Much as been said about compressed air and it’s high costs over the years. If a plant is using copper tubing/pipe with holes drilled or open slots and compressed is plumbed to them – either compressed air amplifying systems or a blower type system should be used as both will improve overall productivity and reduce energy costs.

FACTS:
Depending on the company and/or personnel involved, each of the following factors may have a lesser or greater weight overall.

1. System Cost
It’s no secret, Blower Systems are far more expensive than compressed air amplifier systems. Separate locations are often required for blower systems due to their high operating noise levels. Expected system maintenance costs should be closely examined prior to any system purchase.

2. Noise Level
Even with silencers added to Blower Systems, they are still far more noisy when compared to compressed air amplifier systems. The STREAMTEK compressed air-operated Advanced Air Knife is extremely quiet at well below 80 dBA for 95% of applications.

3. Operating cost & Maintenance
A compressed air operated amplifier blow-off system requires virtually zero maintenance costs, pending a clean dry source of compressed air is given to the unit(s). Compressed air amplifying units are precision designed to use a very small amount of compressed air while utilizing various angles and shapes to entrain the ambient air and convert pressure to useful airflow.

Blower type systems on the other hand have very high energy & maintenance costs. In addition, they simply can’t be turned on/off as required using solenoid valves, switches and sensors.

4. Availability of energy
Sometimes electrical power may not be available due to the extreme costs to bring in power to a facility. These cost must be considered if installing compressed air lines versus and electrical installation.

5. Reliability
When the motor in a blow system goes down, the entire production line grinds to a halt. Spare parts quickly become very important in critical operations. If you have a critical application, compressed air systems (smaller size systems in particular) are far more reliable as a compressed air amplifier systems runs off stored compressed air.

6. Space/Weight
Blower systems can be very heavy and consume far more space than compressed air amplifiers. Size & weight aside, the actual blow-off force is stronger by nature with compressed air amplifiers when compared to standard blower systems. In addition, blowers are notorious for adding heat to the airflow which increases energy use and spots being left on the item(s) being dried.

7. Application particulars
A blower-operated system is constantly running and sucking up costly energy! A compressed air amplifier system is far more economical in situations where blow-off can be cycled on/off when needed. Blowers may be economical in very light blow-off applications, but the horsepower they require is quite marginal when compared to what 12″ and under compressed air-operated air knives consume.

In conclusion, if you are deciding on a drying or blow-off method, don’t just think about the energy cost associated. If you require a high velocity airflow then you may come to realize that a lower cost compressed air drying system may be your best choice.

When you buy a compressed air amplifier system, you don’t have to be too concerned as to which company to purchase from. This is due to the fact that the source is the same – stored compressed air, usually between 80 & 120 PSIG. On the flip side, Blowers will vary drastically in performance depending on model & make.

Jay Patterson
Application Engineer
jay@stream-tek.com

It’s true, dollar per dollar, cubic foot per cubic foot, compressed air is very expensive. What’s equally true though is that compressed air is found in over 99% of manufacturing plants, while approximately 70% of all manufacturers have a compressed air system in place. These systems power a variety of equipment, including machine tools, material handling, separation equipment and spray painting equipment.

Why is Compressed Air used by so many Manufactures? Well, compressed air can typically do the job better than any other method. The trick is to keep your compressed air supply as efficient as possible, but at the same time keeping the air usage as frugal as possible.

About eight horsepower of electricity is used to generate one horsepower of compressed air. Calculating the cost of compressed air can help you justify improvements for energy efficiency. Need help? Contact a STREAMTEK Application Engineer today!

Over the life of a compressor, energy costs will be five to 10 times the compressor’s purchase cost. Energy savings (optimally use Compressed Air) can rapidly recover the extra capital required to purchase an energy-efficient air compressor.

To find the annual cost of electricity used to power a compressed air system, calculate the cost for running the system under loaded and unloaded conditions.

When it comes to STREAMTEK, we manufacture high quality low cost products which don’t use electricity but produce a high output airflow using a minimal amount of compressed air. For example our Air Amplifiers will create output flows up to 25 times their consumption rate and our Air Knives Air consumption is just ~2.9 SCFM per inch at 80 PSIG with a 40:1 air amplification ratio for the Advanced Air Knife. If your company looking for products which are both energy efficient and provide a high output airflow for conveying, drying, cleaning your materials/products; STREAMTEK is here to help!

Does your company have one of our competitors setup as your preferred Air Knife supplier? If so, call STREAMTEK today 1-888-218-6548 (Outside of USA/Canada 1-705-770-4455), we guarantee that you will receive a minimum of 20% discount below what your are currently paying for Air Knives.

Every week STREAMTEK receives positive feedback from customers who were forking out thousands of dollars a year for a brand name Air Knife and are ecstatic how much money STREAMTEK has saved them. The 4th quarter of 2009 has brought upon us a new economy! Customers are looking to save money; it’s that simple. Call us today 1-888-218-6548!!

Steve Zytariuk
Chief Executive Officer
sales@stream-tek.com

A customer (Bruce), contacted us the other day for a relatively simple but very common application involving drying glass sheets on exit of glass washing machine roller conveyors.

He was using a conventional blower type system that did OK, but still wasn’t completely drying his glass sheets. From our prior experience with drying sheets of glass after washing, we were able educate Bruce on our Air Knife drying systems which would provide a uniform hard hitting sheet of air (with absolutely no gaps).

We recommended our Model AE48SPA-1 48″ Aluminum Advanced Air Knife. The low profile of our Air Knives allowed for Bruce to mount it in a compact space where the airflow can dry his glass.

Doug Sumner
Application Engineer
doug@stream-tek.com

Due to an increasing demand from our customers, STREAMTEK now has in-stock 8″ Advanced Air Knives available in Aluminum & Stainless Steel (Type 303). No longer will you have to pay the custom rates for an 8 inch Air Knife.

Jay Patterson
Application Engineer
jay@stream-tek.com

A customer from a set in Hollywood called us on Friday evening at 6:45pm, they were shooting a scene tomorrow afternoon (Saturday). They needed a uniform sheet of air to be projected across the front of the camera lens to protect it from the dust n’ dirt that would become airborne from the intense action scenes.

I recommended that they install our 18″ Advanced Aluminum Air Knife /w Air Filter & Pressure Regulator. The air filter was a critical component in that it would ensure a clean dry source of compressed air was projected in front of the lens! In addition, the Advanced Air Knife operates at a much lower sound level.

Since we received the call so late in the day, we missed the cutoff time by UPS to ship the package to the customer for a reasonable rate. This wasn’t a problem though, as STREAMTEK works closely with all the major Couriers (UPS, FedEX, Purolator, DHL, Canpar, USPS, and Canada Post). We were able to ship the package out at 7:45pm via FedEX at a very reasonable rate for the customer. The customer will receive the package by 10:00am tomorrow (Saturday).

STREAMTEK has representatives standing by Monday to Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm EST and on Saturday 12:00pm – 5:00pm. Try contacting our more expensive competitors after 5:00pm on a Friday afternoon. It will be a frustrating experience!

STREAMTEK™ designs and manufactures compressed air-operated air knife systems for all sectors of manufacturing! Did you know that we are are Canadian owned and have facilities in North Carolina, Canada and the United Kingdom?

With a worldwide sales & tech support network and 24-48 hours standard lead time, we are are ready to provide you with a high quality air knife system anywhere at any time.

As always, if you have an advertised price and/or quote from a competitor for a similar product of ours, we will not just match it but beat it by 20%. No questions asked!

Steve Zytariuk
Chief Executive Officer
sales@stream-tek.com

Mary desperately needs to blow off excess crystallized sugar from the tops of muffins before going into the oven. The STREAMTEK 36″ Model AE36SPA-2 Advanced Air Knife is able to create a curtain of air onto the muffins to blow-off the excess sugar to avoid burning of the sugar!

Contamination of the compressed air is not a concern for Mary, as an Auto Drain Filter Separator is included to maintain a clean dry source of compressed air. In addition, the STREAMTEK Air Knife has a wide range of control of blow-off force by using the supplied Pressure Regulator.

Doug Sumner
Application Engineer
doug@stream-tek.com

Customer (Ross) has a metal processing facility. Previously scrapers & brushes were used to remove the scrap buildup. This was terribly inefficient, created expensive maintenance problems, and was loud.

Ross has compressed air from another system available. Using a 30″ Regular Aluminum Air Knife, Ross was able to decrease downtime & drastically reduce noise. The Air Knife was easy to mount thanks to the multiple 1/4″-20 mounting holes on the Air Knife, unlike competitive models which will often require dismantling & reassembly.

Doug Sumner
Application Engineer
doug@stream-tek.com