Over the years, I’ve visited many compressor rooms and measured many systems, and I must say am always amazed at the variety of conditions I see. Some compressor rooms are so bright and clean you could eat off the gleaming floor. The compressors and clean, shiny and like new. Booklets of information are readily available to instruct operators how to best maintain and operate the system equipment. These locations make me smile because I know that lots of attention is paid to ensure the system is running smoothly and that someone has taken ownership of the system and will not let it go to ruin. In these plants I usually have to work to find significant efficiency savings.
Other systems are not so pretty. The compressor room is a dirty and dark place with layers of oily dust deposited on every surface. Pools of compressor lubricant form on the floor, waiting for an errant step, slip and fall. Tags on the compressed air equipment hang, stained with oil, showing equipment in failed condition with maintenance schedules overdue. These systems put a frown on my face. Nobody in the plant cares about this system, and complete system failure is just waiting to happen. Finding energy savings in systems like this is quite easy.
Not surprisingly, it is the forgotten system that is typically very inefficient. Compressors that are poorly maintained consume more power and more annual costs than those in a good state of repair. And other things like leaks, drains, heat problems, failed air dryers, clogged filters, failed lubricants are typically found in forgotten systems.
Compressed air systems require lots of attention from your maintenance staff. To ensure optimum performance and lower costs, don’t skimp on the compressor maintenance budget.
Compressed Air Challenge has a Fact sheet to help you with your compressor maintenance. To download it click on this link. Learn more about compressed air system maintenance at Compressed Air Challenge’s Fundamentals of Compressed Air seminars. A calendar of seminars is on our website.