An industrial air cannon is placed on the side, bottom, or other area of a bin, silo, and similar storage area in order to provide a controlled blast of air to the materials inside. This keeps those materials from sticking together or otherwise causing a blockage in their flow as the bin is emptied. There are many different types of industrial air cannons that you might choose for your silo or storage bin, which can make the choice a bit overwhelming. Note a few tips for choosing one that will work for your needs in particular.
Manual versus automatic
Some air cannons are automatic, meaning that they provide a blast of air at certain programmed intervals. Others are manual, so that you need to actually operate them yourself when needed. Typically an automatic air cannon is going to be more expensive since you can program the timing of when it will work, but note if you may need such a cannon no matter the expense. Some materials are simply more likely to stick together or otherwise cause blockages in their flow; items like cereal or grains that have a syrup base may be more likely to always stick together than items like gravel, and regular blasts of air may always be needed. Having an air cannon that you can program to continuously keep the materials separated can protect them from damage and keep them flowing when bins are emptied. Also, if you live in an area where the weather may affect the flow of materials, such as high humidity levels that cause foodstuffs to stick, an automatic air cannon can be needed.
Tight spaces
If your bin or silo has tight spaces that are difficult for fitting an air cannon, such as when there are pipes or walkways outside the silo, you might consider a cannon with multi valves. The air cannon itself can be attached to the side of the bin or silo and then a series of hoses or tubes are attached to other valves in the cannon. These tubes and hoses then run along the bin or silo and connect to openings at various areas. The tubes and hoses might slow down the pressure of the air cannon itself so you may need to invest in one that is more powerful than you would need otherwise, but using these tubes and hoses allows you to fully control where and how the air pressure is delivered in your storage bin.
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