When a market leading manufacturer of non-toxic smoke generators required a pump that could contend with continuous, high smoke output for applications such as fire services training, airflow tracking and aircraft leak testing, Concept Smoke Systems opted for a 313 peristaltic pump from Watson-Marlow, a decision that has since led to the successful installation of thousands of units at customer sites across the UK.
While most people's first-hand experience of smoke generators will be at their local nightclub, Concept Smoke Systems has found a successful niche in supplying higher specification products into military, industrial and security applications. While the latter demands large quantities of smoke to be 'dumped' quickly in response to an alarm signal, applications such as fire and evacuation training necessitate smoke to be pumped for up to two hours.
For tasks that call for continuous output, peristaltic pumps are preferable to the conventional piston pumps used for security applications, explains Concept Smoke's technical director Trevor Dunnington, We knew that Watson-Marlow had established a reputation as a high quality pump manufacturer and that its products were proving extremely reliable in the field, and this is why we decided to involve them for our Spirit 900 smoke generator range.
The Spirit 900 smoke generator is used extensively for continuous, high output applications and is offered with a five-year parts warranty plus a lifetime guarantee on the heat exchanger. For these reasons Concept Smoke Systems needed to have a high degree of confidence in its pump selection. Every product used in the Spirit 900 is rated far higher than normal, explains Mr Dunnington, and this is one of the reasons we now use the 313 peristaltic pump from Watson-Marlow.
Its high specification and low maintenance requirements means we have few reliability problems in the field. Whereas conventional piston pumps rely on the fluid media running over the pistons to provide cooling characteristics, this obviously raises concerns regarding contamination, clogging and compromised product lifespan.
Conversely, peristaltic pumps have no valves, seals or glands. Nothing but the hose or tube touches the fluid, eliminating the risk of the pump contaminating the fluid or the fluid contaminating the pump. Maintenance tasks are minimal and the resulting reliability is subsequently far superior to traditional piston pumps in comparable applications.
Using a protected solid state relay for heater switching at zero volts, an IP65-rated digital microprocessor temperature control displaying actual and set temperatures, splashproof switches and indicators, and of course a modular peristaltic pump, the Spirit 900 does not compromise in the quality of its components.
The Watson-Marlow peristaltic pump draws smoke fluid from its integral two-litre reservoir (or an external reservoir if specified), forcing it into a heat exchanger where it is vaporised. On exiting the heat exchanger, the vapour condenses to form thick, white, non-toxic smoke with a consistently small particle size of 0.2-0.3 microns.
With a history spanning 44 years, Maidenhead-based Concept Smoke Systems has grown to become a £1.5 million turnover ISO9001 accredited business that sees itself as a specialist in curing customer problems with artificial, non-toxic smoke solutions. Having first installed peristaltic pump technology into its Spirit 900 range nearly 10 years ago, today there are thousands operating successfully in the field.