You count on your dust collection system to control dust, air pollutants and to improve the air quality in your operation.
Maintaining your dust collector system is important for system efficiency and to avoid costly system shutdowns. Here are 5 effective ways to care for your dust collector system and reduce maintenance costs.
- Regularly Inspect Your Dust Collector Unit
An important part of dust collector maintenance is regular system inspections to maintain efficiency and proper working conditions. Here are some things to look out for:
- Check certain dust collector elements regularly –
- The unit should be visually inspected daily for any unusual sounds, vibrations or gathering dust and debris.
- Inspect filter cleaning components, dust collection doors, gaskets, fans and belts every week.
- Clean the hopper of any dust and debris, it should never be used as storage.
- Have a qualified technician inspect the explosion protection system on a semi-annual or annual basis.
- Replace any worn or defective parts
- Take preventative steps if the unit is not working as it was designed to do.
- Keep daily, monthly and yearly inspection logs, so you can be sure your unit is being maintained properly.
2. Use a Dust Collector that is Sized for Your Needs and Space
Although a smaller unit may use less energy and be cheaper to purchase initially, the unit may end up costing you more over the long term if it is not the proper size for the job you need. A dust collector needs to be properly sized to run at maximum efficiency at the required airflow.
If your unit is not properly sized it could cause increased operating pressure drop problems and overload your filters leading to more maintenance costs, more frequent filter changes and higher energy costs.
3. Change your filters at the same time
It is important to follow the care and maintenance instructions for your dust collector unit. These instructions include recommendations for when to change your dust collector cartridges. All cartridges should be changed at the same time.
This is because the new cartridges need time to condition themselves in your unit for them to maximize efficiency. New cartridges naturally have less resistance than the old ones and the airflow through the cartridges will try to follow the least resistant path. This pulls dust particles deeper into the cartridges which makes them harder to clean and means you will need to replace them more frequently.
4. Use Long-Life Filters to Reduce Replacement Frequency
Check your unit’s operation and maintenance manual for filter replacement recommendations or contact Industry Air Sales Ltd. a dust collector cartridge supplier for recommendations. You can choose long-life filters which reduce the number of times you need to change your filters. Also, consider a wide pleat filter design which improves airflow, and saves energy.
5. Consider the Actual Costs of Dust Collector Filters
When choosing an air filter – consider all the long term costs associated with the filters from transportation and delivery costs for replacement filters, inventory costs, the cost of labour to replace filters and disposal costs for old dust filters and downtime costs due to collector shut down for filter changes. These all contribute to the overall cost of your filter.
There are many ways to keep your dust collector running smoothly and efficiently. With proper care and maintenance, you can keep the air in your facility safe and reduce costly shutdown time and filter replacements.
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