ALC - Aerodyne

While Aerodyne doesn’t manufacture baghouses or their controllers, it seems like we’re always working with them. However, as we like to say, the pulse-on-demand controller is the wave of the future.  Sure, the old baghouse controller is still functional, but the rising cost of energy and the growing concern about waste make the pulse-on-demand controller the ideal choice.

Over the past few years, the relative cost of VFDs comparative to motor starters has dropped, making the VFD an attractive replacement.  When used in a dust collector, VFDs provide many more benefits than do motor starters.

Almost everyone in this industry is familiar with using a cyclone for dust collection. Cyclones work great as pre-filters, decreasing loading and minimizing contamination before a baghouse or cartridge collector. However, many times you don’t have the head room to install them.  Or you have an existing dust collector and no room to install a cyclone pre-filter. 

All dust collectors include a hopper that collects the captured dust.  These hoppers are not designed for storage of the dust, however.  They are there for the dust to collect until it passes out of the dust collector through an airlock, such as a rotary valve, double-dump valve, trickle valve, etc.  Adequate discharge intervals are important.   If enough dust builds up in the hopper, then the dust will get re-entrained into the air.  This could cause a few issues. 

Baghouse filters are great for dust collection; however, if they develop a hole, then there is a clear path for the dust to take through the filter.  Over time, the hole will increase in size, allowing more and more dust through.  Filters with holes decrease the removal efficiency of the dust collection system and could violate your air permit.

When selecting the airlock for your dust collector, it is important to think about air leakage.  A little air leakage through the airlock isn’t a usually a big deal with many baghouse applications, but air leakage can cause major issues with some applications.  So it is important that you identify if your system will have issues with air leakage and then select the proper airlock valve.

While not cleaning your baghouse filter is bad, cleaning your filters too much isn’t a very good idea either.  If you don’t clean your filters enough, dust will build up on them faster and they will plug up faster; however, cleaning them too much can cause issues too.

Airlocks are very important for proper dust collector operation.  The airlock prevents air from entering or exiting the bottom of the dust collector.  The opening at the bottom of the dust collector is meant for discharging the dust from the system.  When air is entering or leaving from this area, it will cause issues. 

Now that winter is winding down, it’s time to get ready for summer!  That means planning vacation with the family!  Cleaning up the yard!  Send the kids outside so they burn off all that energy they accumulated over the winter! 

Baghouses and cartridge collectors are usually designed to handle a maximum of 6” Water Column (W.C.) of pressure drop.  This means that when the baghouse pressure drop is 6” W.C., the airflow through the system is enough for proper operation.  When the pressure drop across the bags is greater than 6” W.C., the airflow through the system is less than it should be. The baghouse uses a control system to keep the pressure drop through the system less than 6” W.C.  Most baghouses use compressed air to clean the bags, but shaking and sonic cleaners are also used.