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When selecting a fan, I prefer to do so in a deductive fashion. In other words, try to understand everything you possibly can about the nature of the application and the details about what the fan is going to be doing. From there, you can actually use a process of elimination to back right into the appropriate types of fans.1. Ventilation vs. Proce...
MK Plastics Blog
Founded in 1963, MK Plastics is a global leader in the production of corrosion resistant industrial and commercial blowers, fans, and ventilation systems. Patented in several countries, our products are AMCA Certified for Air and Sound Performance.
We offer the broadest and most complete line of quality industrial and commercial corrosion-resistant fans and blowers. Our innovative ventilation technologies are patented in several countries.
We offer the broadest and most complete line of quality industrial and commercial corrosion-resistant fans and blowers. Our innovative ventilation technologies are patented in several countries.
AC electric motors used on fans typically consist of windings, bearings, and other internal mechanical parts. All those parts need to be enclosed by what's referred to as a frame, which serves a dual purpose. The frame protects the internal parts, but at the same time, it allows heat generated within the windings to be dissipated from the motor. So...
All induced flow fans fit into two overarching types/categories: centrifugal induced flow fans and vertical inline induced flow fans. Both of those types of induced flow fans are available in belt drive or direct drive configurations. While belt drive induced flow fans offer many safety, adjustability, and motor changeout advantages, s...
Fan drive arrangements are defined by the Air Movement and Control Association International (AMCA). (We address drive arrangements in detail in a separate presentation.) When comparing and contrasting direct drive to belt drive fans, I think we should address efficiency, safety, reliability, maintenance, and motor replacement independently. As we ...
The fan industry has a trade association called Air Movement and Control Association International, or AMCA, which produces several standards and methods of testing. AMCA Standard 99-10 addresses drive configurations for different types of fans. This blog post will not address fans designed for motors to be remotely mounted (specifical...
AMCA Standard 260 (published in 2013) is the laboratory method of testing induced flow fans. This test standard defines the appropriate fashion in which any manufacturer can test induced flow fans within an accredited test facility.Induced flow fans are somewhat of an anomaly in the fan business because at a given speed, power, and air...
MK Plastics offers a wide variety of corrosion resistant fans for critical applications. We offer axial and centrifugal designs with belt drive, direct drive, or couple driven configurations. They can be used in general ventilation applications (typically space exhaust) or in ducted or pressure applications.One broad market is water an...
The Air Movement and Control Association International (AMCA) developed an energy efficiency classification for fans, which is called AMCA Standard 205. It describes how a fan manufacturer defines fan efficiency grades (more commonly referred to as FEGs). FEGs are a numerical value intended to give the user an indication of the relativ...
We're a corrosion resistant fan manufacturer, and we also make dampers and louvers out of fiberglass for various corrosive applications. They fall under the title of air control and movement. They're not fans, but they work in conjunction with vans and ventilation.Gravity Backdraft DampersEnd pivoted automatic shutter dampers, more commonly known a...
Medical centers and hospitals depend on reliable Information Technology. For example, they use computers to retain patient records and past medical history. Because technology is such an important aspect of the healthcare system, IT departments need to make sure everything works uninterrupted. Computers and networks simply cannot be su...
Seismic codes are part of the International Building Code (IBC), which was created about 20 years ago. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, studies concluded that although buildings survived structurally, much of the MEP equipment (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) had failed. As a result, the buildings were rendered useless. Now,...
We manufacture two types of dampers at MK Plastics: control dampers and automatic gravity dampers. Here's what you need to know about the functionality and usefulness of the dampers we offer.Control DampersControl dampers are used in buildings to regulate airflow in HVAC systems. They can be used in intake exhaust, or mixed air applica...
When I started in this business 20 years ago, noise wasn't really an issue. Now, it's becoming a more prevalent concern in our industry. In fact, the World Health Organization classifies noise as a type of pollution. The equipment that we provide institutions such as hospitals, universities, and pharmaceutical companies, must be as qui...
When you're troubleshooting exhaust equipment (or any HVAC equipment), you really have to put your detective hat on. It can sometimes be a very complicated task to identify the category of the specific problem. Sometimes it's an easy fix, and sometimes it can be very complicated. There are even occasions when it's an issue that you'll ...
In Part 1 of this blog post, I talked about axial flow fans and how they propel air in an axial direction. This time, we'll investigate the second type of fan/wheel, called a centrifugal fan. Let's take a look at how centrifugal fans are different from axial fans.First, air enters the impeller axially. Then the air is accelerated by th...
There are two general classifications of fans: centrifugal fans and axial flow fans. What sets them apart is how air passes through the wheel. An axial flow wheel (called a propeller) propels the air in an axial direction with a swirling tangential motion created by the rotation of the blades. The rotation increases air velocity, produ...
Think about a facility like a semiconductor plant, university extension, hospital, or pharmaceutical wing. The owner is spending tens of millions or sometimes even hundreds of millions of dollars on a new facility and equipment. They definitely want to make sure that they're getting the best bang for their buck. In our industry it's no...
Redesigning a Lab with ManifoldingOne of the most recent jobs we had was an older building that wanted to redesign after receiving an enormous amount of endowment money. It was an old fan farm, as we refer to it—in other words, it was a one fan per fume hood design. They wanted to more or less double the lab space, but they had no idea...
Lab design is an art that begins with understanding your requirements. The first thing we need to do when we design a lab is ask a couple of key questions:What's Your Maximum?Max design isn't just about today—it can actually be for tomorrow as well. One example is tenant fit-out. Let's take a developer who's building a laboratory with ...
Enter your text There are two distinct ways of doing lab design for most applications: constant volume and variable volume. Constant volume means that the system will never change once it's balanced. The number on the schedule will be checked by the test and balance contractor. They'll actually verify the amount of air once the bu...