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This is generally caused by a dirty condenser on the air compressor. Depending on the age of the air compressor, the compressor should have a built in air-cooled or water-cooled after-cooler. The after-cooler within the air compressor is normally air-cooled and combined with the oil cooler. If the compressor is old the air-cooled or water-cooled after-cooler may be installed as a stand- alone unit outside the air compressor frame. These coolers are designed to be kept clean to insure a proper cooling effect which is designed to reduce the temperature in order to allow for maximum moisture removal and performance of the downstream air treatment products such as dryers and filters. Poorly maintained or poor quality refrigerated air dryers are also the main cause of high temperature compressed air.

Water in the compressed air lines starts at the compressor after-cooler. The cooler must be clean and operating efficiently which will provide a proper cooling effect which will remove the majority of the water going downstream. The moisture separator directly after the after-cooler must be installed inside or downstream of the cooler and include a reliable drain that drains all the collected condensate effectively. Poor maintenance of the cooler or moisture separator drain is almost always the cause of moisture in the compressed air lines. Compressed air drains are located at various points in the compressed air system and must be cleaned, maintained and or replaced regularly. Another factor related to water in the lines is the pipe system has been poorly designed and the pipe drops are located on the bottom side of the main pipe which allows any accumulated water in the mainline to easily fall down the pipe drops into the equipment utilizing the compressed air .

The after-coolers and moisture separators are designed to remove the bulk water in the early stages of cooling but the dew-point of the air downstream must be reduced in order to prevent increased moisture downstream as the compressed air cools. Poorly maintained dryers as well as defective drains can create additional water problems downstream. Undersized or poorly performing dryers are the worst offender in most cases. Depending on dew-point required downstream the proper dryer type must utilized. Dew-points of 38 degrees will be achieved with a refrigerated air dryer that is properly sized and well maintained and a -40 degrees F dew-point will be achieved with a desiccant type air dryer that is properly sized and well maintained. Another very common cause of water is the dryer has been on bypass for service and not put back on line.

Particles and rust in compressed air lines is generally caused by poor or a lack of filtration in the system. Many compressed air systems may not have had a filter installed when the system was first installed, or a poor quality filter has been utilized and within a short period of time contamination will be seen downstream.

Oil comes from the air compressor lubricant and will move downstream if a poor quality coalescing filter is utilized. Many systems utilize poor quality filtration downstream of the compressor and moisture separator which can allow for downstream contamination. Installing a coalescing filter in a high temperature air line can reduce the coalescing filter performance causing oil carryover. Another cause of oil in the line can be related to a poorly performing air/oil separator which is found inside a rotary screw compressor sump. A separator passing oil will allow an excessive amount of oil downstream which will saturate the coalescing filter which will result in more oil downstream of the filter. Oil contamination will create serious problems with machinery, tools and equipment downstream in any compressed air system application.

Oil vapor and odors are generated due to high temperatures caused by the air compressors running hot due to poor maintenance and high temperature ambient conditions over the summer months. The oil in the compressor can become a vapor and pass through the particulate and coalescing filters and migrate downstream contaminating the system with oil vapor and odors. This can be especially troubling in a breathing air, food, pharmaceutical or high tech equipment application.

Dust in compressed air lines is caused in a compressor installation that is utilizing a desiccant air dryer. The desiccant in the dryer can generate desiccant dust and will go downstream if no filtration has been installed or a poor quality dust filter has been utilized. Not replacing the filter element inside the dust filter housing is usually the main cause of dusting and can also create heavy pressure drop in the system.

If you are you experiencing a high pressure drop in your compressed air system it can be caused by a variety of reasons. The most common causes could be that the air compressor filtration products which include the air filters and air/oil separators are plugged up, the down-stream compressed air filters may not have not been maintained properly, or poor quality aftermarket alternative filter elements have been utilized in place of originals. The pipe system may be leaking in various places down the line, under sized, poorly laid out, heavily contaminated and a rough internal pipe finish creating additional unnecessary pressure drop.

Pipe systems can experience condensation creating water droplets falling from the exterior of the pipe system onto machinery, equipment and final product. This is caused by a cooling effect created by cool air inside the pipe system generated by a refrigerated air dryer without a reheat coil or poorly sized. The reheat coil is designed to warm the air prior to going downstream of the dryer and prevent condensation throughout the pipe system.

Oily condensate discharge is normal in a compressed air system. However the condensate that is discharged must be cleaned prior to dumping into the sewer. The local sewer use by-law states that a maximum discharge of oil content no greater than 15 ppm is allowed to be dumped into the sewer. A good quality oil/water separator must be utilized and be designed to remove oil content down to a maximum of 15 ppm of oil content. A poor quality oil/water separator will not lower the oil content down to 15 ppm or less therefore making it illegal to dump the condensate exiting from the compressor system. There are various types of separators available and the proper type must be selected in order to separate the condensate that is being generated by the compressed air system.

This is a common problem with poly-glycol and synthetic based lubricants utilized in compressed air systems. Depending on system temperatures and other conditions these oils can create a stable emulsion condensate which cannot be separated using a gravity separator. Also contributing to generating a stable emulsion are timed electric drains or any drain that releases compressed air and condensate at the same time. This agitates the condensate causing a non-separating emulsion which will require a more elaborate oil/water separation product.