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Vortex Tubes Instant Cold or Hot Air - from -40°F to 230°F - From Ordinary Compressed Air
Vortex Tubes from AiRTX — Precision Stainless Steel for the Price of the "Other Guys" Aluminum Tubes
Starting with corrosion-resistant, food-grade Stainless Steel as the principal material of construction, AiRTX designers have optimized every aspect of Vortex Tube design for convenience, dependable performance, and long-lasting service.
The AiRTX Vortex Tube is as good-looking as it is functional. It’s precision machined, assembled and tested.
Manufactured to exacting tolerances, AiRTX Vortex Tubes are produced under strict quality control to ensure years of reliable, maintenance-free operation.
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Vortex Tube Advantages
- Vortex tubes have no moving parts, are portable & lightweight and low cost.
- They use no electricity, freon or chemicals; just filtered, factory compressed air.
- Vortex tubes have no spark hazard, RF/EMI interference.
- Instant on/off, easy to control, cools without waste.
- No residue to clean up, no parts washing needed.
- Reliable, maintenance-free, durable Stainless Steel construction.
- Input air flows of 8, 10, 15, 25, and 35 cfm (220,280,420, 700, 990 lpm); up to 2800 BTU/H (630 Kcal/H) cooling capacity.
- Two sizes available.
| Vortex Tube Capacities |
| Model |
Inlet
Pressure* |
Air Consumption |
Capacity |
|
|
psi |
(BAR) |
(CFM) |
(LPM) |
(BTU/N) |
(Kcal/H) |
|
20008 |
100 |
7 |
8 |
220 |
600 |
100 |
|
20010 |
100 |
7 |
10 |
280 |
600 |
150 |
|
20015 |
100 |
7 |
15 |
420 |
1100 |
230 |
|
20025 |
100 |
7 |
25 |
700 |
1800 |
380 |
|
20035 |
100 |
7 |
35 |
990 |
2800 |
630 |
*inlet temperature 70°F/21.1°C
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How Does a Vortex Tube Work?
"Cold Fraction": an Important Term for Understanding Vortex Tube Performance
“Cold fraction” is the percentage of input compressed air that’s released through the cold end of the tube. As a rule of thumb, the less cold air you release, the colder the air will be. You adjust the cold fraction with the control knob. Cold fraction is also a function of the type of vortex generator that’s in the tube, i.e., a "high cold fraction" or "low cold fraction" generator.
Most industrial process applications use a high cold
fraction (above 50%). A high cold fraction tube can easily give you cold outputs 50-90°F (28-50°C) below your compressed air temperature. High cold fractions give you a greater air flow, but they don’t give the lowest possible temperatures.
The high cold fraction combination of airflow and cold temperature produces the maximum refrigeration capacity, or greatest BTU/H (Kcal/H).
A low cold fraction (below 50%) means a smaller volume of air coming out that’s very cold (down to -40°F/-40°C). In short, the less air you release, the colder the air.
Just remember, your maximum BTU/H (Kcal/H) capacity (also called maximum cooling or refrigeration) occurs with a high cold fraction tube.
The chart to the right shows you the temperature drop (pink bar) and rise (grey bar) you can get at various inlet pressures and cold fraction settings.
Reliable, Predictable, Easy to Control Without Tools
A Vortex Tube turns factory compressed air into two airstreams, one very cold and one hot, using no moving parts. Simple and low-cost, a Vortex Tube can produce:
- temperatures from -40°F (-40°C) to +230°F (+110°C) from 70°F
compressed air
- up to 2800 BTU/H (630 Kcal/H) refrigeration
- air flow rates up to 35 cfm (990 lpm)
You just set the cold temperature output with the handy control knob and your thermometer. No tools are required.
Assuming your compressed air input pressure and tem-per-a-ture remain constant, a Vortex Tube will hold output temperatures ±1°F (±0.6°C).
Our unique temperature control knob lets you adjust the cold air
discharge without tools.
A simple, interchangeable part — the Vortex Generator — allows our Vortex Tube to deliver five different air flows:
8, 10, 15, 25, 35 cfm (220, 280, 420, 700, 990 lpm) — each with two ranges of cooling performance (high or low).
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| Vortex Tube Performance Data |
Inlet Pressure
psiG |
| Cold Fraction % |
|
| |
20 |
30 |
40 |
50 |
60 |
70 |
80 |
|
| 20 |
61.5 |
59.5 |
55.5 |
50.5 |
43.5 |
36.0 |
27.5 |
|
| 14.5 |
24.5 |
36.0 |
49.5 |
64.0 |
82.5 |
107.0 |
|
| 40 |
88.0 |
85.0 |
80.0 |
73.0 |
62.5 |
51.5 |
38.0 |
|
| 20.5 |
35.0 |
51.5 |
71.0 |
91.5 |
117.0 |
147.0 |
|
| 60 |
104.0 |
100.0 |
93.0 |
84.0 |
73.0 |
59.5 |
44.5 |
|
| 23.5 |
40.0 |
58.5 |
80.0 |
104.0 |
132.0 |
168.0 |
|
| 80 |
115.0 |
110.0 |
102.0 |
92.0 |
80.0 |
65.5 |
49.0 |
|
| 25.0 |
43.0 |
63.0 |
86.0 |
113.0 |
143.0 |
181.0 |
|
| 100 |
123.0 |
118.0 |
110.0 |
99.0 |
86.0 |
70.0 |
53.0 |
|
| 26.0 |
45.0 |
66.5 |
91.0 |
119.0 |
151.0 |
192.0 |
|
| 120 |
129.0 |
124.0 |
116.0 |
104.0 |
90.5 |
74.0 |
55.0 |
|
| 26.0 |
46.0 |
69.0 |
94/0 |
123.0 |
156.0 |
195.0 |
|
| 140 |
135.0 |
129.0 |
121.0 |
109.0 |
94.0 |
76.0 |
56.5 |
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| 25.5 |
46.0 |
70.5 |
96.0 |
124.0 |
156.0 |
193.0 |
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Figures in pink area give temperature drop of cold air,
°F
Figures in grey area give temperature rise of hot air, °F
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Conversion Formulas
°F = 9/5 °C + 32°
°C = 5/9 (F - 32°)
BAR = psi ÷ 14.5
Kcal = BTU x .2520
LPM = cfm x 28.3
oz = g x .035
BTU = WATTS x 3.41
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BTU conversion —
HP to BTU/Hour 1 Hp = 42.44 BTU/min.
1 Hp = 2546 BTU/hr.
1 Hp = 746 WATTS
1 KWH =3414 BTU/hr.
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Heat Balance Formula
Cold fraction can be computed from the temperature
readings from the inlet temperature (Ti), the cold air
outlet temperature (Tc), and the hot air tem-per-a-ture (Th), so that;
Air Conditioning Power
The cooling and heating power in BTU/H can be found by using these formulas.
For Cooling: BTU/H = 1.0746 (cfm c) (Ti-Tc)
For Heating: BTU/H = 1.0746 (cfm h) (Th-Ti)
Where: CF = Cold Fraction
cfm t = Total Air Flow
cfm h = Hot Air Flow = cfm t (100 - CF)
cfm c = Cold Air Flow = cfm t (CF)
Ti = Inlet Temperature
Tc = Cold Air Outlet Temperature
Th = Hot Air Outlet Temperature
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 Model 20008 |  Model 20010-21035 |
Industrial Solutions for Vortex Tubes
Metal Fabricating - Tapping
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Tapping brass clips is completed without messy liquid coolants using
air from a Vortex Tube to cool the tap. The brass does not have a
chance to gum up, the cut is cleaner,, and secondary operations are
eliminated. |
Plastic - Slitting
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Cutting wheels on this slitter can work at top speed and stay
sharper longer - when cold air from Vortex Tubes eliminates the
friction heat build-up. The trim edge is also cleaner.
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Transportation Spot-Welding |
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Cooling this spot-welding operation with a Vortex Tube virtually
eliminates secondary smoothing operations, and greatly improves the
appearance of the product.. |
Metalworking - Single Point Threading |
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Heat build-up in this single point threading operation can shorten
tool life and produce a rough thread. Clean, dry, sub-zero cooling
allows increased speed, while eliminating tool microcracking and
premature failure. |
- Cool manufacturing processes: machining plastics or metals, wood
working, soldering, adhesive application, heat sealing, sewing needles, mold tooling and many others.
- In the laboratory: cool and dehumidify gas samples, cool
environmental chambers.
- “Temperature cycle” electronic components, instruments, switches and thermostats.
- Air condition electronic control enclosures: CNC cabinets, industrial
PCs, PLCs and motor controls.
- Generate hot air to +230°F (+110°C), without a spark or explosion
hazard to soften plastic, melt glues and seal packaging.
- Cool workers wearing protective gear.
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| AiRTX Vortex Tube Advantages |
- No moving parts, portable, lightweight and low cost.
- Uses no electricity, freon or chemicals; just filtered, factory
compressed air.
- No spark hazard, RF/EMI interference.
- Instant on/off, easy to control, cools without waste.
- No residue to clean up, no parts washing needed.
- Reliable, maintenance-free, durable Stainless Steel construction.
-
Input air flows of 8, 10, 15, 25, and 35 cfm (220,280,420, 700, 990 lpm); up to
2800 BTU/H (630 Kcal/H) cooling capacity.
- Two sizes available.
|
| Vortex Tube Capacities |
| Model |
Inlet
Pressure* |
Air Consumption |
Capacity |
|
|
psi |
(BAR) |
(CFM) |
(LPM) |
(BTU/N) |
(Kcal/H) |
|
20008 |
100 |
7 |
8 |
220 |
600 |
100 |
|
20010 |
100 |
7 |
10 |
280 |
600 |
150 |
|
20015 |
100 |
7 |
15 |
420 |
1100 |
230 |
|
20025 |
100 |
7 |
25 |
700 |
1800 |
380 |
|
20035 |
100 |
7 |
35 |
990 |
2800 |
630 |
Putting Vortex Tubes to Work: Packaged Systems,
“Tube Only,” or an Application Development Kit
AiRTX offers Vortex Tubes in several ready-to-use packaged systems for common industrial applications. Packaged systems include the
Model 60040 Air Gun and the
Cabinet Cooler.
We also offer an Application Development Kit for the system designer who needs a Vortex Tube for studies and design verification. By switching one interchangeable part supplied with the kit, you can produce the full range of air flows and cold fractions the tube is capable of producing.
Lastly, you can purchase the Vortex Tube alone, or with other components to meet system requirements.
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Two Tubes, Ten Levels of Performance
AiRTX’s modular design Vortex Tube gives you ten ranges
of performance from a single tube, simply by changing the
one-piece Vortex Generator. Both high and low cold fraction generators are available for 8, 10, 15, 25 and 35 cfm (220, 280, 420, 700, 990 lpm) input flows. You can purchase Vortex Generators individually or in a kit that includes all sizes.
 Application Development Kit includes:
- Vortex tube
- 10/15/25/35 CFM H and L Generators
- Cold Muffler
- Air Filter
- Snap Flex Hose
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does it work?
The vortex tube sets up two streams of air at different speeds.
As the two streams pass each other there is an air to air heat exchange with the slower speed stream of air giving up its heat to the fast moving stream. So you have one colder stream and one hotter stream of air than the ambient air you started with.
You are welcome to call 800 307 7475 if you have particular questions on your application.
Where can I use the vortex tube?
Anywhere you need very cold or very hot air. Use it to cool hot parts, molds, electronics, machining operations, personnel, all without bulky freon units. Use it to heat shrink wraps, glues, or for drying parts.
Is there anything to wear out or replace?
No, They may need cleaning from contaminated air, but because there are no moving parts, it does not wear out.
Call Us for Free Technical Support! 1-800-307-7475 or
contact us
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