Rotary air locks

Details on the operation of a rotary air lock. March 19, 2001

Q.
How does a rotary air lock work? Do they make a small one for a 2-5 hp collector?

Forum Responses
The device is made like two pipes intersecting at right angles. Chips drop in from the top. The cross pipe has a 4 vaned rotor driven by a gear reduction unit. The rotor has rubber tips that seal against the end plates and the horizontal pipe. As the rotor turns, chips drop between the vanes and are carried around to the bottom where they fall into the trailer. The vanes allow only a small amount of air to be drawn up into the cyclone each revolution. I suspect that such a unit is not worth it for home use on a 5 hp fan.