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A Guide in Choosing the Right Industrial Dust Collector Manufacturer

Dust hazards have been a part of reality especially in industrial manufacturing facilities. In order to combat health threats primarily caused by considerable amount of fumes or dust from industrial operations, calling the help of an industrial dust collector manufacturer is usually necessary as the right one will most likely lead you to the dust collector that is best suited to your business’s needs. 

A Guide in Choosing the Right Industrial Dust Collector Manufacturer

You would know that the industrial dust collector manufacturer you are considering is indeed the right one if it has enough knowledge needed to keep your business operation compliant and safe. In that case, your supplier should be able to give you a detailed overview of the following concerns…

CONCERNS TO RAISE TO YOUR PROSPECTIVE INDUSTRIAL DUST COLLECTOR MANUFACTURER

The Presence of Wet and/or Dry Collection Systems

A manufacturer that both has wet and dry collection systems incorporated in its industrial dust collector has the bigger likelihood to give unbiased input on the best tool for a given application. Both these systems are necessary because dry media dust collectors and wet scrubbers are made to capture dusts produced during business operations in a different manner. Hence, one clearly has innate disadvantages advantages over the other. More often than not, the choice is not definite. 

Narrowing your industrial dust collector options is simple anyhow. You just have to dig a little deeper and understand each option’s operating approach and the type and source of dusts it can collect from the operation. 

There are three common filtration media technologies that many industrial dust collector manufacturers use to powder and bulk processes:

  • Baghouse – This type of technology is designed to handle high-volume, high-loading applications. Its fabric media is more prepared for complex applications like moisture, chemical resistance, and high temperatures. It is quite large and is usually located outdoors. The dust collection is usually done through a variety of cleaning mechanisms such as compressed air, reverse air, or positive displacement pumps technology. 
  • Cartridge – Compared to baghouse, cartridge technology is a little lighter and is just enough for finer dusts. It is nonetheless highly and consistently efficient especially great for non-stop usage. In term of versatility, cartridge tops the list as it can be used both for point-of-use and centralized applications and can be situated either outdoors or indoors. On the downside, since it’s nonstop operating, it demands more frequent cleaning using compressed air mechanism. 
  • Fluted Media Collectors – Last in the list is fluted media collectors technology which is highly efficient in a fluted configuration. This is best suited for point-of-use dust collection needs where easy maintenance and a compact design are important. 

Nowadays, a hybrid of the abovementioned technologies is already out in the market. Known as the pleated filter bags, the hybrid is designed for operations that have a space or dust volume best handled by a baghouse and a type of dust best handled by a cartridge technology. 

Filtration Efficiency

As much as possible, choose the manufacturer that can give you a written guarantee of filtration efficiency. This will serve as a contract that your dust collector will always be compliant to OSHA, EPA, or other national agency’s regulatory standards. 

Your collector’s filtration efficiency can be measured in a variety of methods. The manufacturer may claim that their system uses MERV 15 filters or it offers 99% filtration efficiency at a particular particle size. Either of these measurements is nonetheless necessary to gauge different systems. Mass density efficiency or the weight per unit volume of air, more often than not, indicates best how compliant an industrial dust collector is. 

For instance, if Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) limits the allowed emissions at 5 milligrams per cubic meter at the dust collector’s discharge, the higher your dust collector’s filtration efficiency is, the more it can keep your facility compliant and safe to OSHA’s rules. 

Combustible Dust Management

Since your industrial dust collector’s price tag is definitely hefty, you got to make sure its manufacturer has made it compliant to NFPA’s 484 or the Standard for Combustible Metals too. 

To date, there are still no official certifications that can gauge and guarantee this compliance. Hence, the least you can do is inquire about your manufacturer’s particular capabilities or experience regarding this matter. If your manufacturer seems ignorant to these terms, especially on the clause that covers the management of explosion-potential of metals and how the workers can be protected against such hazards, then that should raise your red flag. 

In-House Dust Testing

As much as possible, choose an industrial dust collector manufacturer that offers in-house dust testing so you can find the best system for your facilities. More often than not, determining whether you need a dry media or a wet media system is quite a long process with quite a number of considerations. Oftentimes, the first essential step in the decision-making process is dust testing which can be done in two different ways:

  1. Lab Testing. This spots the dust’s physical properties that can affect the collector’s performance and filter efficiency. 
  2. Explosibility Testing. This, meanwhile, identifies the dust’s explosive and combustible properties.

Your Job as a Customer: Search for Reviews and Feedbacks

In this modern age, everything is widely available on the web. That said, a simple Google about the “best industrial dust collector nearby” will lead you to a wide variety of industrial dust collector manufacturers present in today’s market. To make sure you get the best value of your investment and your collector can truly deliver your operational needs, it is always best if you also take into consideration the feedbacks and reviews you can find online about the manufacturer that you have been eyeing to buy from. Since dust issues can be very intricate to manage, it is necessary that your manufacturer has a team of seasoned professional engineers that have the knowledge and expertise to help you design and set up your dust collector. This particularly includes knowledge about the type of ducting needed, the right location of the collector, the right filtration media, and the right industrial dust collector system for your industrial set-up. 

Clay Miller
the authorClay Miller
I am the creator/writer of Ways2GoGreen.com and Ways2GoGreenBlog.com. I'm an advocate for oceans, beaches, state parks. I enjoy all things outdoors (e.g. running, golf, gardening, hiking, etc.) I am a graduate of the University of Kentucky (Go Wildcats!!). I'm also a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Kentucky.

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