What you should consider when restarting your compressed air system - Tip 2

Bonded filter mats and overloading due to oil foam

Possibly the suction filter mat in the compressor is stuck together with the suction filter mat, which has not been permeated by air for a long time. At present, the situation is exacerbated by the fact that the ambient air is heavily polluted with pollen, which is deposited in front of the intake shafts. The increased flow resistance not only increases energy consumption, but can also lead to a higher oil vapour content in the compressed air. Before commissioning, the filter mats of compressors should therefore be checked and, if necessary, cleaned. The same applies to the surroundings of the intake shafts.

With decreasing load, the switching cycles of the compressors increase. With each load change, the internal pressure in the compressor relaxes, which can cause foam to form in the oil separator. If the switching times are reduced, there is not enough time for the foam to dissolve. This can result in the oil separator element being enveloped by foam, additional oil reaching the clean side and causing the residual oil content to increase significantly. The subsequent treatment can be overloaded to such an extent that the desired compressed air quality is no longer achieved.