Paul Heney

A compressed air auditor found, during a site visit to a mine, that compressed air condensate was left to drain from stopcock at the bottom of piping low spots. The oily condensate pooled on the ground, creating a slippery mess that polluted the environment and caused a safety hazard. This mine had no air dryers […]

Did you know that garbage bags have a use in the compressed air industry? The use of garbage bags to determine compressed air leakage, is described in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (USDOE) MEASUR tool and is a straightforward and cost-effective method for roughly estimating air leaks in a compressed air system. This technique is […]

Corrosion in steel pipes and storage receivers within compressed air systems is a common issue that can significantly impact system efficiency, safety, and longevity. This process is primarily driven by the presence of water and acid condensate, both of which are common byproducts in compressed air environments. Understanding how corrosion occurs can help in implementing […]

Dust collector reverse pulse cleaning is commonly deployed in any industry that creates powdered dust. Through the years, it is common to see expensive failures of these devices that consume excessive amounts of compressed air. Often times, these failures go undetected. Dust collector reverse pulse cleaning is a highly efficient method for removing accumulated dust […]

Air-cooled air compressors are crucial to keeping the production process running in many industries; they work by turning power into usable energy. Their performance, however, depends heavily on their ability to stay cool. If dust and debris clog up a compressor, it can overheat, work less efficiently, and cost more to operate. Fig. 1 and […]

Tom, a diligent plant engineer at a mid-sized manufacturing facility, faced persistent problems with his compressed air system powering his crucial production lines. Despite repeated attempts to fix various symptoms — frequent drops in pressure, excessive energy consumption, and sporadic equipment failures — the problems persisted, causing costly downtime and frustration on the factory floor. […]

A wood products company had an aging heatless 1,000 cfm desiccant air dryer, being used to condition the compressed air produced by two 100-hp compressors in their processing facility. After working for many years, the dryer controller failed and had to be replaced. Replacement parts could not be found, so the local electricians came up […]

From time to time, compressed air auditors find air-cooled air compressors located in small rooms where the ventilation is inadequate. Most of the time, in properly designed rooms, the heat the compressors produce is ducted out of the room through metals ducting — often, it will be directed to cool areas of the plant in […]

A mining complex was experiencing low pressure events — even though its 14 large compressors were all running. The pressure was adequate during most of the day, but during peak demand times, the pressure sagged to unacceptable levels. This, of course, caused complaints from the workers. The pressure settings of the compressors were already set […]

When doing a compressed air audit, it is always recommended to measure the important parameters of the system and analyze the data carefully. Typically, pressure and power (or amps) are monitored, but in some cases measurement of flow comes in handy. In the case of a large plumbing component manufacturer, the installation of flow meters […]

A compressed air auditor was assessing a compressor and dryer installation within a compressor room and noticed something strange. On a large air dryer, the outlet flange was of 6-in. size, yet the piping used to connect the compressors and filters to the air dryer was only 4-in. Further to this, the long piping link […]

Will hydraulics ever get past the leakage issue? I’ve heard people discuss this question countless times over the three decades that I’ve worked in and written about the technology. Time and time again, people bash this useful technology because of perceived problems with leakage. I have encountered this negative talk on factory floors, in educational…

A compressed air auditor had a system of measuring devices that was monitoring a compressed air system located in a metal foundry. Pressure, flow, and compressor power were all monitored to help determine if the system was running efficiently and effectively. An additional set of instruments were added to the monitoring suite due to some […]

A compressed air auditor visited a large mine and was asked to look for areas of improvement. The mine’s manager was interested in reducing the electrical consumption and had a hunch that the compressed air system was a good item to investigate. The facility was a very mature site, so there were many large compressors […]

Recently, a compressed air auditor ran across a newly rebuilt compressor at a wood products company. The unit was cleaned up nicely and had a shiny new air end due to a rebuild — but because the unit had obsolete controls, this compressor continued to run very inefficiently. Saving money by rebuilding this compressor was […]

Quite often, people are surprised when they measure an air compressor and find the motor is consuming more than rated amps. One of the unfortunate things about the industry is that it is common to see motors are being stretched into the “service factor” in order to get more cfm out of a given compressor […]

One hidden problem in many compressed air systems is something called “artificial demand.” Many users are unaware of the effects of this component of compressed air demand as evidenced by higher than needed compressed air pressures on most systems.  Artificial demand in a compressed air system refers to the excess consumption of compressed air caused […]

Compressed air is useful for very many important tasks in facilities. However, due to the high cost of producing it, there are some end uses that are very wasteful. Air conditioning and ventilation is one such inappropriate end use. In a recent survey, a compressed air auditor found a surprisingly unique waste of compressed air […]

When the equipment is new and set up correctly, the coordination of VSD air compressors with fixed speed units is quite easy — if the number of compressors in the mix is four or less. Typically, what should happen is the VSD compressor maintains trim position with all combinations of fixed speed compressors providing base […]

A compressed air audit at a metal parts painting plant yielded some puzzling results. Pressure loggers were placed at the compressor discharge and in the plant, but the readings were showing an unexpected and significant pressure drop between the instruments. Visual checks showed that the only thing between the loggers was an air dryer with […]

By Ron Marshall You may have noticed some email signatures displaying the Certified CCASS symbol — and have become curious as to how that’s earned. Anyone, if properly prepared, can become certified by writing and passing an exam. The ease in preparing for the CAGI (Compressed Air and Gas Institute) Certified Compressed Air System Specialist […]

A compressed air auditor was monitoring a system in a plant that produces plastic film. Part of the measurement involved analyzing the flow from the compressor room and the dewpoint of the compressed air. When examining the data, a strange pattern developed on the flow and dewpoint profiles (Fig. 1). We can see the output […]

It’s always frustrating to find water in a compressed air system, and especially so in locations where the air is supposed to be dry. During a recent compressed air audit, a survey of the piping found that poor dewpoints were being experienced in the system. Investigation found that significant amounts of free water mixed with […]

Most of the energy that goes into an air compressor comes out as heat, so it is always a good idea to direct the hot air produced to a location that needs heat — like into a plant in the winter season. The compressor in the photograph has a specially designed heat recovery system that […]