Get the most out of your compressed air operated products by keeping up with filter maintenance. Maintaining a filter separator ranges from a simple filter element replacement to repairing or replacing broken parts. Here’s a video showing how to rebuild an EXAIR Automatic Drain Filter Separator if corrective maintenance is needed.
If you have any questions, give me a call.
Russ Bowman, CCASS
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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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.
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
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.
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
