Tag: filter element

The Importance Of Preventative Maintenance

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The first brand-new car I ever bought was a 1995 Ford Escort wagon. I was playing in a band pretty much every weekend (and the occasional weeknight), and my digital piano case fit perfectly in the back – I took it with me to make sure when I went to test drive it. Over eleven years, I put just shy of 200,000 miles on it, and, aside from gas, oil, and tires, had a little under $1,000 in repair costs.

There used to a legendary warning about not buying a car made on a Monday (since the auto workers were presumably recovering from the weekend) or a Friday (since they were equally presumably distracted by getting ready for the weekend). Some folks only buy a particular make of automobile (or shun another) because that’s the make their favorite race car driver (or least favorite) drives. I don’t know what day of the week that Escort was made, and I couldn’t tell you which race car drivers are loyal to the Ford Motor Company, but I CAN tell you that I followed the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule to a “T”. And I’m pretty sure that had a LOT more to do with that little red wagon’s longevity than a bunch of auto workers’ attention to detail (or lack thereof) or who’s popular on the NASCAR circuit.

The same is true for many components that make up your compressed air system. You’re going to want to change the lubricating oil in your compressor on a regular basis (as recommended by the manufacturer) for the exact same reasons you change the oil in your car’s engine. You need to replace particulate elements in compressed air filters, same as you need to periodically replace your car’s air filter.

For point-of-use devices – like most EXAIR compressed air products – preventative maintenance largely comes down to replacing those particulate elements in your filters. Products like our Air Knives, Air Wipes, Air Amplifiers, E-Vac Vacuum Generators, Reversible Drum Vacs, and Vortex Tubes all have relatively small passages that the air has to flow through, so it’s critical to their performance to supply them with clean air. In fact, if you DO supply these products with clean air, they’ll run darn near indefinitely, maintenance free. That’s why all of our product Kits include a Filter Separator with a 5 micron particulate element, and a centrifugal element for moisture removal.

Good engineering practice calls for point of use filtration and moisture removal, such as that provided by EXAIR Filter Separators.

One question we get on a pretty regular basis is, how often do you have to change the particulate element in our Filter Separators. Good engineering practice calls for replacing that element when the differential pressure across the filter reaches 5psi. Now, you can measure the pressure on either side of the Filter Separator and change the element when the outlet pressure drops 5psi from the inlet. If you can shut down long enough to do so, that’s an efficient way to do it – that ensures you get the most ‘bang for your buck’ from that element.

Of course, those elements don’t cost all that much – but shutting down a production line, for even the few minutes it takes to replace an element, can get VERY costly. Facilities that run 24/7 will usually plan some downtime for periodic maintenance on SOMETHING…and they’ll just replace their Filter Separator’s particulate elements during those downtimes.

If you’ve got questions about getting the most out of our products – and, by extension, your compressed air system – give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Do I Have To Install A Compressed Air Filter?

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac Kit – Model 152200

Recently I took a call from an existing customer that is questioning their Heavy Duty Line Vac Kit setup. They are experiencing around a 38 psig pressure drop from before the filter in the system to the inlet of the Line Vac.  At first glance, they assumed this was due to the filter restricting the flow. They then posed the question, “Do I have to run this filter or can I take it out?  I mean I already have a filter at my compressor.” The answer is yes, install the filter. It will keep dirt, scale and condensate from entering the Line Vac or other components downstream. In the case of a Line Vac, a filter will also prevent this unwanted debris from getting into the material being conveyed.

Example of an Improper Filter Setup

However, this is a great question, especially when assuming the filter is causing the pressure drop – but that was not the case for this application.  So more questions were asked to our customer to determine what the root cause of the pressure drop could be. Seeing a pressure drop across a filter can be caused by several factors.

One would be an inappropriately sized filter. This can restrict the volumetric flow of air through to the point of use causing a pressure drop.  All of the filters supplied with our product kits are auto-drain, have 5 micron filter elements and appropriately sized to operate the product at 80 psig inlet pressure so this was not the problem.

The next issue could be that the filter is clogged, this brought on another question.  If you see more than a 5 psig pressure drop across a filter from EXAIR then we suggest changing out the filter element as it could be clogged and not permitting the full volumetric flow through.  This installation was fairly new and a quick test without a filter element installed proved it was not the filter element that was clogged.

That brought us to the last variable, the length, size, and number/type of fittings between the filter and the Heavy Duty Line Vac. This length of pipe was more than 30′ in length and was only appropriately sized for a 10′ length or shorter run.  The customer was using a 1/2″ Schedule 40 black iron pipe to feed a 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac at 80 psig inlet pressure. The 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac Kit will utilize 75 SCFM at 80 psig inlet pressure.  That will need a 1/2″ Sched. 40 pipe that is 10′ long or less in order to not have friction loss within the feed pipe.  Armed with this information the customer is researching whether or not the line needs to stay that long.  If it does, they will have to re-plumb the system with a minimum of a 3/4″ Sched. 40 black iron pipe.

Luckily this was all able to be discussed within a few hours of time and the customer is on their way to an optimal supply system for their in-line conveyor.  One brief phone call took this customer from lackluster performance and thinking a product was not going to work for what they need, to performing beyond their expectations, and being able to keep up with their production needs.

If you have a product or any part of your compressed air system that you question why it may be performing or not performing a certain way, please do not hesitate to reach out to our knowledgeable team of Application Engineers. We are always interested in finding a solution to your needs.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Compressed Air Demand Preventative Maintenance

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

Preventative maintenance for compressed air demand products is a simple as keeping the compressed air clean and condensate free. It is simple because all it takes is a filter and keeping the filter element clean, just like you do for your home furnace and/or air conditioner.

I received a phone call from a customer that needed replacement elements for EXAIR filters.  They were using four different models of Filter Separators and Oil Removal Filters.  The filters had been in service for one year, and the internal elements needed to be changed.  They requested a quote to replenish the replacement elements that they stocked as a preventative measurement.  What an idea!

Majority of EXAIR products use compressed air for cleaning, cooling, conveying, static elimination, coating and more.  To help keep your EXAIR products running efficiently, it is important to supply them with clean, dry, pressurized air.  EXAIR offers a line of Filter Separators and Oil Removal Filters to supply quality air to your equipment.  In this blog, I will explain the two types of filters that we carry and the maintenance requirements.  The filters and preventative measures can play an important part in your compressed air system.

Filter Separators are used to remove bulk liquid and contamination from the compressed air stream.  They utilize a 5-micron filter with a mechanical separation to help remove large amounts of dirt and water.  This type of filter would be considered the minimum requirement for filtration.  Most of the Filter Separators come with an auto-drain to automatically dispense the collection of oil and water.  EXAIR offers a variety of port sizes and flow ranges to meet your pneumatic flow requirement.  For maintenance, the filter elements should be changed once a year or when the pressure drop reaches 10 PSID, whichever comes first.  I created a list in Table 1 showing the correct replacement element kits for each model number.  And for any reason, if the bowl or internal components get damaged, we also have Rebuild Kits as well.  Just remember, the air quality is very important for longevity and functionality for pneumatic products and even for EXAIR products.

The Oil Removal Filters can make your compressed air even cleaner.  They work great at removing very small particles of dirt and oil.  They are made from glass fibers and can remove particles down to 0.01 micron.  They are designed to collect small particles and to coalesce the liquid particles into a large droplet for gravity to remove.  Because of the fine matrix, Oil Removal Filters are not great for bulk separation.  If you have a system with lots of oil and water, I would recommend to use the Filter Separator upstream of the Oil Removal Filter.  As with the Filter Separator, the filter element should be changed once a year or at a pressure drop of 10 PSID.  EXAIR also offers a variety of port sizes and flow ranges.  Table 1 below shows the replacement Element Kits as well as the Rebuild Kits.  If the application requires very clean compressed air, the Oil Removal Filter should be used.

Table 1

By using EXAIR filters, they will clean your compressed air to prevent cross contamination, performance issues, and premature failures.  As an ounce of prevention, you can add the replacement elements in stock and enter them in your preventative maintenance program.  With clean quality air, your pneumatic system and EXAIR products will provide you with effective, long-lasting performance without maintenance downtime.  If you would like to discuss the correct type of filters to use in your application, you can speak with an Application Engineer.  We will be happy to help you.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Why 5 PSIG Matters

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Last week I pointed out the important locations for measuring your compressed air system pressure throughout your compressed air system.   One of the critical points to measure system pressure was before and after each filter.  This leads into another question that I receive every once in a while, “How do I tell when the filter needs to be changed?”  The answer to this is easy, when you see more than a 5 PSIG pressure drop across the filter.  This means that the element within the filter has become clogged with sediment or debris and is restricting the volume available to your downstream products.

Filter
EXAIR 5 micron Auto Drain Filter Separator

 

This can lead to decreased performance, downtime, and even the possibility of passing contaminants through the filter to downstream point of use components.  In order to maintain an optimal performance when using EXAIR filter separators and oil removal filters, monitoring the compressed air pressure before and after the unit is ideal.

Replacement filter elements are readily available from stock, as well as complete rebuild kits for the filter units. Changing the filters out can be done fairly easily and we even offer a video of how to do it.

The life expectancy of a filter element on the compressed air is directly related to the quality of air and the frequency of use, meaning it can vary greatly.  If you tie a new filter onto the end of a compressed air drop that has not been used in years, you may get a surprise by the filter clogging rather quickly.   However, if you maintain your compressor and your piping system properly then the filters should last a long time. Generally we recommend checking your filters every 6 months.

If you have questions about where and why to filter your compressed air contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF