Save Money While Maximizing Compressed Air Productivity

Where to Start? Measure.
You can’t build a cost saving strategy around unknowns, so begin by measuring your compressed air system’s energy consumption, flow rates and operating air pressure. This will provide baseline values, help to identify problem areas and compute actual cost savings from any improvements you make. A great way to analyze a compressed air system is to draw a pressure profile that shows the pressure drops through a system. These pressure measurements give feedback for control adjustments, determine pressure drops across components and help to determine system operating pressures.

1.
Turn It Off. Set your machines to switch off nights and weekends.
There are 168 hours in a week, but most compressed air systems only run between 60‐100 hours at anything near full capacity. Depending on your shift pattern, turning your ABAC compressor off evenings and weekends could reduce your energy bills up to 20%.
2.
Fix Existing Leaks. Start with the oldest and biggest pipes.
A quarter‐inch air leak at 100 psi costs more than $2,500 a year! Pipe systems older than five years can have leaks of up to 25%. You must spend money to compress air, so air that leaks out is money wasted. Fix leaks, save money. Keep in mind that approximately 80% of air leaks are not audible; therefore, third‐party help is a necessity to thoroughly detect and minimize these problems.
3.
Prevent New Leaks. Dry and clean your compressed air.
Prevention beats cure, so be proactive and look inside your piping system. A clean, dry pipe means you have good quality air and should have no corrosion issues. Dust in the pipe is caused by particles in your air. If you don’t filter the air, or if your filter is clogged, you’ll have pressure drops and increase the risk of contaminating your end product. Sludge in the pipe is bad news and must be fixed immediately. In addition to the problems that occur with dust in the pipe, your pipes will corrode very quickly (if you see sludge it’s likely started already) and leaks will greatly increase. Dried and filtered compressed air keeps piping clean.
4.
Reduce Pressure. Run at required pressures, not beyond.
Each 2 psig reduction cuts energy consumption by 1%. Check the pressure at which your system is running and don’t keep turning it up to compensate for leaks or drops in pressure due to piping problems or clogged filters. Fix these issues and the chances are you will be able to actually drop the pressure. A central supply side controller can greatly reduce the operational pressure band and orchestrate air production much more efficiently and effectively.
5.
Check Drains. Are your condensate drains stuck open?
Condensate drains on timers should be adjusted periodically to ensure they open as intended and aren’t stuck open. Better yet, replace timer drains with zero‐loss drains to stop wasting compressed air.
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6. Review Piping Infrastructure. Many systems aren’t optimized.
Your piping system design should optimize transfer of compressed air at the desired flow and pressure to the point of use. Increasing the
size of your pipe from 2” to 3” can reduce pressure drop up to 50%. Shortening the distance air has to travel can further reduce pressure
drops by about 20‐40%. The more flow you try to put through a pipe the greater the pressure drop will be. Pressure drop in a pipe
increases with the square of the increase in flow. For example, if you triple the flow, the pressure drop will increase nine times what it
was! Air distribution piping should be large enough in diameter to minimize pressure drop.
7. Change Filters Systematically. Not every once in a while.
Just as you change oil in your car at scheduled intervals to ensure optimum performance, change filters in
your air compressor and air system regularly to ensure air quality and to prevent pressure drops. Inspect
and replace filters systematically to ensure the quality of your air. Go beyond the air compressor and
compressor room. There are several air line and point of use filters within your facility and they are just as
important to maintain as the air compressor and air compressor room filters.
8. Recover Heat. Compressing air generates heat – reuse it!
It’s simple physics that compressing air gives off heat, and you can recover as much as 90% of the heat for use in your operation. For
example, you can produce hot water for washrooms or direct warm air into a workspace, warehouse, loading dock, or entryway. You’ll find
that the savings can really add up!
9. Emphasize Proper Maintenance. Ignoring maintenance costs more.
As with most industrial machinery, a compressor runs more efficiently when regularly maintained. Proper compressor maintenance cuts
energy costs around 1% and helps prevent breakdowns that result in downtime and lost production. Protect your reputation and profits
with proper maintenance.
10. Stop inappropriate use of compressed air. Cut these to save even more.
Inappropriate uses of compressed air include any application that can be done more effectively or more efficiently by a method other than
compressed air. For example, high pressure air is often used for cooling or applications where much lower air pressure is effective.

Top 12 Compressed Air Safety Guidelines - ABAC Compressors

Top 12 Compressed Air Safety Guidelines - ABAC Compressor

1. Never apply compressed air to the skin or direct it at a person. Even air at a pressure of 15 psi (1 bar) can cause serious injury. Never use a compressed air hose to clean dirt or dust from your clothing or body.

2. When using compressed air for cleaning purposes, ensure pressure does not exceed 30 psi. Always use goggles or a face shield over approved safety glasses for this application.

3. Wear ear protection. Exposure to excessive noise can damage hearing. Noise reducing mufflers can be fitted to machines to lessen the noise health hazard.

4. Never crimp, couple, or uncouple pressurized hose. Shut off valves and bleed down pressure before making any hose adjustments.

5. Use heavy duty clamps made especially for compressed air systems. Use only the correct type and size of hose end fittings and connections.

6. Never use frayed, damaged or deteriorated hoses. Always store hoses properly and away from heat sources or direct sunlight. A hose failure can cause serious injury. Hose Reels can decrease your chances of injury, as well as help hoses last longer.

7. When blowing compressed air through a hose or air line, ensure that the open end is held securely. A free end can whip and can cause injury. Open the supply air cock carefully and ensure that any ejected particles will be restrained. A blocked hose can become a dangerous “compressed air gun.”

8. Make sure all hoses exceeding 1/2 inch ID have a safety device at the source of supply or branch line to reduce the pressure in case of hose failure.

9. Do not use air directly from a compressor for breathing purposes, for example charging air cylinders, unless the system has been specifically designed for such purpose and suitable breathing air filters and regulators are in place.

10. Isolating valves should be of the self venting type and designed to be locking in the "off" position so that air pressure cannot be applied inadvertently while the machine is being worked on.

11. Never alter or install an A.S.M.E. safety relief valve that has a higher PSIG rating than the pressure vessel rating to which it is attached.

12. Only pressure vessels built to a national or international standard should be used for air receivers.

Buying a new air compressor… the first thing to ask!

Folks buying an industrial air compressor from an industrial shop don’t necessarily have this problem, as likely the air compressor distributor is the company that fixes that brand.
Those of us that are buying a low cost DIY type air compressor from the big-box-store ilk, are not that fortunate.
When you find the air compressor that you think will suit your needs, the first question to ask your store clerk is who fixes that brand when it’s past warranty? You’ll typically see eyes glaze over, or a mindless grin slide across their face, and they may even mumble some sort of response that doesn’t tell you anything. Be persistent!

Big box stores fix virtually nothing. If your air compressor craps out within that store’s replacement time frame, and you return it with a problem, odds are they will simply give you a new one. That, believe it or not, is likely cheaper for them than having a process to handle compressor repair at the store level. And besides, rumor has it that the deal they cut with their supplier is that if a product comes back under warranty, the supplier will give the store a new one to replace it, anyway.
Are you buying your air compressors for 3 months, or one year use only? Planning on having it a longer time than that?
Then, ask where you get that particular compressor fixed when it is OUT OF WARRANTY. If they can’t tell you, buy another brand from somewhere else where they can.

I am inundated by emails  from folks with an almost new, hardly used, big box store type air compressor that has failed after a short time, and no where, NO WHERE, can these folks get them fixed or even, if they know what the air compressor problem is, get parts to fix it.

Shop harder folks. Don’t buy air compressors from any store that cannot point you to where you will get service after the warranty runs out. Because the warranty will run out, and your compressor will, eventually, break down. When it does, know where to get it fixed.