4 tips for maintaining industrial air compressors

4 tips for maintaining industrial air compressors

When we talk about industrial air compressors, the more frequent issues you can encounter are:

  • Residual deposits on valves
  • Quick wear of components
  • Degradation of compressor oil
  • Clogging of the oil filter

All these lead to a decrease in the performance of the compressor and implicitly to the increase of maintenance costs, which directly affects profit. Moreover, given the fact that, on average the maintenance costs represent approximately 25% of the total costs associated to a plant that has air compressors, nothing that can lead to a decrease in these costs can be neglected.

Please find below 4 tips to reduce maintenance costs for air compressors:

1. Cooling the Air Intake

A cold air intake requires less energy to produce the right pressure in the pipes. Thus, the air suction pipe needs to be placed in an area external to the plant, away from direct sunlight. This is how you can achieve a minial pressure decrease at maximum capacity inside the intake hoses.

2. Keeping the Optimal Operating Temperature

Very high operating temperatures can have extremely serious consequences like fires and explotions. Thus, you need to take measures constantly to maintain temperature within the normal limits, recommended by the equipment manufacturer.

Ann unwritten rule says that water temperature inside the equipment needs to be lower than that of the admission air to prevent the creation of condensation inside the pipes. Also, the cooling water temperature should never exceed 48° Celsius. Generally, a significant increase in temperature indicates a malfunction of the system. In this respect, always make sure that the temperature values are not exceeding thos mentioned in the compressor instruction manual.

3. Minimizing Air Leaks

Any loss inside the air compressor will lead to a bigger quantity of compressed air, which also means bigger operational costs. To avoid such situations ask your team to locate any leak using the ultrasonic leak detection equipment.

4. Choosing an Appropriate Compressor Oil

In order to work at maximum capacity, air compressors need a special comoressor oil, characteristic to the equipment. For instance, with the help of Mobil Rarus compressor oils you will enjoy maximum effectiveness and productivity. Furthermore, you will considerably reduce maintenance costs. You can find further details on the benefits of compressor oils in this article.

Also, the Star Lubricants agents are at your disposal any time to help you make the right choices to increase productivity and reduce maintenance costs for industrial equipment. Click the image below and send a quick message to the Star Lubricants agents.