Occasionally, we have customers that will hold off ordering elements for as long as they can in the hopes that everything will still continue working as normal, even if the differential pressure gauge on the filter is showing it’s time to change. While elements can be expensive, it’s always cheaper to stay on top of things than to suffer from downtime and costly repairs. 

Many systems have a differential pressure gauge, which measures the pressure before the filter and the pressure after the filter, ultimately showing you the pressure drop across the filter. This is another helpful way to determine if your filter needs changing.

Examining Pressure Drop

Pressure drop in your compressed air system is bad. Every filter has a pressure drop – it’s inherent to all filters. A clogged filter, however, will often be 10 psi or more above and beyond your normal filter pressure drop. Keep in mind, every 2 psi increase in pressure is about a 1% increase in energy use. That means the compressor or compressors upstream will be using 5% more energy.   

Let’s look at an example, an average installation in the USA with the following metrics:

• 30hp air compressor running about 60 hours per week
• The motor has a 1.1 service factor, 91% efficiency, and the electrical cost is 12¢ per kWh

Not changing a clogged filter costs about $10/week, $40/month, and $520/year. The filter element in question costs between $150-$200 brand new, or half that for an aftermarket. Here, you can see that holding off another two months changing the filter will cost them about $80 on the electrical bill. 

If you have a large manufacturing plant, you probably have between 100-300hp worth of air compressors and you likely run 80 hours per week.  Not changing the filter costs about $43/week or $170/month for every 100hp (using the same metrics as above).

These numbers are just for one filter. It is typical to see two or three filters in the line, and if you have a desiccant dryer, there are usually two filters before and two filters after.  A big plant with 300hp worth of compressors would use an extra $2,000 per month in electricity by not changing them!

You can’t afford not to change them.

Holding off hold off on filter maintenance will:

1. Contaminate your process.
2. Run up your electrical bill.
3. Force your compressor to work harder, which can put unnecessary strain on it in the long run.

As you can see, it doesn’t make sense to not change your air filters when it’s time.

Learn more about our Preventative Maintenance services and programs for your system, as well as our Rental options.

The post Is it Time to Change Your Compressor’s Air Filter? appeared first on Air Compressor Works, Inc..

The efficiency of a compressed air system doesn’t just depend on the compressor. The connection to the compressed air tool can make a significant difference.

Tips to decrease the pressure drop at the air tool:

• Pressure Regulator – open the pressure regulator up. You may even be able to reduce system pressure as well.
• Connection – increase the flow diameter of the connection to the air tool.
• Hose – increase the hose diameter. If using a spiral hose, switch to a smooth one. Spiral hoses are energy wasters.
• Water Separator – do you have decentralized water separators? Switch to drying your compressed air centrally. Water separators are energy wasters as well.
• System Pressure – increase the pressure in the air-main or install larger diameter piping.

Fixing the pressure drop at the tool can increase productivity, minimize product defects and reduce the run hours on your compressor.

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Lower your Compressor’s Air Pressure

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A desiccant dryer uses desiccant beads to adsorb the water in compressed air. These beads draw the water out of the air using molecular adhesion. The beads are porous, allowing water to get “stuck” to them. They do not react with water, so if only clean air and water is contacting them, you don’t have to replace the desiccant; you only have to regenerate it. Eventually the beads do get contaminated and the water particles don’t stick anymore, requiring replacement (that should take years.)

What contaminates the desiccant?

Compressor lubricant is the main culprit that contaminates the desiccant. If you get oil droplets on the beads, it forms a film over the desiccant. This film does not allow the beads to absorb water. That’s the reason you see filters in front of a desiccant dryer. A coalescing filter catches the oil droplets, but before that you often need a particulate filter to protect the coalescing filter. After the dryer, you need another particulate filter to catch desiccant dust. Sometimes a fourth filter is needed for higher purity applications; a carbon filter to remove oil vapor.

Regenerating the desiccant is the Key.

Desiccant dryers can only absorb so much water before the beads become saturated. Regeneration is just getting the water off the desiccant so it can catch more. This is done by either blowing air or heating the beads – sometimes both at the same time.

Why would I need a desiccant dryer?

This is simple. You need a desiccant dryer if a dew point below 35°F is required for your compressed air system. Anything else, you can use a refrigerated dryer, which would usually be more energy efficient and cost less to maintenance.

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It’s basically calculates how much air can flow through a hole at different pressures, hole sizes, and altitudes. You can use this calculator to tell you the cfm needed for any application where compressed air blows through a hole onto something, or how much cfm that leak is costing you. There are thousands of applications that this applies to.

Leaks

Leaks in a compressed air system can increase your electric bill, maintenance cost, and wear and tear on your system. If you just have a tiny 3/32″ hole, it will leak approximately 17 cfm with the pressure is set at 125 psi. That’s roughly 5 hp of compressor just to keep up with the leak. At a 60 hour work week, that’s around $1200 in just electrical cost. In larger systems, it not uncommon to have several of these leaks.

This tool gives you an idea of how much air is coming out of your leak. The lower the pressure, the less cfm you lose. This is a great example of how turning down your system pressure can save you money.

Application Examples:

Abrasive Blasting

Abrasive blasting is sandblasting, bead blasting, soda blasting, and other media blasting applications. Blasting is just a leak, and the size of the leak is the bore of the blasting nozzle. Many compressed air users waste tons of air and media by using too much pressure, or nozzles that are too big.

Pressure:

1/8″ bore at 125 psi = approx. 29 cfm

1/8″ bore at 90 psi = approx. 21 cfm

The majority of sandblasting applications need 90 psi or less; some you can go as low as 40 psi. It all depends what you’re blasting and the media. If you could blast at 40 psi, you could save roughly 19 cfm.

1/8″ bore at 40 psi = approx. 10 cfm

Bore size:

Another way to reduce cfm needed is to reduce the bore size (reduce the leak.)

3/32″ bore at 125 psi = approx. 17 cfm

Saving about 12 cfm compared to the 1/8″ bore. Now is we reduced the pressure down to 90 psi:

3/32″ bore at 90 psi = approx. 12 cfm

Keep in mind, that as the nozzles get used, they get worn down; making the hole bigger. If you’re compressor is running more than normal, or can’t keep up with demand, it may be time to get new nozzles.

Reducing the pressure and bore size also reduces the amount of media used.

Cleaning

In plants, personnel use compressed air for cleaning. Blowing dust off machines, cleaning radiators, cleaning themselves, etc… Almost every car wash uses a compressed air for cleaning and detailing as well.

We’ve come across applications where it’s just an open hose hooked into the air system. Estimating using the tool:

3/8″ hose at 125 psi = approx. 258 psi

That’s a ton of air! Compressed air needs to be regulated, blowguns need to be used. Regulating down to about 30 psi and using a blowgun:

1/5″ blowgun at 30 psi = approx. 18 psi

Huge difference! However, some applications require larger blow guns and more air pressure; it would still be less cfm than an open hose using unregulated air.

Calculator

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Sometimes companies don’t have the budget, or the cash flow, for the initial cost of the correct compressor. In that case, leasing can be the solution to your problem.

Here are some benefits of leasing your compressor:

• Requires less money up front
• Permits soft cost financing
• Preserves bank credit lines
• Offers flexible payment options
• Allows upgrades and add-ons easily
• Protects against technological obsolescence
• Minimizes balance sheet liabilities

For years, ACW has worked hand in hand with Marlin Capital Solutions to offer a fast, and convenient, approval process.

Let an ACW Sales Engineer asset you in the design of a system that best fits your needs; focused on Reliability, Efficiency, and Cost Savings.

Calculate a Lease Quote Today

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If you want a quality compressor, the initial cost can be expensive. If you try to cut costs and go with the least expensive option, you’ll pay for it later. Not only will it have more issues/failures (costing money to repair PLUS the loss of production), it’ll cost a lot more money in your electric bill to operate.

Cheap is expensive.

We can’t emphasize how many times we’ve seen customers get burned. They’re looking for a compressor, get a bunch of different quotes (which is a good thing), then make their decision based on the lowest price (which is a bad thing.)

It’s actually a huge disservice to their companies:

• Increasing repair/maintenance costs
• The loss of production costs
• Higher electric bills

The initial cost of a compressor is just a small percentage (around 12%) of what you’ll be paying. So when you go with the cheapest offer, you’re actually not saving money. You’re spending more! The cheapest manufacturer is that for a reason.

You should buy your compressor based on:

• The 10 year cost of owning the compressor.
• The features and benefits of the compressor.
• The trust you have in the company that’s selling to you.

               Do they have a sales, service and parts team to support?

               How many technicians do they have on the road, and what’s their response time?

               Do they keep the maintenance parts for your compressor in stock?

               How long have they been in business?

Remember… you’re not just buying a compressor from a company, you’re developing a 10-20 year relationship with them. That’s longer that most people stay married.

Your compressed air system is the life blood of your company. Pick the right partner, and the right compressor.

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Here are some easy fixes that would save you money:

1.  Fix The Leak

I’m sure you if you have the air conditioner on, you make sure everybody closes the windows and doors. The same principle applies to your compressed air system. If you have leaks, you’re just “leaving the doors and windows open.” Hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars in electricity are literally leaking out of your system. Not only that, it makes your compressor run more, which increases your maintenance costs and wear & tear on the compressor. You would never accept this with your A/C system, so why do companies accept this with their compressed air system?

2.  Lower The Pressure

Every time you lower your system pressure by 2 psi, you save approximately 1% on your electrical cost. Additionally, if you have leaks, less air is lost at lower pressures. Why not lower your system pressure to just above what you use? If you have proper tank storage (4-5 gallons of storage per CFM of compressor) and air system with a low pressure drop, then you should make this change immediately. If you don’t have proper storage, get it. A big tank is big bank – it saves you money in so many different ways.

3.  Pressure Drop

Pressure drop is the difference in psi coming out of the compressor from the pressure at the end of the line where you use the air. This is often caused by pipe being too small, in-line filter elements not being changed, or too many twists and turns in the piping. Changing the filter elements is an easy fix, but the others may take a little more time or money. However, the return on investment should make it worth the effort. If you are unsure about taking this step, call or email us. We can figure out your return on investment.

4.  Maintenance

You should be doing this anyway. Changing the filters and oil on your compressor(s) lets them run more efficiently. Changing the elements in in-line filters reduces pressure drop. Cleaning the coils on the condenser in a dryer makes it run more efficiently; cleaning the coils on the compressor cooler lets the compressor run more efficiently and keeps it from overheating. Make sure you have a proper preventative maintenance program in place is essential. You may want to consider a professional compressor company to put you on a maintenance program.

5.  Reduce the size of your blow down/blow offs

A lot of personnel use compressed air to clean equipment or themselves. They just take a hose and blow the dust off of them or the equipment. If they’re using an open hose, then you’re losing a considerable amount of money every time. This is just a leak, so reducing the pressure and the size of the leak saves you a lot of money. Attach a regulator and a blow gun to that hose. A cost between $20-$50 will save you hundreds of dollars in energy costs. Use the smallest orifice you can with the least amount of pressure you need to get the job done.

There are many other ways to reduce your electricity bill and compressor maintenance by optimizing your compressed air system. Contact Us

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In most cases, a larger air receiver can improve energy savings, air quality and pressure stability. It can also reduce maintenance costs and extend the life of your air compressors. The best part about it is that there’s no electricity or moving parts. There’s nothing to go wrong with it, other than the drain (and you’d need the same drain on a smaller tank anyway).

Think of your tank like a bank account. It saves money for later use, and allows you to save that money in a more efficient way. Also when a large expense or a surprise bill pops up, you have already saved enough to cover the expense. Think of it as having enough money in the bank, so that you only to have work when it’s convenient and easy for you. You don’t have to scramble around looking for money or work because you don’t have enough to pay the bills. You would never put a limit on the amount of money you can save. In the same way you should never limit the amount of compressed air energy you can save to just a small amount above what you can produce.

Another way to think of it, is this: Imagine if you had a two hour commute from your house to your job. What is more efficient? Going to work twice per day at 4 hours per day, or going to work once per day for a whole 8 hours. Of course you’d rather work the whole 8 hours. Having to go back and forth to work twice per day wastes 4 hours of your time, doubles the gas, and puts more wear and tear on your car. When your compressed air storage is too small, you’re doing this to your compressor, and you’re forcing it to go all the way home and back to work each time.

Another benefit to a big tank is that you can lower your system pressure. This reduces leaks; saving you 1% on the electrical bill to run your compressor for every 2 psi. Also, running at the lower pressure is easier on your compressor.

It’s just a small extra cost initially, but it saves you money year after year, after year.

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First, we should look at how electrical companies charge for your electricity.

The standard billing is measured in kWh (Kilowatts per hour). Electrical rates vary greatly depending on time of day, location, and total usage, but for our example we’ll use a rate of 16 cents per Kilowatt-hour.

The next step is to figure out how much electricity we’re using.

In this example we’ll use a 5 hp compressor. To convert horsepower to kilowatt, multiply the horsepower rating by .74. So, 5 horsepower x .74 gives us 3.7 kW.

Now we have to figure out how long the compressor runs.

We’ll use a conservative rating of 50%. During an 8 hour shift, we’ll assume that the air compressor is running for 4 hours. If we work with a single shift operation, and based our example on 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, we come up with 4 hours a day x 5 days a week x 52 weeks per year  = 1040 run hours per year.

1040 hours per year x 3.7 kW x 16 cents per kWh = $ 615.68 per year.

Doesn’t sound like much, but keep in mind, we are talking a small compressor, in a small shop, with a relatively low run time.

At just about any shop you walkthrough, you can hear air leaks.

People think these leaks aren’t anything to be concerned with; that they are so small, they won’t matter. I think it’s fair to say, that an average shop would have the equivalent of a 1/16” holes worth of air leaks – from hose quick disconnects, leaking fittings, leaking tools, leaking drains, or a host of other sources. Think about it this way; a 1/16” of an inch is about the size of the tip of a pen and at 125psi of pressure, there is waste of 7.9 CFM worth of air. So, how much is 7.9 CFM? Well, remember that 5hp compressor we started our example with? Well, this compressor delivers an average of 17.5 CFM, so there is 45% waste of the total capacity.

The amount of air that’s wasted is exponential when compared to the diameter of the hole. At 1/16th of an inch, at 150psi, the leak rate is 9.1CFM, at 1/8th of an inch, that number more than triples to 37.3CFM!

So, in the system above, if the leaks were eliminated, there would be a 45% reduction in electrical usage, so the $615.58 annual costs would drop to $338.62.

• How many horsepower worth of compressed air do you have?
• How many shifts do you run?
• How much can you save?

At Air Compressor Works, we work on compressors from ½ a horsepower up to 300hp and larger. Our staff of highly trained service technicians and salesmen are constantly looking out for ways to make your compressed air system more efficient.

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These auto drains are convenient because you don’t have to remember to drain your tank daily. However, the convenience is a double-edged sword. They are SO convenient that the person maintaining the compressor might forget to maintenance them.

These drains have a strainer that needs to be cleaned.

Depending on the age of the tank and usage; you should check the strainer weekly. It’s very easy to do.

Here’s how:

• SAFETY FIRST – Make sure the power to the compressor is disconnected at the disconnect. DO NOT rely on the pressure switch. Make sure the drain is unplugged from it’s electrical supply. Make sure you drain all the pressure out of the tank.
• Find the strainer on the drain. It should be piped between the solenoid of the drain and the tank. There will be a nut you can remove without un piping it. On some strainers it’s on the end, and others, the middle.
• Remove the nut, take out the mesh inside, clean and put everything back together. Turn everything back on, pressure test it by having the drain manually open (usually there’s a button on the drain.) CHECK FOR LEAKS.

The whole process should only take a few minutes, unless the nut is stuck.

If the mesh is gone, you can pick some up from a local hardware store, cut it to size, roll it into a cylinder and put it in the strainer.

If you don’t have a strainer – get one. You can pick them up nearly anywhere compressor parts are sold (and they are cheap.) Just check the psi rating to make sure it meets or exceeds the psi rating of your tank.

This simple step can prevent a drain failure. An unnoticed drain failure can be a disaster – the tank filling with water, shooting downstream, damaging all of your equipment.

Never skimp on your maintenance – you’ll pay for it later.

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