An important part of any energy efficiency project is verification of the project post installation. Checking out the baseline of the new system and comparing it with the old consumption proves the savings … and gives you the confidence that everything is working okay. The chart shown at right shows a real system with a […]

Duct Tape (also called duck tape) has been around since the 1940s, when it was designed to be easily used to make quick repairs on things (see Wikipedia). Over the years, it seems many strange and wonderful uses have been found for this handy adhesive tape, including its incorrect use on compressed air systems. The […]

Leakage is usually a significant add-on to the cost of operating a compressed air system.  Almost every factory employee knows there are air leaks, and often can identify where the big ones are, but follow through on this knowledge is often a problem. This is where a good system of leakage detection and repair comes […]

A common problem in tracking inventory in a business is shrinkage. Products or merchandize will disappear before being sold.  This could be by theft or some sort of accounting problem, but the effect is the same, the effort, energy or money spent in making the product is wasted, with no real return on this effort.  In […]

A large trade school replaced their older reciprocating compressor with a newer lubricated screw compressor. The staff was tired of the noise of the piston compressor, hammering away during daytime activities. The newer and quieter screw compressor was an easy replacement — just drop it in and turn it on! It purred like a kitten. […]

Question: In a manufacturing facility, and especially with a VFD (which I understand likes cleaner air), how important is it to vent the intake and exhaust of the compressor to outside? I can’t see air up on the roof being much cooler than inside the plant in the hot summer and in the winter you would […]

Often, for extra reliability, a main and spare compressor exist in a compressor room. The spare may be an old unit that has recently been replaced, turned off, but waiting to be fired up if the new compressor shuts down or is taken out of service for maintenance.  This spare compressor consumes no power if […]

By Ron Marshall A metal products manufacturer installed a desiccant dryer about 10 years ago to protect a special laser costing almost $1 million. The dryer worked perfectly, or so it seemed — it could be heard blowing off and switching sides as dual tower heatless desiccant dryers do. As part of a compressed air […]

With a little bit of imagination, we can relate a compressed air system to the circulatory system of a human body. We have the heart of the system, the air compressors, pumping out the life blood of the plant through the piping system, something we might relate to veins and arteries  A healthy system is […]

Air wands and blow guns are widely used in industrial plant for cleaning, product movement, drying and sometimes cooling.  These components often work very effectively for the said purpose but you should be forewarned that they do come with some very definite drawbacks: Safety – Compressed air can pick up and propel small objects, dust, […]