There was an artist, who worked from a studio in his home. He specialized in nudes, and had been working on what he thought would be a masterpiece for several months now.
As usual, his model reported that morning. After exchanging greetings and some small talk, she began to undress for the day's work. He told her not to bother, that he felt pretty bad because of a cold he had been fighting. He added that he would pay her for the day, but that she could just go home; he just wanted to have some hot tea and got to bed.
The model said, "Oh, please, let me fix the tea for you. It's the least I can do." He agreed and told her to fix herself a cup too.
They were sitting in the living room just exchanging small talk and enjoying their tea, when he heard the front door open and close, then some familiar footsteps.
"Oh my God!!!" he whispered loudly, "It's my wife! Quick! Take off all your clothes!"
Your #1 Source for Air Compressor Equipment, Parts and Service
April 2007
April 2007Air Solutions
Welcome to this months Air Solutions newsletter, your monthly resource dedicated to help you run your compressed air system efficiently. If you have specific questions please don't hesitate to call 513-218-9136.
Meet Joe O'Kelly!
Joe is another one of our top notch service technicians. He has been a service tech at Air Technologies over 10 years. He collects power tools and Carhart
clothes. Joe has competed several times in the National Power Tool
Championship. Joe is left handed and he says that the hardest part to collecting is finding the tools. He has to order all his tools special because no store carries left handed power tools. Joe is a nationally recognized water skier you may have seen him on ESPN 2. He has many trophies but his favorite is when he was the only person to have performed a triple ganor slalom and landed upright. Every judge gave him a 10. His real claim to fame is he invented the flexible drinking straw.
Joe is our April Featured Associate of the Month!
Warm Weather is Coming - Time to Clean Your Compressed Air System
If you maintain your compressed air system now is the time to do some spring cleaning. First of all you need to take care of your Air Compressor(s) to make sure your system is running efficiently; change the air filter and oil filter, replace the separator element (if required), inspect the electrical components, change or top off the oil, blow out the coolers and clean the drain valves. Now is a good time to test the high temperature switch, oil stop valve, unloader valve, minimum pressure valve, discharge check valve and regulator. Anyone of these can cause a breakdown if not checked.
Dryer At an ambient temperature of 75°F and 75% relative humidity, a typical
500 scfm air compressor takes in 90 gallons of water vapor every 24 hours.
Discharging air at 100°F and 100 psig, a well-maintained aftercooler may remove
about 57 gallons. That leaves 33 gallons inside your air system. Producing a
38°F dewpoint a refrigerated dryer removes an additional 29 gallons. Blow out
the condenser, inspection of electrical components, clean drain traps and wipe
down of exterior.
Filter Inspect and clean all the filter housings, replace the element as required,
clean the condensate drain and the separation system.
Oil/Water Separators Inspect for proper operation and wipe down the exterior.
Receiver Tank Inspect the pressure gauge and safety relief valve and clean the
drain valve.
Poor maintenance will eventually cause your compressed air system to break-
down and/or become very inefficient. An outsourced service agreement will help
you to maintain your system and make sure your system is running at peak
efficiency. Air Technologies offers a variety of compressor service plans. For a
free evaluation and quote please call 513-218-9136.
513-218-9136
ManagAIR®
What is it and how can it help me?
ManagAIR® is a computer-operated system of hardware and Windows® based software that will minimize the time you and your personnel spend in the compressor room while significantly reducing energy costs, maintenance costs, and downtime. Developed and used by Air Technologies compressor technicians for our DirectAIR® compressed air utility service, it is the most advanced, yet easy to use, compressed air system monitoring and control package available today.
ManagAIR® Daily email reports and graphs showing all the important operating data.
ManagAIR® Measures and logs system flow and pressure.
- Spot system and production problems
- Measure equipment and process air consumption
- Measure leaks
- Logs data for ISO certified companies so you don’t have to.
A comprehensive air survey done everyday!
PART 2
Web presentation
Tired of compressed air problems?
There really is a difference in compressed air suppliers.
Develop a partnership with the world's leading compressed air distributor and service center. Only Employee Owned Air Technologies® has the people, product and system resources to provide our customers superior service and value every day. Air Technologies® truly can lower the cost and increase the reliability of your compressed air utility. Contact us today to discover the Air Technologies Advantage.
513-218-9136
Assumptions in this example include a 75 hp compressor operated two shifts a day, five days a week at an electric rate of $0.05/kWh over ten years of equipment life.
Determine the Cost of Compressed Air for Your Plant
Compressed air is one of the most expensive sources of energy in a plant. The overall efficiency of a typical compressed air system can be as low as 10% - 155. For example, to operate a 1-hp air motor at 100 psig, approximately 7-8 hp of electrical power is supplied to the air compressor. To calculate the cost of compressed air in you facility, use the formula shown below:
Cost =
(bhp) x (.746) x (# of operating hours) x $/kWh) x (% time) x (% full load bhp)
Motor Efficiency
Where:
bhp - Motor full load horsepower
.746 - conversion between horsepower and kilowatts
% time - percentage of time running at this operating level
% full load bhp - bhp as percentage of full-load bhp at this operating level
Motor Efficiency - motor efficiency at this operating level
EXAMPLE
A typical manufacturing facility has a 200 hp compressor (which requires 215 bhp) that operates for 6800 hours annually. It is fully loaded 85% of the time (motor efficiency = .95) and unloaded the rest of the time (25% full-load bhp and motor efficiency = .90). The aggregate electric rate is .05 kWh.
Cost when fully loaded =
(215 bhp) x (.0746) x (6800 hrs) x ($0.05/kWh) x (0.85) x (1.0) = $48,792.00
.95
Cost when unloaded =
(215 bhp) x (.0746) x (6800 hrs) x ($0.05/kWh) x (0.15) x (.25) = $2,272
.90
Annual energy cost: $48,792.00 + $2,272.00 = $51,064.00
Typical Lifetime Compressed Air Costs
in Perspective - Costs Over 10 Years
