Question for Shawn Forsythe and others

[lance]

Please explain what you think happens when you have just the right amount of cfm at the wand and too much cfm at the wand......

For example, if a glided Prochem Ti wand can flow 225 cfm and you have a TM system that produces 225 cfm would your relief valve ever open if it was set to 12, 14, or even 16 inches of Hg?

How about if your TM system now produces 300 cfm but you are still using the same Ti wand.....do you think the relief valve would open if set at 12, 14, or 16 inches of Hg.?

I know that cfm is air movement and lift is a restriction of that air movement, and that they act inversely during cleaning. But does it matter if you run the TM at full power creating more cfm than can go thru a wand? Wouldn't that make the TM more inefficient and waste gas and put more wear & tear on the TM, especially if you did that every job for, say, five years?

I would think hose run length would also affect things......how would a hose run of 100 feet differ from a hose run of 300 feet under the above conditions?

Just trying to figure out how to run a TM the most efficient way, especially when doing residential (short hose run) vs. commercial (longer hose runs). A 47 blower running at 85% can produce about 320 to 330 cfm. Most guys want the most cfm that their TM's can produce.....is that really the way to go?

Maybe this is a hard question to answer, but I would like any thoughts that you have about it.

Thanks.

PS: Marty, please don't attempt to read this or your head will probably explode.

 

[Nate The Great]

Sorry I can't answer your question... But I did gain 50 more cfm's after putting the vortex sticker on my TM... Hope that helps...

 

[GeneMiller]

my machine cleans well and leaves the carpet drier then it's predecessor which was a number 4 blower. that's all i care about. don't waste so much time worrying about it. when it dies replace it.

gene

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Please explain what you think happens when you have just the right amount of cfm at the wand and too much cfm at the wand......

For example, if a glided Prochem Ti wand can flow 225 cfm and you have a TM system that produces 225 cfm would your relief valve ever open if it was set to 12, 14, or even 16 inches of Hg?

How about if your TM system now produces 300 cfm but you are still using the same Ti wand.....do you think the relief valve would open if set at 12, 14, or 16 inches of Hg.?

I know that cfm is air movement and lift is a restriction of that air movement, and that they act inversely during cleaning. But does it matter if you run the TM at full power creating more cfm than can go thru a wand? Wouldn't that make the TM more inefficient and waste gas and put more wear & tear on the TM, especially if you did that every job for, say, five years?

I would think hose run length would also affect things......how would a hose run of 100 feet differ from a hose run of 300 feet under the above conditions?

Just trying to figure out how to run a TM the most efficient way, especially when doing residential (short hose run) vs. commercial (longer hose runs). A 47 blower running at 85% can produce about 320 to 330 cfm. Most guys want the most cfm that their TM's can produce.....is that really the way to go?

Maybe this is a hard question to answer, but I would like any thoughts that you have about it.

Thanks.

PS: Marty, please don't attempt to read this or your head will probably explode.

You'll never know until you actually start cleaning carpets...

 

[dgardner]

The cfm a wand will flow is related to the vacuum (lift) at the wand inlet. The longer the hose run, the less lift available at the wand connection due to friction losses in the hose, resulting in lower cfm. So, yes, hose run does affect wand flow. Once you reach the lift limit (at the machine) then any further increase in blower cfm will just flow more air through the relief. So, if I get your question, running your blower at 800 cfm if your particular wand/hose combination will only flow 225 cfm will not do you any more good. Efficient operation would be to run the blower fast enough to achieve the relief setting (14", 12" whatever) plus a little cushion (some relief flow) with the hose run/wand connected.

If your blower/tank/avalable horsepower allows you to increase the relief setting, then the higher vacuum ATM will give you more cfm at the wand (up to a point), but again, once you flow enough to crack the relief, not much more can be gained by increasing the blower cfm.

IMO, YMMV, tax title and license fees not included...

 

[Mikey P]

You'll never know until you actually start cleaning carpets...

Lance just wants to be prepared in case a customer asks him the same question.

 

[sam miller]

hey Marty, blow me :shock:

 

[truckmount girl]

Even if your hypothetical machine pulls 800 cfm and your hypothetical wand only moves 225, you will be better off with the bigger blower. Why? Because you lose CFM in the plumbing of the system, and a ton is lost in the hose run. The higher CFM blower helps make up for system loss. Lift and CFM are inverse figures, however what you want is the best of both.....it does no good to have 1000 hg if you have no CFM (block off) it also does no good to have a lot of cfm, but no lift behind it, it won't pull water from deeper in the carpet. So, the idea is that a larger blower allows you the ability to move more CFM, the less restrictions in plumbing, hose and wand the better to communicate that lift and CFM to the carpet.

Take care,
Lisa