Vacuum Cleaners

About Vacuum Cleaners and Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers Including: Auto Vacuums, Central Vacuum Systems, Central Vacuums, Commercial Vacuum Cleaners, Continuous Duty Vacuums, Explosion Proof Vacuums, HEPA Vacuum Cleaners, Industrial Vacuum Cleaners, Portable Vacuum Cleaner, Small Vacuum Cleaners, Vacuum Equipment & Wet Dry Vacuum.

Vacuum cleaners are industrial cleaning machines that use vacuum suction for cleaning purposes and are designed to meet the needs of manufacturing facilities and other high demand areas. Vacuum cleaners are high-powered machines capable of collecting considerably more material with greater efficiency than commercial vacuum cleaners. Vacuum cleaners include canister cleaners, walk behind or rider sweepers, backpack cleaners, vacuum cleaner trucks, HEPA vacuum cleaners and central vacuum cleaners. Auto vacuums are small vacuum cleaners and have airflow and attachments which are designed specifically for cleaning the interiors of cars, trucks and automobiles. All of these are portable vacuum cleaners except central vacuum systems, which are mounted in a remote area of a facility and connected to local areas through a network of ductwork, and continuous duty vacuums, which are large, stationary and run 24 hours a day.. Every manufacturing facility requires vacuum cleaners to maintain facility cleanliness; woodworking, metal fabrication and other high debris-producing facilities use wet dry vacuums such as vacuum cleaners and shop vacuums for high-power wet/dry dirt removal. Vacuum equipment differs based on methods of power, construction, cleaning ability, filtration and safety features, like being an Explosion Proof Vacuums.

Industrial vacuum cleaners are used for cleaning in the high demand environments of manufacturing facilities to pick up materials such as fine powders, abrasives, explosive media, litter, non-free flowing media, metalworking chips and fluids, toxic media, coolant and oil mist and welding fumes. Industrial vacuum cleaners are also commonly used as solutions for reclaiming, recycling and spill recovery. Airflow, vacuum pressure and filtration capabilities are some important points to keep in mind when considering a vacuum cleaner. Business and other commercial facilities which do not require heavy debris cleaning often use commercial vacuum cleaners and central vacuum cleaners to clean carpets and windowsills. Central vacuum cleaners work through the suction produced at a remote central location, where the debris is contained after being brought through a system of tubing and wall inlets which are conveniently placed throughout a clean room, manufacturing facility or commercial business. For central vacuum systems, the number of inlets or operators the unit supports is important.

The power and output levels are what make vacuum cleaners significantly different from standard commercial vacuums. Also, vacuum cleaners often have larger storage capabilities to handle a wider range of material volume. Certain vacuum cleaner manufacturers specially design products for use in clean room applications. Clean rooms are containment free environments which are used for the fabrication of items such as microprocessors, computer chips and related small technological components. The air in such rooms is repeatedly filtered by HEPA vacuum cleaners and monitored to remove impurities; central vacuum cleaners are often used in clean rooms for convenient, sterile vacuuming. HEPA or ULPA certified vacuum filters work in HEPA vacuum cleaners to filter 99.97% of air particles 0.3 micrometers in diameter, providing extremely sterile cleaning for areas required to be to be allergen free, such as in medical equipment processing; or particle free, as in clean rooms.

Vacuum cleaner manufacturers make filters that are able to handle dry or wet material, and many systems do both. Vacuum cleaner manufacturers fabricate three types of separation systems: cartridge, bag or centrifugal separator, also known as cyclone. Airflow, an important functional element in vacuuming, refers to the velocity of the air stream produced by the vacuum cleaners motor or vacuum-producing device. Pressure typically refers to static pressure or water lift. This term usually concerns pressure differential of flow through filter media in vacuum cleaning systems. Power sources for cleaning machines may include electricity, air power or gasoline. Industrial suction is produced by one of four common blower motors: turbine, regenerative, positive displacement or centrifugal. Powerful industrial vacuum cleaners can also be used as a means of excavation of dirt, sand or rock.

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Vacuum Cleaner Types

• Auto vacuums are designed to clean the interior and upholstery of automobiles.
• Backpack vacuum cleaners are machines worn on the back of the user. Backpack vacuum cleaners provide mobility along with the higher cleaning capabilities for awkward areas such as stairways.
  
• Commercial vacuum cleaners are designed for use in commercial and industrial environments.
• Canister cleaners are not the standard walk behind units. They have wheels that allow the unit to be pulled behind the user as they walk with the separate suction attachment. These wheeled canisters house the suction motor and filtering system.
  
• Central vacuum system (CVS) cleaners are usually in the basement or garage of a homeowner or a remote part of a manufacturing facility. Hose inlets in the walls and two inch PVC pipes carry the dirt laden-laden air to the central power unit.
  
• HEPA vacuum cleaners use High Efficiency Particulate Air filters.
• Portable vacuum cleaners are portable cleaning machines that use vacuum suction for cleaning purposes that require both mobility and maneuverability.
• Rider sweepers are similar to walk behind sweepers. Rider sweepers are motorized and ridden by the user. They also have larger storage tanks and therefore have a larger cleaning capacity in terms of area.
  
• Truck vacuums are any vacuum cleaning machine that is mounted on the back of a truck. V acuum trucks are specifically designed to load and carry bulk materials; loading involves the use of vacuum suction to move material from an area into a storage compartment on the truck.
  
• Walk behind sweepers are machines that are used for cleaning large floor space area. They can be used for hard or carpeted floors; they are battery or gas operated and many of them have rechargeable batteries.
• Wet dry vacuums are specialized types of canister vacuums that can be used to clean up wet, or liquid, spills as well as removing dry debris.

Vacuum Cleaner Terms

Air Watts - A specification that rates the output power of vacuum cleaners rather than their input power, as measured at the vacuum cleaner inlet with air flow suction. This is also referred to as "sucking power."
 
By-pass - A characteristic of vacuum motors that are air-cooled with a ventilator that is independent of the cleaning air. Usually found in either tangential exhaust systems or peripheral systems.  

Certified Energy Manager (CEM) - International professional designation available through training and testing by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).

CFC (Chlorofluorocarbon) - Family of chemicals used as refrigerants, being tightly regulated and phased out of production due to stratospheric ozone depletion potential. Examples: R-11, R-12, R-113, R-114, R-115.
 
Clean-Air Design - A design of a vacuum cleaner in which the filtering system cleans the dirt suction airflow before it goes through the fan or fans of the suction motor. This prevents damage to the fan that results from material carried by a dirty-air system and usually creates considerably more suction, particularly when a hose and attachments are used.
 
Cyclonic Filters - Cyclonic systems that separate the dust particles from the airflow by spinning the air with a separation chamber. The spinning causes centrifugal force to move the dust particles outward while the air exits from the inner part of the chamber; some cleaners utilize multiple chambers and most cleaners add filters to increase the total system filtration efficiency.   
Direct Air System - A design of a vacuum cleaner that has the air carrying the dirt passing through the fan of the suction motor into the bag. Typically, this does not create as much suction with attachments; it commonly creates more airflow when operating with big openings and short airflow distances.  
 
Dirty Air Design - A design of a vacuum cleaner in which the airflow, which picks up the dirt, passes through the fan of the suction motor before it is cleaned by the filtering system.
 
Electric Hoses - A special type of vacuum cleaner hose that has internal wires that carry electrical current to the power nozzle's motor. Typically, these hoses reinforce the hose, but not always like crush resistant hoses.
 
Electrostatic Filter - A kind of filter media consisting of very fine synthetic fibers on which a static electric charge builds as air passes through. The charge draws the smallest allergen and dust particles, helping the filter retain them.   
 
Fan - The fan or impeller that creates the suction necessary for the vacuum.
 
Filtration Efficiency - The percentage of particles retained by the primary filter as air passes through it. The efficiency increases as the size of the particles increase.
 
HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) - A filtering efficiency specification whose purpose is to effectively remove radioactive dust from plant exhausts without redistribution. This filter must be able to capture 99.97% of all particles 0.3 mm (micrometers or microns) in size or larger from the air that goes through it.  
 
HEPA Type Filter - A type of filter or paper bag that uses similar construction or fibers to that used in a true HEPA filter. While being a significant improvement over regular filters, the vacuum that uses it may not have a completely sealed filtration system, so there is no guarantee that the stringent HEPA specification will be met by it.  
 
Micron Filter - A kind of filter that is able to capture micron size particles at an extremely high efficiency rate.
 
Peripheral Exhaust - The exhausting of cleaned air through many small openings on the vacuum motor perimeter.
 
Resistance - In relation to the airflow in a vacuum cleaner, the opposition to a passage of air. This occurs in a variety of ways in a vacuum cleaner system.
 
Spun Aluminum - This manufacturing process creates dust recovery tanks along with other vacuum equipment. It is the molding of a flat aluminum disc to make a deep container from one piece of metal without soldering so that all parts made this way are free from air leaks and ensure the highest vacuum strength.
 
Tangential Exhaust - The exhausting of cleaned air through a single exit on the side of the motor.
 
Thru-flow - A characteristic of particular vacuum motors in which the cleaning air flows through the casing to cool it.  
 
ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air) - A filtering efficiency specification for filters utilized in environments that require the maximum degree of clean air, like pharmaceutical labs. Specifically, these filters must retain particles 0.12 mm or larger with the efficiency rating of 99.999%; the testing and marking of certified ULPA filters ensures that these filters are attaining the ULPA specification.
 
Velocity of the Air Flow - The speed of air at any given point in the vacuum cleaner system. It is the force of the air that collects the dirt and moves it into the bag or dirt receptacle.
 
Water Lift - In terms of vacuum cleaners, a measure of the power of the vacuum created by the suction motor. This is essentially a measurement of how high water is lifted by a vacuum hose attached to a tube placed in water.