Industrial Vacuums Vs. Consumer Syle Vacs
While at the Electric Power show this week I seemed to hear this alot: “Why can your vacuum handle coal dust when my shop vacuum won’t?” That seems to be a big question in the industrial vacuum world. Whether its coal dust, wood shavings or some other fine dust or debris, people want to know just what exactly an industrial vacuum has that their consumer-style vacuum does not. Well, not being sold on the shelves of your local hardware store is just beginning.
The reason shop-style vacs die so quickly is usually because their filters easily become clogged or blinded with dust and debris. This blocks air to the motor, creating a decrease in suction and ultimately motor burn up. In a high-quality industrial vacuum there is something called graduated filtration or multi-stage filtration, which prevents this from happening. Basically, in multi-stage filtration the dirt and dust that you collect passes through several steps of filtration (paper bag, micro filter, etc.), so by the time it hits the main filter, the majority of your collected material has already been trapped by previous filters. Each filtration level acts as barrier for the next.
Another nice feature on industrial vacuums that keep the filters from clogging is an automatic or manual filter shaker. A manual filter shaker is a mechanism built into the vacuum that allows the operator to shake the filter from the outside of the vacuum. This shake loosens dust and debris on the main filter and allows it to fall to the bottom of the collection container. Think of a manual filter shaker (or purger) like the power windows in your car…just push a button and the filter is shaken or blasted with air for you.
A bypass or secondary cooled motor will also prolong your vacuum’s life and is an important feature on an industrial vacuum. These types of motors use the outside air to cool off, as opposed to many consumer-style vacs that use the air that is sucked into the hose while vacuuming to cool the motor (A.K.A. primary-cooled), and as explained above, if there’s poor filtration then the air will have a tough time getting through to the motor. And so ends the life of yet another shop-style vac.
Tags: Filtration, Industrial Vacuums, shop vacuums