WHAT'S A HAND DRYER EXPERT ANYWAY?

Question:

Hand Dryer Expert,

Is there an "ologist" for someone who is an expert in hand dryers .

Many thanks

Paul


Answer:

Dear Paul.  No.  There is no -ologist term coined for hand dryer expert, but thank you for the thoughtful question.  When we first started this blog, we tried guessing what kind of questions would be asked.  That is one that we did not foresee.  But the question itself raises more additional questions than answers.  Is that really what you think about when you serf the web?  Keep up the good work, Paul.  The internet needs you to keep us honest.

If you really want to coin a term for a Hand Dryer Expert, I think it would have to be manussiccioreologist.  Manus Sicciore is hands drier in Latin.  At least that's what my learned friend Google tells me.

-The Hand Dryer Expert, MSO 

Dyson Airblade Dripping

Question:

Someone mentioned that the Dyson Airblade had a water trap accessory.  I cannot find it anywhere. Do you know if this is true and where I can get it if it is?

Regards

Benjamin P, LEED AP BD + C

Senior Project Architect

Answer:

Benjamin,

When Dyson came out with their first hand dryer, the AB01 (Europe) and the AB02 (USA) the units had an aluminum casing and they also had a drain.  The idea was that whatever water came off of the hands would go down the drain and then would be "atomized" into the room.  This configuration did not last very long as Dyson realized that it would be better without any sort of a drain. 

In most cases, any water that is collected in the well evaporates with the force of the air blowing around.  In high use situations, the water does not have a chance to evaporate and it can drip down the sides.  If you have a very high use situation, then you can purchase a separate drip tray.   You can see two kinds here: http://www.restroomdirect.com/dyson-airblade.aspx  That may be the water trap accessory that you heard about.  Or a floor matt can be used.  Normally there is not enough drippage to create an issue, although part of the regular maintenance schedule of the restroom should include wiping down the hand dryers to keep them clean.

The Mitsubishi Jet Towel and World Dryer V-Max both are similar hand dryers that do have a built in drip tray.  Their philosophy is different.  Any residual water can be captured and then emptied periodically if necessary.  Honestly, both ways work well.  The Dyson Airblade is a little more elegant in that the water is dealt with at the time of use and there is not the additional burden of collecting water in a tray – which in turn needs to be cleaned.  On the other hand, the Mitsubishi and World Dryer models don’t have to worry about any dripping at the time of use.  

TOP ACCESS HAND DRYERS FOR SCHOOLS

Question:

Hi, I am looking for a top entry hand dryer with push button operation for elementary schools.  There is existing 1/2" emt pipe surface mounted on the wall for the 220volt electrical supply.

David S

Assistant Supervisor

Electrical Department

District School Board

Answer:

David,

Thank you for your question.  Hand dryers are almost always intended to be hard-wired directly from the wall to the back of the unit.  Most hand dryers come with a bottom knock-out so that you can bring the wiring into the bottom of a hand dryer if you need to.  

There are a few hand dryers that come with a cord and plug such as the Nova 1 plug-in and the World Dryer V-Max.  Additionally, you can add a cord and a plug to almost any hand dryer, so long as you have the correct specifications.  This is easy to do, but be aware that (at least in the US and not so much in other countries like Australia where the practice is common) if you add a cord and plug yourself you are altering the way the dryer is intended to be used and this may void the warranty and / or the electrical certification (UL) that comes with the hand dryer.  As with anything electrical, you should have a certified electrician install it to make sure that it is done correctly and to code.     

There are a few hand dryers that come with a top-knock out.  These are most common in schools where they are dropping the conduit down from the ceiling and there may be a cinder block wall.  World Dryer used to offer the Model A, Airmax and Nova 4 hand dryers with a top knock-out.  (These all have cast iron covers, and so they have special moldings for these dryers.)  These units are generally still available for custom orders.  Restroom Direct is able to source these, so I recommend that you call them at 704-937-2673.

A 1/2" EMT pipe is going to be too thick to get into one of these openings, which are intended for 1/4" pipe, but World Dryer also offers a rigid offset connector that will solve this problem for you.  You can see this connector here:  World Dryer Rigid Offset Connector.  

The 220 volt power requirement is not a problem.  Most hand dryers in the US come with either a 120 volt configuration or a 208 - 240 volt configuration.  Performance is the same (if you look at the watts used, they are the same, meaning the motor runs at the same speed).  Dryers are also available in  277 volts, but not all brands.  

HDE

Can Hand Dryers Lift a Man?

Question:

Hello,

I hope you don’t mind me emailing you,

I am contacting you from  a Production company in London, we are making a new show all about amazing facts and we are looking into someone beginning lifted into the air. Do you believe if there was enough high speed hand dryers we could lift a average weigh man?

Any help would be fantastic

Many thanks

Naomi H, Researcher 

Answer:

Naomi,

What a wonderful and ridiculous question!  Short answer:  No.  But I hope try it, because I would really like to see the footage.  What you are talking about here is generating enough pounds per square inch of air power to be able to lift a person.  The hand dryer for the job that comes to mind first is the Xlerator.  The Xlerator has about as much power as any hand dryer that I can think of that is concentrated in one small opening.  The opening is roughly 1 square inch.  If you have a 150 lbs man and you try to fit 15 Xlerator hand dryers underneath him, then each dryer would need to generate 10 lbs of force.  This would assume that none of the air coming out is dissipated or lost but is efficiently applied to the man.  

Now, I don't know how many lbs / inch (or kgs/cm2)  an Xlerator can create.  But, while I have not tried this experiment on a man, I have done it with a tennis ball.  The Xlerator is not so great for supporting a ball in the air because it has one air outlet, but I have taken an Airforce hand dryer, which has eleven air outlets, flipped it on it's back and supported a tennis ball with the air produced.  This is kind of fun because as the tennis ball gets away from the stream of air, it gets outside of the range of the sensor and the hand dryer turns off.  Then the tennis ball falls back into the range of the sensor, the hand dryer turns back on and the ball goes back into the air.  In this way, it can keep balanced and it seems that the Airforce is giving just enough force to keep the tennis ball in place.  

A tennis ball weighs 2.1 ounces or 0.13 lbs.  I am pretty sure that the Airforce could support about twice that weight, but not much more.  So the Airforce has a capacity of about .25 lbs / sq inch.  (I hope I don't have to tell you how rough and unscientific this is.  The actual force will be different and maybe some day we can do more experiments or calculations to get the exact answer.)  I know that the Xlerator is more powerful than the Airforce.  I am going to guess that it's 25% more powerful, but let's say for argument sake that it is twice as powerful, or 0.5 lbs per square inch.  Then I would need 300 Xlerator hand dryers to support the weight of my 150 lbs man.  I could imagine that 300 Xlerators might just do the job.  But there's a problem.  I can't fit 300 Xlerators under a man.  So your answer is no. But don't despair.  You can still go to a sky diving experience location where they put super powerful fans underneath the person and they are able to generate enough force to hold them up.  

HDE

Dyson Airblade Filters

The Dyson Airblade Hand Dryer in action

Question:

Hi,

How are you? My name is Sandra C... and I have a quick question about one of the Dyson Airblade hand dryers. The air coming out of the dryer is not as strong as it used to be, I have checked the air intake and replaced this and made sure there are no obstructions. Do you have any other suggestions?

Regards


Hi Sandra.

Answer:

Hi, Sandra,

I am fine, thank you.  And after a long hiatus, The Hand Dryer Expert is back in the saddle.  When you say "I have checked the air intake," are you referring to the filter?  At the bottom of the standard Dyson Airblade AB14 hand dryer (and you may have one of the older ones between AB01 and AB06) is the Dyson Airblade HEPA filter.  You will need a Dyson Wrench to open the door at the bottom.  If that filter has become clogged, then you will want to replace it.  My guess is that this will solve your slower-moving-air-problem.  

If it does not, call Dyson customer service directly.  They can trouble shoot for you.  The Dyson Airblade has a 5 year warranty.  In the first year of the warranty, they will send a technician to your location. In the USA, the number is 888-DYSON-AB.  In other countries, just go to the Dyson website and you will find their customer service number.  

Best of luck.

HDE