten about until something isn’t working right.  In order to fix the problem, the system has to be almost re-engineered to figure out what the design originally was. The following things are signs your dust collector isn’t working how it was designed and you need to perform a checkup.

1. Area around the air inlets are dusty

The dust collector inlets/hoods capture the dust from your process. If you are noticing greater dust in those areas, then your dust collector isn’t operating correctly or something changed in the process. Either way, having an expert come in and look at the system is your 1^st step to solving the issue.

2. High pressure drop through the dust collector

Baghouses and cartridge collectors use filters to capture the dust. They are cleaned regularly to prevent dust buildup, but they will plug over time. Once the dust builds up, less air will be pulled through system thereby allowing more dust to escape. You might not notice this change at the hoods, but the pressure gages across the filters will tell you when the pressure drop is high.

3. Material collected in the dust collector is less than before

As less air is being pulled into the system, more dust is escaping the system, which means less dust is being collected by the dust collector. One way of noticing this is when you’re not hauling away the dust from the hopper as much. An example would be normally you are replacing the 55 gallon drum once per week but now it’s once every two weeks.

4. Equipment in the area requires high maintenance

Dust can coat equipment and get into crevices. This can cause increased wear on rotating equipment, contaminate fluids, and plug air filters. All of these can cause an increase in equipment break downs. Equipment that is wearing down usually isn’t operating at its highest efficiency, thereby needing more energy. So if you are noticing an increase in equipment maintenance in a specific area, the dust collector might not be working as it should.

5. Workers are complaining about dusty areas or are calling off work more often

Dusty air can cause issues with the workers in the area. Dust can cause inflammations in the respiratory system which can cause people to be more susceptible to sickness. Workers might complain about the dusty air or just get sick more often.

Usually, combinations of these signs are happening at the same time. However, some might be more noticeable than others. So if you are seeing one of these signs, check for the others and then schedule a dust collector evaluation to get your system back into working order.

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Bridging Dust?

Try the Aerodyne Mighty Whopper.

Aerodyne’s Mighty Whopper rotary valve has over-sized rectangular inlet and outlet. 

 

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5 Signs Your Dust Collection System Needs Maintenance

Is your dust collection system working at peak efficiency? A quick, do-it-yourself examination may identify symptoms that your system needs a check-up.

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To learn more about which dust collector, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400 or visit our website: www.dustcollectorhq.com

When designing a dust collection system, the static pressure required of the system is extremely important.  The reason is because the exhaust fan must be able to pull the design airflow at the design static pressure in order to get the design performance.  Usually the higher the static pressure is the greater power is required by the fan at a constant airflow.  This means, dust collector system designers usually try to keep the total static pressure low, in order to go with a smaller fan that costs less to operate.

Cyclones Pressure Drop

However, when it comes to cyclones, this is not always the best policy.  A cyclones pressure drop is based on the amount of air going through it.  So a 24” diameter cyclone might have a 3” pressure drop at 1500 CFM and a 5.5” pressure drop at 2000 CFM.  So a smaller cyclone can handle a higher airflow at a higher pressure drop.  This would lower the fabrication cost of the cyclone, and allow it to fit in a more confine space, but have a higher operational cost (more HP required).

Higher Pressure Drop

But using a smaller cyclone also has another benefit, the higher your pressure drop, the more efficient the cyclone will be.  This increase in removal efficiency usually will not allow you to use a cyclone only for dust control, but it will help remove smaller particulate before your primary filter.  This will allow you to capture more material before contamination, lower the loading on your filters, and decrease utility usage (water or plant air).

So when you are designing a dust collection system, don’t look for the cyclone with the lowest pressure drop, but look at all the aspects that affect the system.  Will a smaller cyclone fit better?  Will higher removal efficiency in the cyclone be beneficial to the main dust collector?

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How the Aerodyne SplitStream Cyclone Works

The SplitStream Cyclone Collector is designed for dust collection systems where tough dust like abrasive, sticky, fibrous, hygroscopic or granular persist. Configured horizontally or vertically, the cyclone’s low-profile design is perfect for mounting in space-restricted areas.

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5 Signs Your Dust Collection System Needs Maintenance

Is your dust collection system working at peak efficiency? A quick, do-it-yourself examination may identify symptoms that your system needs a check-up.

 

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To learn more about which dust collector, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400 or visit our website: www.dustcollectorhq.com

Dust collectors can have issues with material bridging in the hopper. 

Round or Square Airlocks

A standard collector uses round or square flanged airlocks instead of a rectangular design better suited where bridging persists.These designs are great for standard dust that doesn’t bridge.  They are easy to fabricate, thereby keeping cost low.  However, the uniform dimensions of the flange allow the dust to be equally supported on all sides, creating a more stable environment for a dust bridge to form.  One way to counteract this is by over-sizing your airlock. An example would be using a 12” rotary valve instead of an 8” valves.  While oversizing the airlock lowers the chance of bridge forming.  A bridge can still form due to shape of the flange. 

Better Airlocks: Rectangular Rotary Valve

A better way would be to use a rectangular rotary valve.  Since the rotary valve has a rectangular flange, dust trying to bridge over the opening isn’t equally supported.  And any bridge trying to form across the long axis will be unstable and begin to bow down into the valve opening, where the rotors will grab them and destroy the bridge, allowing the free flow of dust out of the hopper.

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Bridging Dust?

Try the Aerodyne Mighty Whopper.

Aerodyne’s Mighty Whopper rotary valve has over-sized rectangular inlet and outlet. 

 

---

5 Signs Your Dust Collection System Needs Maintenance

Is your dust collection system working at peak efficiency? A quick, do-it-yourself examination may identify symptoms that your system needs a check-up.

---

To learn more about which dust collector, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400 or visit our website: www.dustcollectorhq.com