Q. What are a few things I should check if my compressor is running hot? A. What is the ambient temperature? Most lubricated, air cooled, rotary screw compressors run 100 to 110 degrees F above the ambient temperature. If your compressor room is over 100 degrees, you are already in trouble. Cross flow ventilation is advisable in non ducted compressors. If your compressor oil sump or airend discharge is more than 120 degress F over ambient temperature in the room, you need to find out why. 1. Is the compressor full of coolant/lubricant? The compressor oil serves as coolant in oil flooded rotary compressors. In most modern rotary screws, the compressor oil is circulated 7 or more times per minute through the machine. You can see why the oil level becomes more critical in the summer. 2. Is hot air blowing from the entire cooler? A blocked radiator type cooler will drive oil and compressed air temperatures up and it is, by far, the single most common cause of overheating in air cooled rotary screw compressors. Although this little task is a real money maker for compressor service companies, blowing out the external fins of the oil cooler and aftercooler with compressed air could easily be done by most plant maintenance personnel. 3. Is your inlet air filter plugged? The heat released by air compression is related to the compression ratios achieved. If your inlet filter is plugged, you might be as low as 10 psig at the compressor inlet valve. In order to discharge air at 100 psig, it must be compressed 10 times, rather than 7 at the normal atmospheric, sea level inlet air pressure of 14.7 psi. This would generate more heat and use more energy
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 11:32:09 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015