Imagine you have a regular light switch and a dimmer switch for a light bulb. A regular switch only has “on” and “off,” while a dimmer lets you control how bright the light is. A VFD is like a dimmer switch for a fan motor – it lets you control the fan’s speed. Changing the fan’s speed with a VFD also changes the motor’s horsepower (its ability to do work) and torque (its turning power). Let’s break it down for centrifugal fans (the most common type).
Welcome to the AirPro Blog
This is the second installment of a two-part series on People and Processes. In Part I, AirPro President Keith White, Jr. shared how we prioritize people and processes to deliver quality industrial solutions—because behind every industrial fan is a team that makes it possible. In Part II, we learn how precision and promises keep us on schedule for every order.
Order Precision
Once the customer approves the fan design, the project moves to order processing. Essential to this phase is expediency. Here we schedule every operation, providing manufacturing with time expectations and information needed to execute the order—a critical step that drives our quality and on-time performance. Expediency ensures we complete and ship the product within our promised shipping window. Meeting shipping deadlines is of paramount importance to us, as our 95% on-time delivery rate hinges on it. If we make a promise to the customer, we do everything in our power to keep that promise. Production shoulders the weight of that responsibility.
An evasé (eee-va-say) is a critical component in industrial fan systems that significantly enhances performance and efficiency. Installed on the fan outlet, it helps improve airflow by providing a natural path for the gas to expand. The evasé connects to the fan outlet at the smaller flange side and gradually expands outward. While the outer edge of the evasé expands at a consistent rate, the inner edge expands more significantly, resulting in a much larger flange at the opposite end.
AirPro built this durable high-performance fan for a food and beverage application in Canada. It supports a critical operating process with a 115°F maximum temperature. The application required robust construction, reliable performance, and compliance with strict safety standards.
AirPro custom-built this BIHS 365 beast, to handle this demanding application. Engineered for strength and efficiency, the fan features carbon steel construction with an inlet box designed to optimize the airflow through a tight 90-degree turn into the fan inlet. OSHA-compliant guards enhanced personnel protection, while an industrial enamel coating provides corrosion resistance and extended service life. A 60 HP IEEE 841 motor powers the fan and ensures consistent performance under continuous operation.
| Product Type | BIHS |
| Size | 365 |
| Class | 3 |
| Arrangement | 1 |
| Horsepower | 60 |
| Max Design Temp | 115°F |
Designed to meet the challenges of industrial rigor, the fan will exceed expectations in delivering reliable performance, enhanced safety, and minimal long-term maintenance costs.
This project highlights AirPro’s expertise in designing custom solutions for the food and beverage industry, combining innovation, durability, and safety to meet the most demanding applications.
Our application engineers have extensive experience with a wide range of industrial applications. Contact our team today to discuss your project. We can help you select the best fan for your application.
Bearings are crucial for industrial centrifugal fans, supporting the fan shaft and minimizing friction. Proper bearing selection ensures efficiency, longevity, and reliability in high-performance ventilation systems.
The Role of Bearings in Centrifugal Fans
Bearings hold the shaft in place as a fan rotates. In overhung applications, they are placed in close proximity to the wheel, placed together on the drive side of the fan housing, supporting the wheel mounted on the end of the shaft. In center-hung applications, one bearing is placed on the drive side and the other is placed on the inlet side of the fan as the wheel rotates on the shaft between the bearings.
by Keith White, Jr.
The manufacturing, industrial, and corporate worlds consider AirPro a business-to-business company (B2B); however, even after sixteen years working here, I’m constantly reminded of the people-centered nature of this business. Occasionally, I’m tempted to focus solely on the “big picture” keeping my head above the clouds, and then a very meaningful conversation suddenly reorients my mindset, reminding me that people run AirPro’s engine. As AirPro experiences growth, we aim to preserve our people-first approach because we take a lot of disparate things and harmonize them to create a one-of-a-kind product for the customer. Losing sight of the people involved risks diminishing the quality and efficiency of our work. By staying focused on those who build, sell, and buy our fans, we can continue to delight the industrial world while efficiently energizing process air—the crux of our mission statement.
The G Series wheel, part of our pressure blower series, delivers exceptional efficiency. Designed for low-volume, high-pressure applications, this wheel combines a narrow profile with substantial diameter to optimize performance.
Air flows through the intake, slightly wider to ensure smooth entry, then transitions to the narrower section along the blades’ periphery. The curved blade design builds pressure effectively while maintaining impressive efficiency near 70% peak static efficiency.
For low-volume, high-pressure applications, the G Series wheel provides an outstanding option among industrial fans.
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At AirPro Fan & Blower Company, we believe in building our success on relationships—relationships with customers, brand partners, and especially our talented representatives in the field. This month, we highlight one such partner who exemplifies the best of what we do: TJ Mueller from Koch Applied Solutions.
Check out this powerful P0D 245 pressure blower AirPro built for a spray drying application in Minnesota. The airstream and wheel fabricated entirely from 304 stainless steel ensure resistance to corrosion and wear, and the premium AEGIS SGR motor features a stainless-steel sleeve and end cap for extra durability.
The airstream features continuous welds free from pits, cracks, crevices, and splatter, ensuring long-lasting performance. We loaded this fan with spring vibration isolators, a vibration sensor, and grounding lugs to provide stability, reduce operational noise, and maximize safety. Finally, the epoxy coated mild steel exterior with caulked welds ensures protection against harsh conditions, and the exterior undergoes a bead blast for a polished finish, with exterior skip welds expertly caulked for enhanced sealing.
| Product Type | P08D |
| Size | 245 |
| Class | 50 |
| Arrangement | 4 |
| Horsepower | 15hp |
| Max Design Temperature | 250° |
Our application engineers have extensive experience with a wide range of industrial applications. Contact our team today to discuss your project. We can help you select the best fan for your application.
New for 2025 is a regular feature on basic fan knowledge from Chet White, our Sales and Marketing Manager. This month we look at the various types of impellers for centrifugal fans.
Radial
Centrifugal impellers come in various styles, each with unique characteristics and applications. The radial bladed paddle wheel, the oldest style, features radial blades extending outward from the hub like wheel spokes. As the paddles rotate, they expel air and materials through the outlet. While the least efficient, this design excels at handling debris and abrasive materials. Its lack of a leading edge prevents damage, and the radial profile minimizes buildup, reducing vibration and extending the life of general-purpose fans.
When it comes to industrial fans, Trey Bush of Dynamic Air Solutions (DAS) has become a name synonymous with expertise and reliability. With a decade of experience and a mechanical engineering degree, Trey has built a career that stands out in the highly specialized world of industrial fans.
by Keith White, Jr.
An Experience
A good number of years ago I visited Pittsburgh for a long weekend with my wife. While there, we visited the Andy Warhol Museum. After turning 30, I found myself drawn to art museums—perhaps a promising sign of maturity. Before that, I had little interest in art, and even now I’m not entirely sure what caused this shift besides the passing of time. The Warhol Museum provides visitors with an up close and personal view of Warhol’s life as it pertains to his artwork. One interpretative exhibit resonated with me more than the others.
This fan is a critical component of a dual-fan scrubber skid, designed specifically for environmental remediation. The end-user deploys it at contaminated sites to harness heat which penetrates deep into the earth to release harmful toxins in vapor form. The fan provides powerful vacuum extraction, pulling these vapors through the scrubber system, where they are treated and safely released into the atmosphere.