Never Used A Sonic Horn? Rent One & Try It Out

Having exported our sonic horns to over 40 countries around the world over the last 11 years, it’s still hard to believe that there are companies in key industries such as cement and carbon black production who have never heard of a sonic horn, let alone used one!

As with all innovative technologies, it can sometimes be difficult to convince an engineer to try a new product if they have been used to using an older, though less efficient system such as soot blowers or air cannons.

So what’s the answer?

Well, we can quote them great case studies and client referrals and that is sometimes enough – but not always. Then I came up with the idea of sonic horn rentals. It’s a way that allows a company to test the effectiveness of a sonic horn and experience for themselves better plant performance and financial savings without having to commit to a capital investment right away.

So far the idea is proving a great hit. Our sonic horns are out on rental in a variety of countries and for all different kinds of applications and many companies have since followed through with a purchase order. To understand more about renting sonic horns please go to our Sonic Horn Rental FAQ page.

Baghouse Filters & Filter Sock Problems

These days with the rising price of gas, food etc., we all have to try harder to make what we already have last longer rather than, as we perhaps have done in the past, simply throw it away and buy a new replacement.

However having to ‘make do’ with existing industrial plant and wear parts does have a serious downside in terms of loss of performance which in turn results in reduced plant operation – thus a loss in revenue.

One typical example of this is the filter socks/bags used in a baghouse filter. Those of us who either operate or maintain such baghouse filters know the problem only too well. The cost of replacement filter bags has increased significantly over the last few years and so there is growing pressure from the company accountants to make these filter bags last longer. Also there are the additional costs of labour and downtime to be considered.

However there is a surefire way to dramatically increase the bag life whilst at the same time preventing material build up on both the internal baghouse walls and hopper discharge. The simple solution is to install the correct model and number of Sonic Horns (also known as Acoustic Cleaners). See our baghouse cleaning page.

The Primasonics® range of Sonic Horns has been successfully employed over a wide range of filter types and sizes to offer:

• Significant increase in filter bag life



• Continual lower pressure drops across the bags



• Continuous cleaning of all internal surfaces



• Complete evacuation of the filter hopper



• Reduction in compressed air usage

Some of our clients have experienced a doubling of bag life with all the financial saving that brings. It really does not matter which type of baghouse you have or its size; we tailor design the correct solution. For example in this photograph you can see a single cell stand alone cement pre-packing baghouse jet pulse filter which only requires a single sonic horn housed within a mounting tube and flange, high up on the hopper section.

Going to the other extreme, this second photograph shows a huge smelting plant reverse air filter which required the installation of a greater number of larger, more powerful sonic horns to both help clean the bags and prevent the twelve hoppers from blocking.

On our web site you can find a section providing Enquiry Forms, one for baghouse filter enquiries which is available either in ‘on-line’ format or as a download.

Try it on one of your baghouse filters; you can even initially take out a sonic horn rental. You will be both amazed and delighted!

My Local ‘Sonic’ Ghost

I was born and spent many years of my youth in the small Irish town of Dromore, County Down.

On the outskirts of the town lay the Gillhall Estate, built between 1670 and 1680 by John Magill; it consisted of a fine, impressive house and various farm buildings. My mother’s family were Magill, however I never knew of any traceable family connection. When I was living in Dromore, Gillhall was renowned for being one of the most notorious haunted houses in Ireland and nobody ever visited it at night. The story goes that as children Lady Nichola Beresford and Lord Tyrone vowed that whoever died first would come back in the form of a ghost to prove to the other that there was an afterlife.

Well, one stormy night in 1693 whilst Lady Beresford was residing at Gillhall, she was visited by the ghost of Lord Tyrone who informed her that indeed there was life after death. Lady Beresford needed convincing that he was a genuine apparition and not just her having a bad dream so he made one startling prediction and also left two tangible signs to confirm that his ‘visitation’ had indeed really happened. First of all, he informed Lady Beresford that she would die on her 47th birthday. Then he touched her wrist which made the flesh burn and shrink but caused her no pain – Lady Beresford thereafter always wore a black ribbon around her wrist and this could be seen in a later portrait of her at Howth Castle, County Dublin. Lord Tyrone also placed his hand on a chest of drawers and the imprint of his fingers was burnt into the wood. This piece of furniture showing the charred imprint of four of his figures remained at Gillhall for some considerable period of time.

His grim prediction which was to come to pass on her 47th birthday in 1712, she believed passed without incident. So relieved was Lady Beresford that the following year she held a special birthday party only to be reminded by her old clergyman that it was actually her 47th birthday that year. ‘You were born in 1666’ he explained – ‘Then you have surely signed my death warrant’ she screamed in reply and rushed to her room where she let out a cry and died.

When the 5th Earl of Clanwilliam brought his bride to Gillhall in 1909, she was visited by both ghosts of Gillhall and fled, leaving the Gillhall standing empty until it burned to the ground in mysterious circumstances - the very year I left Dromore. You can read the full story here

So why a 'sonic' ghost? Well, it's just the way I see things really - my business involves understanding sonic waves, as in sonic horn cleaning, so I associate the idea of something being made to move without any visual explanation - ie. a sonic horn generates audiosonic acoustic sound waves that make particles move without the need for physical intervention (baghouse cleaning is a great example of this).