What Does Suction (kPa) Really Measure? Understanding Vacuum Pressure

In the last Blog we talked about Airflow — how much air the machine moves. Today we look at the other big number in the catalog: Suction (kPa). This number answers a very simple question: can the machine lift the dirt at all?

What Is Suction?

Here is how it works. The motor makes the air pressure inside the machine lower than outside. The outside air then pushes dust and debris into the hose. The bigger the pressure difference, the harder the push — and the heavier the things the machine can lift.

Think about drinking a thick milkshake through a straw. A thin drink is easy. A thick shake needs a much stronger “suck”. Dust is the thin drink. Steel grit and stones are the thick shake. That is why heavy jobs need a high kPa number.

Why Vacuums Use kPa, but Dust Collectors Use Pa

If you read the whole ENDUSTMAN catalog, you will notice something: vacuum cleaners show suction in kPa (like 22 kPa, 38 kPa), but the dust collector series shows it in Pa — from 1250–1420 Pa (EC1M) up to 2880–3660 Pa (ECH22M).

The two units are 1000 times apart. Why use different ones? Because dust collectors are a different kind of machine. They are built for very high airflow at low pressure — they serve many suction points on a production line at the same time. Their pressure is small, so Pa reads better: “1250 Pa” is easier to read than “1.25 kPa”.

From 17 kPa to 38 kPa: What Can Each Level Lift?

Let’s look at real suction numbers from the ENDUSTMAN catalog, from low to high, and the materials each level is made for.

See the pattern. At 17 kPa, a battery model handles dust and light floor debris — good for daily cleaning where there is no power outlet. At 22–30 kPa, you can pick up cement, flour, and iron filings. At 32–38 kPa, the machine lifts steel grit and stones all day long. The same jump also shows in power: the EEFD10P runs on 1000 W, while the EHFD250 runs on 25 kW.

💡 Pro Tip

Working with explosive dust or gas? The pneumatic models ERTS30 and ERTD70 give 20–27 kPa of vacuum with NO electric motor at all — they run on compressed air (5–9 Kg air pressure), so there are no sparks. Perfect for petrochemical plants, paint shops, and magnesium factories.

The Seesaw Between Suction and Airflow

Here is something the catalog does not say directly, but the numbers show it: suction and airflow sit on a seesaw. With a fixed motor power, when one goes up, the other usually goes down.

You can see this clearly with two models of almost the same power:

So when you read the parameter table, never look at kPa alone. Read it together with m³/h. The two numbers together tell you what the machine was really built for.

When You MUST Check kPa First

For light floor dust, airflow matters more. But in these four situations, suction is the number that decides success or failure:

Selection Tips: Match kPa to Your Material

💡 Pro Tip

Suction drops when the filter gets clogged, and long thin hoses eat suction too. If your work needs strong pickup at the nozzle, keep the hose short, and choose the 50mm option instead of 40mm when the catalog offers “40/50mm”.

In Short

Suction (kPa) is the pulling force. It decides whether heavy debris can be lifted at all, and it matters most with heavy materials, long hoses, and vertical lifting. Vacuums show it in kPa, dust collectors in Pa — remember 1 kPa = 1000 Pa before you compare. And always read suction together with airflow: the seesaw never lies.