Ten Tips for Quality Compressed Air

These suggestions are some of the most effective actions that a design professional can take to design a quality pneumatic-air system-and to ensure that it is maintained correctly: Maintain a low dew point, but not lower than what is needed. Filter the air of harmful particulates. Avoid bypasses to filters and dryers. Get as much of the oil out as possible.

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff

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These suggestions are some of the most effective actions that a design professional can take to design a quality pneumatic-air system-and to ensure that it is maintained correctly:

• Maintain a low dew point, but not lower than what is needed.

• Filter the air of harmful particulates.

• Avoid bypasses to filters and dryers.

• Get as much of the oil out as possible.

• Consider going to an oil-free system.

• Convert to heat-of-compression dryers.

• Consider a desiccant dryer for only part of the system, if only a small part is exposed to the outdoors.

• Avoid installing a refrigerated dryer upstream of a heatless desiccant dryer.

• Find and fix leaks.

• Consider variable-speed-drive (VSD) compressors.