Tag: maintain

Air Compressors: Maintenance and Optimization

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

In one of my previous jobs, I was responsible for the operation of the facility, and one of my biggest jobs was the operation of our air compressor.  Like with many industries, the compressor system is the lifeblood of the company.  If the compressor fails, the whole facility will stop.  In this blog, I will share some maintenance items and schedules for air compressors.

Because the cost to make compressed air is expensive, the compressed air system is considered to be a fourth utility.  With such an important investment, you would like to keep it operating as long and efficiently as possible.  To do this, it is recommended to get your air compressor a “checkup” every so often.  I will cover some important items to check.  Depending on the size and type, some items may or may not apply.  But please, always check with the manufacturer of your air compressor.

Intake filter: The intake filter is used to clean the air that is being drawn into the air compressor.  Better filtration results in less debris getting into your system.  Particles can damage the air pump mechanisms over time as well as plug filters and heat exchangers downstream.  If they are not properly monitored and cleaned, the air flow can be restricted.  This will cause the compressor motor to operate harder and hotter.

Compressor Oil: This would be for flooded screws and reciprocating compressors that use oil to lubricate the bearings and sleeves in the air pump.  Most systems have an oil sight to verify levels.  The oil can also be checked for acidity, which will tell the degree at which the oil is breaking down.  Just like the motor oil in your car, you will have to replace it after so many hours of operation.

Belts & couplings: These items transmit the power from the motor to the air pump.  Check their alignment, condition, and tension (belts only) as specified by the manufacturer.  You should have spares on hand in case of any failures.

Electric Motors: A mechanical device that turns electric energy into rotational energy.  It is the main component that uses a lot of energy to make compressed air.  So, some checks are required to foresee any potential issues and major shutdowns.  For the windings inside, the resistance should be measured with a multi-meter, and it should fall within the motor’s specifications.  Another check should be on the start capacitor.  The start capacitor stores energy to give the motor a powerful boost to get it turning.  One other item is the centrifugal switch.  Just like the name states, it will disconnect the start capacitor when the motor starts spinning.  One other item for large electric motors is the phase converter.  These are typically capacitors, and they are designed to keep the direction of three-phase motors going in the correct rotation.  Both types of capacitors can be checked with a multi-meter.

Air/Oil Separators: This filter removes as much oil from the compressed air before it travels downstream.  It returns the oil back to the sump of the air compressor.  If the Air/Oil Separator builds too much pressure drop, excess oil can travel downstream.  Not only will the air pump lose the required oil level, but it will affect the performance of downstream parts like air dryers and after-coolers.  Also, the pressure drop is a waste and can rob your air system of workable energy. 

Internal filters: Many air compressors will come with an attached refrigerated air dryer.   With this type of air compressor, they will place coalescing filters to remove any residual oil.  These filters should be checked for pressure drop.  If the pressure drop gets too high, then it will rob your compressed air system of pressure, and you will not get the required performance.  Some filters come with a pressure drop indicator which can help you to determine the time to change the element.   

Unloader valve: When the air compressor unloads, this valve helps to remove any of the compressed air that is trapped in the cavity.  When the air compressor restarts, it does not have to “work” against this air pressure.  If they do not fully unload, the air compressor will have to work harder to start, wasting energy.

Preventative maintenance is very important.  As for a schedule, I created a rough sequence to check, change, or clean certain items that are important to your air compressor.  You should also check with your local compressor representative for a more detailed maintenance schedule.

Daily:

  • After stopping, remove any condensate from the receiver tank.
  • Check the oil level.

Monthly:

  • Inspect the cooling fins on the air pumps.  Clean if necessary
  • Inspect the oil cooler. Clean if necessary

Quarterly:

  • Inspect the inlet air filter.  Clean or replace if necessary.
  • Check the belt for tension and cracks.  Tighten or replace.
  • Check differential pressure indicators on outlet compressed air filters.
  • Ohm check on the electric motor

Yearly:

  • Replace Air Inlet Filter
  • Replace the air-oil separator
  • Test safety valves and un-loader valve
  • Replace compressed air filters
  • Change oil
  • Grease bearings if required

Keeping your air compressor running optimally is very important for pneumatic operations.  But there is much more than an air compressor in your system.  To help, there are steps that can be used on the demand side.  EXAIR created a Webinar – “Optimizing Your Compressed Air System In 6 Simple Steps”.  With this combination, you can keep a healthy compressed air system.  You can always contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR to see how much money can be saved by energy reduction, safety, and monitoring.  

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

Image courtesy of Compressor1 – Creative commons license

Basic System Maintenance

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Maintenance is something that can have two different forms; preventative and reactive. At home, I try to ensure I perform preventative maintenance on my major appliances. For instance, I clean the coils on my A/C condensing coils at least once a year, if not twice. I change the intake air filter on the air handler once a month because it is a 1″ thick filter, which is the manufacturer’s recommendation. When it comes to our aging vehicle fleet of two, I do a combination of preventative maintenance such as tire rotations, fluid checks and changes, as well as reactive maintenance such as thermostat replacements and sensor changes when they go bad.

Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Mechanical Technician
1 – Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Mechanical Technician

Regarding industrial facilities, the same kind of maintenance can be found. I have worked in facilities where the only type of maintenance that is done is in fact reactive. You know the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That is legit how some of these facilities I have been through function. In fact, they will take parts off a broken production line that they are waiting on the parts for and put on another machine when it breaks down just to keep something going. The inventory of replacement parts was non-existent on-site and would cause downturns due to mechanical failures often. This has resulted in low up-time scores, which also sends production costs through the roof because they are trying to make up for downed lines by running overtime and increasing speeds on the lines that aren’t down.

While preventative maintenance can seem like it is costly and troublesome because it can take a machine out of production, I assure you it is still cheaper and easier than having that emergency maintenance call that comes after hours on a Friday. This is one of the main reasons we talk about installing point-of-use filters on systems that require clean compressed air. If you start to see more than a 5 psig drop across a filter, then you should look at replacing the filter element to ensure optimal performance like the video below showcases for model 9004. Should something like a main dryer fail, these point-of-use filters will help to collect any bypass or remnants in the system from just such a failure of up-stream equipment.

If you would like to discuss other preventative maintenance steps, like monitoring the usage of a system to see leakage when it starts, or how to clean and maintain your EXAIR products, contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

1 -PEO ACWA, 1/14/2019, Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant Mechanical Technician, retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/acwa/39775534373/in/photostream/

Six Sigma and The Compressor Room

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Throughout my undergrad courses as well as during my professional career I have encountered Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing in many facilities.  There is at least one component to the theory that can be implemented into any facility with a compressor room. That component is the practice of the 5 S’s.

The 5 S’s of Lean Manufacturing come from the Japanese terms  listed below with their English translations:

Seiri – Sort (Organize)
Seiton – Set in Order (Orderliness)
Seiso – Shine (Cleanliness)
Seiketsu – Standardize
Shitsuke –  Sustain (Discipline)

These 5 points can aid in keeping any air compressor room in a facility efficient, safe, and effectively supplying the company with compressed air. How you may ask.

Sort – Keeping a compressor room as originally laid out and preventing it from being a catch-all for items that have nothing to do with the compressed air system. This can easily happen when it is actually a room that has unused floor space in a small facility. By keeping the area clean and free of unrelated materials, maintenance and troubleshooting can be done quickly. Clear labeling of anything kept in the room is also ideal to make items easily identified.

Set in Order – To deliver the air in a single path/direction as well as keeping equipment in locations where they can be easy to maintain and clearly labeled eases the troubleshooting and understanding of how the system is laid out. Rather than having a spaghetti bowl of piping running all around the room to different components it is wiser to keep a flow that matches the process. From the compressor(s) to the receivers, dryers, filter, and regulators, out to the point of use. This shouldn’t be a tangled web of piping that introduces air to a process which bypasses key components such as the dryer or receivers.

Block diagram of a compressor room layout.

Shine – The compressor room shouldn’t be a dirty grungy area. The compressor pulls the air in from this environment. Any exposed components easily collect airborne debris. By keeping the equipment clean again makes labels easy to read and a clean machine is always easier to perform maintenance and sometimes even troubleshoot. If there are puddles of oil or other liquids on the floor and no surfaces are clean then any leak may not be easily spotted.

Standardize – The layout and processes used within the room should be repeatable. Maintenance tasks should be performed on a schedule, per a process that doesn’t allow for much differentiation on methods and end results. This mitigates errors and is always the desired result when focusing on lean manufacturing. LOWER THAT DELTA!

Sustain – This is sometimes the hardest part of any process. Getting the program up and running, starting with a fresh build is always the easiest.  Everything is fresh, new and you want to keep it shiny. Years later the desire to dust and maintain piping as well as keep receiver tanks and floors clean isn’t always at the top of the desired list.  It should always be a priority because cleanliness also promotes safety and reduces overhead by lowering downturns due to housekeeping related failures.

If you want to discuss how we can help lean out your compressed air usage, maintenance costs, and help to standardize the use of compressed air in your facility, contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer – Green Belt Certified
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF