Graco’s King electric airless sprayers in action in Turkey

Three steel tank and pipeline coating companies in Turkey put the Graco King electric-driven airless sprayers to the test. In all three sites, it performed to everyone’s total satisfaction.

Graco’s King electric-driven airless sprayers (previously known as e-Xtreme) have been specifically developed to provide a flexible alternative to conventional air operated sprayers for protective coatings. Thanks to their electric drive, noise levels are low, and icing is eliminated. Compared to air-driven airless units, e-King reduces energy consumption by up to 80%. This makes them extremely energy efficient, with a low KWh per liter sprayed. 

Rugged and reliable, e-King sprayers are ATEX and IECEx approved for use in hazardous locations or where generating a spark is a concern. They work on a standard residential 240 V, 16 A single-phase power supply. Powerful enough to spray most common medium to high solid materials, they provide sufficient volume for the most popular tip sizes. 

So much for the theory. What are they like in practice?

Gokmak

Established in 1984 by Ali Gok in a 80 square meter warehouse in Mersin, Turkey, Gokmak has grown into a company employing 123 people working in a factory of size 6,600 square meters. The company specializes in spraying iron and steel structures, tanks and pipelines. 

After a demonstration of the e-King airless sprayer by Graco distributor Fresko, the company acquired a King E50 unit, which they found easy to install. The unit was configured in its standard package at 245 bar maximum working pressure, with no hoppers and no heater. The first material applied was the two-component surface-tolerant epoxy coating Interseal 670HS, which was applied to carbon steel structures and pipelines. Outside temperature was about 30°C. Spraying was conducted without problems or stoppages, leaving Gokmak extremely satisfied with the e-King.

CanGaz

In the same region of Turkey, CanGaz was established in 1975 and soon became a leading industrial gas distributer in the country. In 2005 the company widened its product range with a variety of medical gases. For the past year, CanGaz has been manufacturing steel structures and pipelines for energy plants, which has involved steel blasting and coating tasks. 

Driven by the need to cut costs, save time and improve quality, CanGaz received a demonstration of e-King from Fresko, leading to purchase of a King E50 unit. They too have been using it to apply two-component surface tolerant epoxy coatings, using the e-King in a similar configuration to Gokmak. To date, no problems have been experienced, and CanGaz have expressed satisfaction with their purchase. The significantly smoother and more uniform spray pattern of the E50 is because the unit’s software minimizes pressure drop effects during change-over. It also reduces the pulsation transmitted to the painter, resulting in reduced operator fatigue.

Simgetek

Headquartered in Kadiköy, Istanbul and with a 14,800 square meter factory in Adana, Simgetek is an industrial construction and engineering company established in 1988. It specializes in steel structures, tanks and pipelines. They too received a product demonstration from Graco distributor Fresko.

The first job conducted with e-King was the spraying of a two-component amine cured, fast drying, high solid, high build epoxy coating. The e-King was configured at 245 bar maximum working pressure with no hoppers and no heater. Simgetek’s operators found the e-King much easier to work with than their previous airless sprayer. They remarked on the quiet running of the unit. This is no surprise, as operator experience is enhanced by the reduced noise levels of the electric motor. The e-King runs at 68 dBA; much lower than the OSHA hearing conservation threshold of 90 dBA. Operators can thus stay close to the unit for a longer time, which increases job productivity.

Benefits

All three companies were previously using brush or airless sprayers for their spraying applications but were looking to simplify the process, reduce total spraying time and cut costs. Hence their interest in the Graco e-King. After purchase, installation and use, all three companies describe the key benefits as reduced total manufacturing cost, reduced noise, and ease of use.

Flexible range

Two versions are available: e-King E50 has a maximum working pressure of 310 bar (4500 psi). The e-King E60 extends those values to 414 bar (6000 psi). 

More information

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