Requests for troubleshooting blower and vacuum systems has been on the increase for the past couple of years. Most of the solutions end up being due to lack of preventative maintenance or improper operation. But lately, a good many of them are design problems. The system is not designed to operate as the customer thinks it should. Or, even worse, the system will not operate as it should.

 

For almost 100 years there were only 3-4 cast iron centrifugal blower manufacturer's in the world. Hoffman and Lamson were arguably ranked 1 and 2. The engineering departments were probably the best you could find in the world of blower manufacturing. The companies had systems in place to insure all of their blowers were designed and manufactured to exacting specifications. Their application engineers often spent their whole life designing and improving the operation of centrifugal blowers.

 

With the proliferation of big company buyouts of these "small" blower manufacturers, and the resulting upstart of new companies getting into the blower manufacturing business(at least 8 that I know of), the engineering departments may not have the quality personnel of old. There are companies out there who have excellent, well trained, application engineers you can truly trust. But there are obviously some out there who cannot design an effective blower or vacuum system.

 

There was a landfill I was at not long ago who could only operate 1 of his 3 gas booster blowers at one time. When he tried to use 2 blowers, at least one of them would always go into surge. A close review of his complete system confirmed he had the wrong size blowers for his needs. Sometimes the customer specs differ from the actual on-site criteria, but a good, experienced, application engineer can usually unearth the discrepancies.

 

When you decide you need a new blower, or vacuum system, be sure to go to a blower manufacturer who has the most experience. Go to the company who has design engineers experienced in centrifugal blower manufacturer and operation. For my money, those engineers who formerly worked for Hoffman or Lamson probably have the experience and training you want.

 

An effective vacuum or aeration system starts with the original design. I can't make it work if it isn't designed right from the start. Choose the manufacturer based on the quality of engineering, not the name. It will save you money!

 

Maintenance Minute is published each month by Snyder Technical Services, LLC and is based on the work of former Lamson National Service Manager, Bill Snyder.   Should you have any questions, or problems to discuss, please contact me.

Sincerely,