Construction, Features

Screening and crushing: Screenpod water cannons

Screenpod water cannons

Screenpod Dust Cannons are designed for effective dust suppression over large worksite areas. We take a closer look.

Summer is almost here and contractors operating on unsealed yards, dusty worksites, or demolition projects will soon be reminded how quickly dry dust spreads on windy days. The constant haze in the air from surface dust stirred up by vehicle and machinery movements not only impacts site visibility and air quality for on-site staff but also leads to dust build-up in machinery and complaints from neighbouring properties.

While the easy solutions are water sprinklers or a water hose, these methods are often ineffective. They require attention from staff and only cover small areas at a time, leaving dust to linger in the air.

Screenpod dust suppression water cannons are a much more effective solution. Some of the advantages over sprinklers and water hoses are:

  • Set and leave to run
  • Radio remote control
  • Automatic swing operation: 25⁰ to 350⁰ to mist a wider area
  • Adjustable head tilt
  • Effective coverage with a 45-metre mist throw
  • Switch between one and three nozzles to manage water usage
  • Easily moveable around site

But there’s a key reason Screenpod Dust Cannons can be more effective, and it has to do with the size of the airborne dust particles in relation to the size of water droplets attempting to capture them.

Screenpod water cannons
The Screenpod S-45 has a mist throw of up to 45m

Dust particles small enough to stay suspended in the air will not bind to the large water droplets produced by a sprinkler or water hose. This is because water droplets must be similar in size to the dust particles they’re trying to absorb.

Droplets from a sprinkler or water hose are simply too big and their surface tension too strong for airborne dust particles to collide and bind with. The particles simply ‘roll over’ the droplet with the airstream and carry on floating away.

That’s where Screenpod Dust Cannons can come into their own. Water supplied to the cannon is pressurised through jet nozzles into a finely atomised mist, which is dispersed up to 45 metres by a strong fan in the cowling.

The mist droplets range in size from 10 to 150 micron and are much smaller than droplets from a water hose or sprinkler, much more compatible in size with the fine dust particulate in the air, and have far less surface tension. This makes the dust cannon mist more effective in capturing fugitive dust and clearing the air in operational areas, while preventing dust from settling in machinery or spreading outside worksite or property boundaries.

One Screenpod Dust Cannon owner said the best thing for him was a “dramatic decrease in neighbour complaints, combined with the ease of managing dust in drier, windier conditions”, making his decision to buy a Screenpod S-45 Dust Cannon well worthwhile.

The Screenpod S-45 Dust Cannon with upgraded control panel is available from Crush & Screen as standalone or trailer-mounted unit.

For more information, contact jason@crushandscreen.co.nz or visit crushandscreen.co.nz

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