Lubricating Air Equipment With In-Line Oilers
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Air costs a lot of money to compress and condition. Unlike hydraulic fluids, it is compressible. Unlike electro-mechanical systems, it has a lack of positive speed control. Compressed air has poor lubricity. It is difficult to calculate the exact performance of compressed air in a system. Yet , in spite of all these failings, air is the most widely used industrial power system.
Air Equipment Needs Clean Dry Air
Air would follow the laws of perfect gasses except that it is contaminated with moisture, oil, chemical vapors, dirt particles, and active bacteria. Some systems can tolerate more of these contaminants than others. Construction air tools can tolerate a lot of liquid without harm. Dry clean air is requied for air tools. Pure, dry and clean air is needed for instrumentation and breathing apparatus. In winter, low temperatures can cause equipment to freeze up as the entrained moisture in the compressed air condenses and changes into ice.
The Air Piping System Creates Problems
Air at standard temperature and pressure contains gasses, moisture, over a billion dirt particles, other contaminants. It takes about 10 cubic feet of such air to make one cubic foot of air at 150 PSI. The cubic foot of compressed air contains 10 times the amount of contaminants puls the compressor oil and crrosive oil decomposition products from the high heat generated during compression. Some of these contaminants flow out with the condensate water and the rest spreads throughout the air distribution system. In the metal pipework, machinery and instruments the residual contaminants cause rust, corrosion, and abraion.
Plastic Pipe for Compressed Air is Unaffected
The best air pipes are made from a special ultra-high pressure ABS plastic air pipes manufactured by Durapipe in Norton Canes, England which is the only company in the world making this kind of pipe high pressure when joined there is absolutely no leaks in the systems. ABS can never corrode or spall or rust and is usually specified where pure, clean dry air is need or where the system is to remain in place for many years. Regardless of the type of the pipwork use all air lines should be sloped about 1 inch/1 foot to enable water and other condensates to run down into sludge and water separators which are located at convenient sports for maintenance.
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