Air compressors are used in a large number of industrial settings and are vital in a variety of different commercial applications. Unfortunately, like any other piece of machinery, commercial air compressors are bound to have issues occasionally, including the costly issue of air leaks. While inconvenient and potentially expensive, air leaks can be mitigated and addressed through preventative maintenance and repair.
The Dangers of Air Leaks
When taken at face value, an air leak within your system may seem like a small problem. However, air leaks actually have the potential to financially cripple a business and affect your entire industrial system.
Air leaks have the potential to go undetected for a significant period, especially if you don’t know what to look for. Unfortunately, these leaks can cost your company thousands of dollars before you know it. Small leaks can raise energy costs by a small amount at first and may go unnoticed. Over time this cost may increase, but not in a way that will necessarily stand out as being abnormal. These small financial increases can continue until costs have risen significantly before you notice anything is amiss.
Leaks can also negatively affect the productivity and functionality of your system. Air leaks make compressors work even harder to produce the same amount of compressed air. This stress can compromise the reliability of your machine, requiring it to work harder for longer periods and reducing the compressor’s overall lifespan.
Air Leak Detection and Preventative Maintenance
A simple walk-through of your facility can often detect larger air leaks. Leaks of this size will emit a hissing sound which can be picked up on by anyone with good hearing. Or you may notice a decrease in equipment productivity that could indicate a potential leak. Unfortunately, issues detected in this manner have probably already become costly.
Ultrasonic leak detection tools are typically considered the best tools when it comes to recognizing air leaks. These tools can help maintain consistent and high functionality of air compressors within a system, as they can detect the high-frequency hissing sounds of a leak that may be inaudible to the naked ear. Because of their success in detecting leaks, ultrasonic leak detection tools are commonly used on a preventative basis to ensure no leaks are present within the system. Regularly using these tools can help compressed air systems maintain consistent and high functionality through leak audits. These audits help limit energy expenses and prevent unnecessary wear on commercial compressors.
Estimating Air Leak Amount
Once a leak has been detected, it is important to establish the leak rate to determine its effect on the system as a whole. Bleed-down tests are a great option for quantifying the leakage rate of an entire system.
Otherwise, you can estimate the amount of leakage in a system if a pressure gauge is located downstream of the receiver. This estimation method requires approximating the total system volume in cubic feet (V). Start your system and bring it to the normal operating pressure (P1). Then measure the amount of time (T) it takes for the system to drop down to a lower pressure (P2), approximately half of the initial operating pressure.
Leakage can be estimated using the following equation:
Leakage = (V x (P1-P2)/T x 14.7) x 1.25
The 1.25 multiplier corrects to normal system pressure. Any leakage greater than 10% is considered significant and is a sign the system should be improved.
Minimizing Compressed Air Leaks
If you find yourself with an air leak within your system, the best option to minimize the leak’s effects until a repair can be scheduled is to reduce the system pressure. Air leaks are always worse with higher pressure, so keeping plant header pressures as low as possible to support the process will minimize compressor energy use as well as leakage.
Finding Air Leaks
In some areas of a system, leaks are more likely to occur. These areas include:
- Couplings
- Hoses
- Fittings
- Pipe Joints
- Tubes
- FRLs
- Condensate Traps
- Quick Disconnects
- Valves
- Flanges
- Thread Sealant
- Packing
- Point-Of-Use Devices
Regularly checking these points of your system can help you detect leaks early in their development, saving energy and future costs.
Fixing Air Leaks
Leaks within air compressors are most often found at joints and connections at end-use applications. Stopping these leaks may be simple and only involve tightening a connection. However, the nature of air leaks can also be complex and require replacing equipment such as pipes, fittings, hoses, couplings, joints, traps, and drains. Ensuring you use high-quality components and the proper thread sealant can help prevent these leaks.
ESA Helps You Avoid Costly Air Leaks
Preventative maintenance, regular testing, and utilizing the proper components within your system can help you avoid the often costly issue of compressor air leaks. Unfortunately, even with all of these preventative steps taken into consideration, air leaks are still bound to occur in any system from time to time. When you need help with an air leak that needs to be addressed by professionals, call ESA. Our team of professionals is prepared and equipped to help solve your air leak issues and save you money.
