Cleaners

Most vacuum cleaners are supplied with various specialized attachments, tools, brushes and extension wands to allow them to reach otherwise inaccessible places or to be used for cleaning a variety of surfaces. more...

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Vacuum Cleaners

Exhaust Filtration

Vacuums by their nature cause dust to become airborne, by exhausting air that is not completely filtered. This can cause health problems since the operator ends up inhaling this dust. There are several methods manufactures are using to solve this problem. Some methods may be combined together in a single vacuum. Typically the filter is positioned so that the incoming air passes thought it before it reaches the motor.

Bag: The bag is the typical method to capture the debris vacuumed up. It involves a paper of fabric bag that allow air to pass though but attempts to trap all dust and debris in the bag.;

Cyclonic separation: Bagless vacuum cleaners tend to employ this method. It causes intake air to be cycled or spun so fast that the dust is forced out of the air and falls into a storage bin. It is like how a centrifuge works.;

Water Filtration: Water filtration vacuum cleaners use water as a filter. It forces the intake air to pass through water before it is exhausted. The idea behind this is that wet dust cannot be airborne. They filter out any debris that is water soluble and are considered very effective, but they require the water to be dumped and the machine rinsed out after every use.;

Ultra Fine Air filter: This method is used as a secondary filter after the air has passed thought the rest of the machine. It is meant to remove any remaining dust that could harm the operator.;

Vacuum cleaner specifications

The performance of a vacuum cleaner can be measured by several parameters:

airflow, in cubic feet per minute (CFM or ft³/min) or litres per second (l/s); air speed, in miles per hour (mph) or metres per second (m/s); suction, vacuum, or water lift, in inches of water or pascals (Pa);

The suction is the maximum pressure difference that the pump can create. For example, a typical domestic model has a suction of about negative 20 kPa. This means that it can lower the pressure inside the hose from normal atmospheric pressure (about 100 kPa) by 20 kPa. The higher the suction rating, the more powerful the cleaner. One inch of water is equivalent to about 249 Pa; hence, the typical suction is 80 inches of water.

The power consumption of a cleaner, in watts, is often the only figure stated. Many North American vacuum manufacturers only give the current in amperes (e.g. "12 amps") and the consumer is left to multiply that by the line voltage of 120 volts to get the power ratings in volt amperes (not quite the same as watts for AC current, see AC voltages). The power does not indicate the effectiveness of the cleaner, only how much electricity it consumes. The amount of this power that is converted into airflow at the end of the cleaning hose is sometimes stated, and is measured in air watts: the units are simply watts; "air" is used to clarify that this is output power, not input electrical power. This is calculated using the formula:

Read more at Wikipedia.org