What are some preventable causes of air compressor failure?
Air compressors can fail for an assortment of different reasons: Normal wear and tear, lifespan and age of the unit, poor maintenance, power
surge, install issues are just a few the come to mind. When talking to our technicians, we asked what are the common preventable air
compressor failures they commonly see out in the field. The list below are those preventable causes that can
help save you the headache down the line.
1. Preventative Maintenance
The lack of preventative maintenance will create a whirlwind of issues leading to pre-mature failure of your air compressor. Using wrong
parts and filters can damage the internals of your air compressor. Using the wrong oil can create varnish on the inside of your air
compressor and start a very costly repair venture. Missing important inspections can lead to very costly repairs and even complete failure.
2. Oil Changes
Failure to perform regular oil changes and oil samples will cause your machine to pre-maturely fail due to overheating, varnishing,
pre-mature bearing failure, High TAN Levels, and corrosion.
3. Overheating
Air compressors, like most other machinery, have an optimal operating temperature that the manufacturer has designed and engineered into the
machine for many operational reasons. When the machine starts to operate outside of those designed temperature ranges bearing failure and
oil breakdown start to happen.
4. Air Contamination
Rotary screw air compressors are among the most reliable, yet temperamental, machines that need clean air to start the compression process.
As air enters the air compressor, immediately, the air and oil join together. This air and oil joining process is critical to the longevity
and operation of the compressor. Any contaminates in the ambient air can mix with the oil and create additional chemical changes to the oil
along with physical changes to the oil that can drastically reduce the life of your compressor if not corrected sooner than later.
5. Coupling Alignment
Whether you own a piston air compressor, rotary screw air compressor, or a centrifugal air compressor, all these machines have some type of
coupling associated with them. Coupling alignments are one, if not the most important checks to prevent your air compressor from failing. A
misaligned coupling between your electric/ fuel powered motor and your compressing unit, will wear bearings prematurely, create vibration
issues and those vibrations will go throughout the machine creating many more issues. All of these issues because of a small vibration… or
is it because of the 0.09mm misalignment?
6. Electrical Issues
Electrical equipment is designed with very tight tolerances to be the most efficient. All electrical equipment has variances specified that
the equipment will work at, not the most efficiently, but they will work. When your air compressor is ran in the variance range, you start
to see issues arise. The air compressor can fail from the electric motor running low or high voltages, if the start contractors are not
fully seating you will see arcing which can lead to very hazardous failures in the compressor and possibly to you personnel and operations.
Electric motors are not cost friendly, no matter the size. Having a qualified air compressor service company and qualified electricians
perform routine electrical maintenance is well worth the investment.
7. Proper Installation
Placement of your air compressor is crucial to the livelihood of your entire compressed air system. It all starts from the Installation of
your air compressor. During the install a poor location choice that would introduce contaminated ambient air to be ingested into the air
compressor could start a ticking time bomb to the failure of your air compressor. Not verifying the proper coupling alignment after shipping
and receiving could create the sudden failure due to the bearings for both the electric motor and the compressing unit. Failing to properly
mount the air compressor to its permanent home can create damaging vibrations to go through the machine and create premature failure of
important components, cracks, and warping of components. Improper ventilation for the air compressor can cause overheating. Not verifying
the electrical specs and infrastructure are correct can cause critical failures that most likely will not be covered under warranty.
Who we are and how Ash Air can help your business!
Ash Air has been around in New Zealand since 1979, and we’ve grown into a nationwide company with international support and a
reputation for quality and reliability.We look after all things compressed air for your business!
Reciprocating, Screw, air compressors
Vacuum pumps
Nitrogen
An extensive line of air treatment components
Ash Air's range of Chicago Pneumatic, Alup, Pneumatech, and Quincy compressors are used extensively around the world in industries
ranging from oil and gas to food, automotive and farming, and we bring you these world class compressors here in the land of the long white
cloud.Our technicians are compressed air equipment experts and are dedicated to addressing customer needs. Supported by a 13 locations
nationwide, Ash Air offers one of the widest selections of compressed air equipment and parts available today in New Zealand.
Reliability and Efficiency
With Ash Air compressors, you can count on reliability and high performance for even the most demanding applications. We focus our
efforts on the following:
Air compressors come in many types, rotary screw, piston, scroll, reciprocating, some are oil-free and other air compressors require oil
lubrication. Like many businesses, an efficient air compressor is at the heart of their operations. So, which type of compressor should you
choose? What makes a compressor, like a rotary screw, unique? Here are some clear cut benefits of equipping your business with a rotary
screw compressor. Â
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In the world of compressors, there are often significant and unutilized energy-saving possibilities including energy recovery, pressure
reduction, leakage reduction and optimization of operations through correct choice of a control and regulation system as well as the choice
of compressor size.We are going to take a look at some of the opportunities for minimizing the compressor’s operating costs.Â
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Many installations that produce compressed air offer significant and frequently unutilized energy
saving possibilities in
the form of waste energy recovery. In large industries, energy costs can amount to 80% of the total cost of compressed
air production.
However, a lot of this energy can be recovered, which in turn will save you a lot of money.Â
Read More…
Liquid water in compressed-air systems can lead to rusted equipment and unresponsive controls. Anyone who uses compressed air will, at some
point, find liquid water in the air distribution system. This can be anything from a nuisance to a serious problem, depending on the
application. If water might corrode equipment or introduce bacteria, removing it is critical.Â
Read More…
Liquid water in compressed-air systems can lead to rusted equipment and unresponsive controls. Anyone who uses compressed air will, at some
point, find liquid water in the air distribution system. This can be anything from a nuisance to a serious problem, depending on the
application. If water might corrode equipment or introduce bacteria, removing it is critical.Â
Read More…
Whenever most people think about a compressor, they probably have a piston compressor in mind. You might already know there are two basic
principles of air compression. One of those is the principle of displacement compression. There are a lot of compressor types that classify
as a displacement compressor. The piston compressor is one of them, oil-lubricated or oil-free.Â
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Once you have the size and type of
compressor figured out, one last question remains, should I go with an oil lubricated or oil-free air compressor. To not overcomplicate the
answer, your choice should be based on the application and process that the compressed air will be utilized in.
Read More…
Like all compressor types, rotary screw models do require periodic maintenance. Thanks to the simplicity of the internal components,
maintenance is relatively easy on most rotary air compressors. As long as you stick to a rotary screw compressor maintenance schedule, you
will likely be rewarded with many, many years of optimal productivity from your machine.Â
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Did you know, the biggest part of the air we breathe is nitrogen? Everyone needs oxygen to survive, however air is made up of 78% nitrogen,
only 21% oxygen and tiny amounts of other gases. Although, the human body does not use this nitrogen, it is very helpful in various
industrial applications. There is an unlimited source of nitrogen readily available, allowing you to achieve needed purity at a fraction of
your current annual nitrogen cost.Â
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If you notice that your compressor is getting hot and bothered, there may be heating issues affecting your air compressors performance. Did
you know that an overheating compressor is top of the pops for being the most common cause of compressor failure.Â
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A rotary-screw compressor is an air compressor that uses a rotary-type positive-displacement mechanism, typically used replace piston
compressors where large volumes of high-pressure air are needed, either for large industrial applications or to operate high-power air
tools.Â
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Have a look around and what do you see? What are you thinking about? Your next holiday to Queenstown maybe? You might go snowboarding with
the kids or have some alone time at the Day Spa. Whatever holiday you choose, compressed air is involved in some way, without you even
realising it! Â
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There are crucial reasons why you should service and maintain your compressor regularly, with the most common issues being piston failure
caused by wear of components, increased friction, corrosion, reduced cooling, overheating bearings and components, clogging of air filters.Â
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Our passion for energy efficiency and cost saving derives from the concern for our children’s future. Analysing the efficiency of your
system is a brilliant way to start saving.
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Compressed air is all around us, from the air in a balloon to pumping up tires on your bicycle. In this article we will explain what
compressed air is and how it is created. Whether you know it or not, compressed air is involved in every aspect of our lives, from the
balloons at your birthday party to the air in the tires of our cars and bicycles. It was probably even used when making the phone, tablet or
computer you’re viewing this on.Â
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One of the biggest challenges is to correctly size your new air compressor. Similarly to everything else, new compressors available on the
market are more efficient and employ better technology, therefore you have to understand the application and usage to size the machine
correctly. Choosing the wrong air compressor for your facility can lead to problems with production and or increased costs due to wasted
energy.Â
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Once you have the size of the air compressor figured out, the
next thing to do is to decide on the type of compresor you will need for your application - piston, rotary screw compressor etc. Let us take
a look at two of the most popular options available. When choosing the right type of compressor, you should ask yourself the following
questions:
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​Which vacuum pump do I need? - this is one of the most frequent questions we receive and this is understandable, because there are number
of technologies which can provide the same vacuum level and pumping speed. Here is quick advice on how to choose the best vacuum pump for
your needs.Â
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You may be asking, why does my air compressor start, then stop? Allow us to take the guessing out of it. We understand your pain. We know
that a compressor problem can quickly result in hours (if not days) of production downtime and loss of revenue. When your compressor
continuously shuts off from on, we refer that as a short cycle. There are a few reasons that a short cycle may be happening with your
compressor.Â
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Air compressor leaks are very common in all applications, but can be very costly and difficult to find. On average, 20-30% of the compressed
air used in a manufacturing plant is wasted as leaked air. Finding and fixing these leaks can save your business thousands of wasted dollars
a year.Â
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When installing a compressed air system into a business, people often look to PVC piping as an option to build a piping system because it is
cheap, versatile and easy to install. However, using PVC pipe in any compressed air application is extremely dangerous and NOT recommended
by multiple associations and manufacturers.Â
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Changing the oil and oil filters on your compressor is one of the most common routine maintenance tasks to perform to keep your compressor
running efficiently. After you remove your old oil and oil filter, you may find yourself wondering, “Where do I dispose of these?”, or “Can I
just throw them in the trash?”. Because oil is toxic and a pollutant, disposing of your old oil and filters is not as simple as just tossing
them in the trash.Â
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