Open And Shut Case: A Comparison Of Actuators

Neil Meredith, Midwest regional manager with Kinetrol USA, talks to Water Online Radio about pneumatic vane actuators – specifically, what sets the good ones apart.

For most operators, the differentiating factor is longevity. Kinetrol prides itself on the ‘fit and forget’ nature of their vane actuators.

“We have industrial applications where we’ve got, documented in the field, 30, 40, even 50 million cycles on our actuators without any maintenance whatsoever,” attests Meredith. “You’re just going to put it on and worry about something else.”

Used for opening, closing, or modulating valves that are connected to a programmable logic controller (PLC), the actuators are simpler than competing models, according to Meredith.

“The beauty about it is [that] it’s just one moving part. Typically, most of the actuators you’ll see are rack-and-pinion or piston-driven, and you’re taking a linear motion and converting that to a rotary activity. Then there’s some maintenance involved in that – there are a lot of moving parts internally, and after a while, they’re going to wear out.

[With] Kinetrol, you’ve got a single moving part – a vane paddle. …With one moving part, it’s very easy for it to be applied, and it’s maintenance-free.

Hear more about Kinetrol’s offerings by tuning in to the interview below.