Hot Tip #2 - Air Compressors
Compressed air leaks are costly. Do you know how much of your compressed air is wasted?
Air compressors are frequently the largest motor drive machine within a laundry. They are among the first machines to be turned on and the last to be turned off each day. A fifty-horsepower compressor will cost approximately $5.00 per hour to run!
To measure the amount of leakage in your system, the following procedure can be used.
- When the laundry is shut down and not using air, turn on the compressor.
- Once the system is pressurized and the “unloading valve” closes, start a stopwatch.
- When the “unloading valve” opens, record the unloaded time. This is the unloaded time
- Continue measuring the time until the “unloading valve” closes again. This is a complete cycle, which is the sum of the unload time & the load time.
- Leakage is equal to compressor horsepower multiplied by (load time / total time).
- Example: 50 HP X (90 seconds / 170 seconds) = 26.5 HP or 53% or total compressor output!
Don’t be surprised if a third or more of your air is wasted. Even new facilities, with all new equipment, frequently have 20% or more!
