Complete Separators.
—Complete separators are of two classes, i. e., dry and wet. The first complete separator that the author has knowledge of was used by the Vacuum Cleaner Company, in the form of a cylindrical tank and contained centrifugal cylinder and also a perforated plate. It was practically a combination of the separators indicated in [Figs. 67] and [71]. This separator was installed in connection with a small rotary pump and mounted on a truck. It worked very well until it became filled with dirt when, in one case, the entire contents were ejected into an apartment in which it was being used. This separator was then rebuilt in the form shown in [Fig. 75], the bag being made of hush cloth stretched over a wire screen. The air enters the cylinder tangentially and much of the separation is accomplished by centrifugal force, the remainder of the dust being removed as the air passes through the bag. This separator was successfully used as long as this company continued to manufacture such apparatus.
Another form of complete separator quite similar to that above described has recently been brought out by the Electric Renovator Manufacturing Company and is shown in section in [Fig. 76]. The air enters this separator tangentially below the line of the dust bag, which is made of muslin folded back and forward over a set of concentric cylinders thus giving a large area for the passage of the air. Being entirely above the line of the entering air, none of the heavy dirt strikes the bag and what dirt is caught on the bag is on the lower side of same and is shaken off every time the bag is agitated. This agitation occurs every time there is any change in the volume of air passing the separator, and when these separators are used in connection with fan type of exhausters there is a constant surging whenever the exhauster is operated with a small volume of air passing. This tends to keep the bag clean automatically.
FIG. 75. FORM OF COMPLETE SEPARATOR USED BY THE VACUUM CLEANER COMPANY.
The separator illustrated in [Fig. 77] is manufactured by the American Radiator Company. The air enters this apparatus through the pipe in the center and passes directly down to the bottom, the velocity being gradually reduced due to the expansion of the air as it passes down the cone-shaped inlet, the heavy dirt falling to the bottom. The air then passes up along the inner surface of the cylindrical shell and thence through the bag, which is stretched over a screen, to the outlet. In this separator we see the first case in which centrifugal action is not utilized in separating the heavy dust, the makers evidently considering the reduction of air velocity and the action of gravitation to be ample. This bag is arranged to permit the air passage from the outside towards the inside and it is tapered to allow the dirt to fall off. The vacuum gauge is connected to the inner and outer sides of the bag by means of a three-way cock to permit of measuring the difference in vacuum between the inside and outside of the bag to determine when the bag is in need of cleaning, which is accomplished by a reversal of the air current through the bag. This is quite necessary in order to keep the separator always in an efficient condition.
FIG. 76. COMPLETE SEPARATOR BROUGHT OUT BY THE ELECTRIC RENOVATOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
FIG. 77. COMPLETE SEPARATOR MADE BY THE AMERICAN RADIATOR COMPANY.