Are you experiencing too much pressure drop in your compressed air system that you have purchased from an illustrious air compressor manufacturer in India? There may be some problems with the layout of your compressed air pipes. The design of your compressed air distribution system may have a significant impact on the overall efficiency of the compressor. A competently designed piping system will not only save your energy and money but also minimize wear and tear on your air compressor system.
Compressed air piping system
Your compressed air distribution system comes with a series of pipes that carry compressed air from the compressor to the point of use. Most compressed air piping systems possess multifarious drops along their length to support different tools and production lines.
An impeccably designed compressed air piping system carries air efficiently from the compressor to the endpoint with minimal pressure drop. If your compressed air piping system is not properly designed or possesses excessive leakage, your air compressor needs to work much harder to deliver the same pressure to equipment at the ends of the line. This may lessen the life of your air compressor.
In this article, we are going to mention the top 10 tips that will enhance the efficiency of your compressed air piping system.
Loop type distribution system
A loop type distribution plays a significant role in most cases. Loop type compressed air systems allow the air to flow in any direction to get to the demand in the path of least resistance. Now, you can simply multiply the capacity of straight-lined piping by 1.5 for a loop type compressed air distribution system.
Feed the loop type piping from a dry storage tank
As earlier mentioned, a loop type system allows for 1.5 times the flow of a straight-lined pipe. If you feed your loop with a straight-lined pipe of the same size, that straight-lined pipe now becomes the bottleneck in the system.
Use of quick couplings
You should use quick couplings to disconnect hand tools and paint gun is required. Any connection to a stationary machine can be done with a hard pipe or a flexible connection with hose barbs. So, no need for quick couplings.
Limit the number of elbows
Try to keep piping straight and the number of elbows, tees, and other fittings to an absolute least. An elbow gives the equivalent pressure drop of 2-10 feet of pipe.
Is future expansion or adding additional demand a possibility?
It is very much cost-effective to plan for it now as would be more expensive and troublesome to upgrade the piping at a later date.
Any leakage is unacceptable
Though there may not be any perfect system, an overnight leak down test should not exceed 10% of the starting pressure. Leak-free systems are much easier to arrive at with aluminium and copper piping as compared to traditional threaded iron systems.
Avoid low points in the system that do not have a drainage point
Low points may act as a “pee” trap that will confine airflow if it is filled with contaminants.
All drops have an isolation ball valve
All drops should contain a main isolation ball valve that is reachable from ground level and a drip leg valve at the bottom. This will help in removing contaminants that may enter the system.
Install isolation valves, tees, and plugs throughout the main piping system
All these installations will make future expansions and modifications easier and more cost-effective.
Pipe drops do not need to come off the top of the main header and the main header does not need to be pitched to a corner
Many people believe that the above layout will drain moisture out of the system and prevent this moisture from getting to the point of use. This layout is effective but because of significant oversized compressed air piping, it slows down the velocity of the air moving through the pipe. If moisture is your prime concern, then, it is cost-effective to invest in redundant drying and filtration. Indoair is one of the promising air compressors manufacturers in Ahmedabad that deals with various types of compressors. The company offers clients a high-quality booster air compressor, rotary screw compressor, oil compressor, and many more. By visiting the website, you can check all the products and prices of the company.
