Fans & Makeup Air.
The right fan, the right fit, every time
Problem
A large generator company came to IAS looking for solutions for their generator testing cells. The industrial generators produced a significant amount of heat and fumes in their sealed cells. The sealed cells lacked proper ventilation. This caused heat and fumes to quickly become hazardous to employees who needed to repeatedly check on and service the test generators. The test environment had to simulate real world conditions; with all of the heat and fumes produced by the generators it was not possible.
Something needed to change immediately
The Challenge
Because the smaller testing cells lacked any form of fume removal that allowed for a significant buildup of fumes and heat that needed to be removed rapidly from the weld cells. The customer brought up concerns about fumes that may be heavier than the air and they needed these fumes removed at the same time. Due to the contaminated air being removed we needed to bring in treated clean air into each weld cell to maintain the testing lab’s ambient temperature. Finally, each cell would run independently and needed to have independent fans to operate only when the generators were on in each cell.
The Solution
Because of the multiple factors that needed to be considered IAS went with a multipronged attack on the fumes and heat in this room. First a custom hood was designed above the generators to collect all of the heat created by the generator. IAS paired the hood with a duct that connected to the exhaust pipe of the generator to remove the fumes from the cell. The contaminated air was then exhausted through duel Chicago Blower Design 36 fans to the atmosphere. To account for the fumes that may be heavier than air, IAS installed a collection hood on the floor of the test cell, this was connected to a Chicago Blower Design 38 Cast Pressure blower. Due to the removal of heated air from the cell, an Absoluteair makeup air unit was installed to heat outside air to the cell’s temperature. This was an 8,000 CFM make-up air unit, sized to match the amount of air that was being removed from the testing cell.
Results
This solution was simple yet very effective, the testing cell was fume free and the cells temperature dropped into normal operation levels immediately upon start up. The testing cell was safe for employees to enter during and after the generator testing. The testing cell was no longer clouded with fumes from the generator thanks to the Chicago Blower fans running simultaneously. The wall mounted fans allowed for less ductwork to be used and eliminated the need of pouring a separate concrete pad for each fan. The setup looks clean with custom wall mounts designed for this specific operation. The makeup air unit from Absoluteair keeps up easily with the exhausted air ensuring adequate temperature control in the testing cell.
IAS & Chicago Blowers solution was designed perfectly and far exceeded the customers’ expectations and boosted the efficiency of the testing cells without affecting the tests.
Project Success Points
IAS knew immediately how we were going to tackle the customers problem and we walked with the customer for every step of the project. The belt driven Chicago Blower fans properly vacated the fumes from the testing cells, which paired with an Absoluteair Make up air unit proved to be the perfect combination for this setup. This solution solved the customers’ needs immediately and provided a safe working environment for their employees.
Companies Involved
- Chicago Blower
- Absoluteair
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