Hidden Compressor Problems v2

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’
Maintenance Issues You’re Not Aware Of Right Now
www.air-compressor-guide.com
Hidden Compressor Problems
Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2018 by C. van de Beld
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical
methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by
copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author, see contact details below.
Air Compressor Guide

http://www.air-compressor-guide.com
info@air-compressor-guide.com
Safety warning
Air Compressors contain moving parts, dangerous high electrical voltages and high pressure
compressed air. Always use caution when working on an air compressor. If you´re not
qualified to work on live industrial equipment, call in help from a professional. Air
compressors can start and stop automatically. Always shut down the compressor completely
and isolate it from the power supply before commencing work on the compressor.
Components can contain high pressure compressed air, even if the compressor is shut down
for an extended period of time. Use the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
when working on your compressor.
Disclaimer
This book is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. The author and
publisher are not offering it as legal, accounting, or other professional services advice. While
best efforts have been used in preparing this book, the author and publisher make no
representations or warranties of any kind and assume no liabilities of any kind with respect
to the accuracy or completeness of the contents and specifically disclaim any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness of use for a particular purpose. Neither the author
nor the publisher shall be held liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to
any loss or incidental or consequential damages caused, or alleged to have been caused,
directly or indirectly, by the information or programs contained herein. No warranty may be
created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. Every compressed
air system is different and the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable
for your situation. You should seek the services of a competent professional before beginning
any troubleshooting or repair on your system.
‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 3

Foreword
In this ebook I will discuss the most common compressor problems that
often go unnoticed.
I compiled this list from my years of experience with maintaining and

troubleshooting industrial compressed air systems.
For more information about air compressors and compressed air

systems, please visit my website at https://www.air-compressor-
guide.com
I also have a very popular guide about troubleshooting oil-injected
rotary screw air compressors. It includes
detailed explanations of how the compressor

works, how all internal parts work and many
troubleshooting flowcharts.
Please check out my complete Oil-injected Rotary

Screw Air Compressor Troubleshooting Guide at:
https://www.air-compressor-
guide.com/courses/air-compressor-
troubleshooting-guide

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’
Compressed air is an important asset in many factories and workshops.

My experience is that it is often taken for granted, or thought of as
being ‘free’.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Compressed air is in fact very

expensive and without proper maintenance, your air compressor might
just decide to stop.
Over the years, I have learned what the most common air compressor
problems are.
Imagine a complete factory shutdown..
Imagine what would happen when your compressor shuts down, and
the air pressure in your system starts to drop? … Panic!
First you might experience some machinery malfunctions in one part of

your factory, soon followed by other parts. Eventually, your whole
factory will slowly grind to a stop, because there is no more
compressed air.
Believe me, I have rushed to these places so many times:
Compressor tripped…. No more compressed air. Production shut down.
Please, calculate for yourself what an air compressor break down

would cost you, including paid wages, lost production, emergency

compressor rental, lost batches of products because of quality issues,
etc.)
After that, calculate what proper maintenance would cost you. I can
assure you that this is usually a factor 10 -100 times smaller compared
to the cost of a complete plant shutdown.
If you just keep an eye on the 5 things that I explain in this
report, you most certainly will have a much ‘healthier’
compressor and save thousands of dollars per year in
compressed air costs.
Don’t let these little things happen to your compressor… although they
are very easy to spot when you’re looking for them, my experience is
that many people simply never check them.
A small problem can quickly grow out of hand. Or worse: a small

problem might damage your compressor or your compressed air
equipment in the long run, without you knowing in!

1. Oil and oil filter changes
Sure, everybody knows... Just like a car, your compressor needs some
fresh oil and a new oil filter every now and then. Your manual will state
when this should happen.
But my experience is that many compressors run in dusty and dirty

conditions. A lot of dirt and dust will enter your compressor.
Illustration 1: Typical running

conditions of a screw
compressor: dusty and dirty
This dust will shorten the lifetime of your:
 Compressor element screws (the heart of your compressor!)

 Compressor element bearings (the heart of your compressor!)
 The oil separator (risk of oil in your compressor air or separator
collapse!)

A breakdown of the screw element will mean a long compressor down
time for your factory. In fact, it often means you will have to go and
buy a new compressor.
An oil separator collapse is not pretty. It basically send all the

compressor oil into the compressed air system. Image the time it will
cost to clean that up!
My TIP: In case of a dusty environment… Change your oil and
filters more often than is indicated in the manual! If the
manual says every 4000 hours, change it every 2000 hours.

2. Running
at high
Illustration 2: Very dirty separator

filter - clogged with old oil sludge
temperatures
The biggest problem for a compressor is overheating. Compressing air
generates a lot of heat, and all this heat has to be removed.
If the temperature rises too high, it will seize and completely destroy
your screw element.
Sure, your compressor has a warning and a shutdown alarm for high
temperatures, so that won’t happen anytime soon.
BUT
I have seen so many compressors running for weeks and months near
or at their ‘warning’ temperature. Usually, the warning pops up at 110
degrees Celsius and the shutdown at 120 degrees Celsius.

Running at high temperatures will not instantly destroy your
compressor.. no, it will slowly kill it.
You see, at high temperatures, the compressor oil degrades much

more quickly. It will form a thin layer of ‘varnish’ or ‘lacquer’ on the
inside of each and every part that comes into contact with the
compressor oil.

This includes:
 The screw element

 Check valve / oil stop
valve
 Separator filter
 Oil cooler
 Oil hoses
This varnish looks like a Illustration 3: Keep your coolers clean

reddish glow on the metal surface. It is almost impossible to remove.
You will need special chemicals to remove it.
In short, it slowly ruins your compressor.
My tip:
- Don’t run your compressor at too high temperatures for a
long period of time
- Keep coolers clean.
- Change your oil more quickly. If the normal interval is
4000 hours and your compressor runs at 100+ degrees
Celsius, change it every 2000 hours.

3. Water in the compressed air
You won’t believe the amount of water an air compressor produces
each and every day.
The water is naturally in the ambient air that is sucked in by the

compressor. Because of the large amounts of ambient air that a
compressor needs to produce compressed air, there is a lot of water in
the compressor air.
This water is removed by compressed air dryers and condensate traps.
I have seen installations where the whole 1000 liter compressed air
receiver was filled with water. I’m not kidding here.
Simply nobody ever checked.
Their pneumatic equipment was basically running on water instead of

compressed air!
Not this is an extreme example (but I have seen them more than
once!).. but you could have a water-in-air problem yourself without
even knowing it!
Water in your compressed air will not only directly running your
compressed air tools, equipment or products. It will also eat away on
the inside of your compressed air piping, creating a rusty, dirty
compressed air piping system.. do I need to tell you what that will do
to your equipment?

My tips:
- Check your compressed air dryer every daily
- Check the correct function of all condensate traps daily
- Drain your main compressed air receiver daily.

4. Wasted compressed air
A small
Illustration 4: Check your compressed air drains

compressed air leak here or there.. who cares? Right?
Well, consider this:
A small 1/8” leak will leak around 25 CFM at 100 psi.
That means you will lose around 37.000 cubic ft per day, or 13 MILLION
cubic ft per year.
What this costs you?
Around $2500 each and every year, depending on your electricity cost!
And that is just one small 1/8” compressed air leaks.

My experience is that a ‘typical’ medium sized compressed air system
with an ‘average’ amount of leaks is blowing at least $4.000 dollars per
year into thin air.
On bigger systems... this can EASILY mount up to 20 – 100.000 dollars

per year in electricity costs WASTED!
Each and every year!
Fix those leaks! The time and costs it takes to repair a
compressed air leak typically pays back in a week or a month!
My tip: ‘Search and destroy’ compressed air leaks on a regular
basis.

5. Pressure problems
The last hidden problem I have often seen has to do with pressure.
You need pressure to operate your machinery or tools. They need a

minimum amount of pressure to operate.
So we just set the compressors pressure at ‘max’ and all’s good, right?
Yes. But it will costs you dearly in your electricity bill.
Remember… compressing air takes energy. Compressing air to a

higher pressure takes even more energy.
Don’t set your compressor any higher than strictly needed.
But there is one pitfall here: pressure drop
Pressure drop is the pressure that is ‘lost’ between your compressor

and the equipment that uses compressed air.
It is created by the friction inside the pipes, by filters, bend, valves,

etc.
Say your compressed air piping system and filters create a pressure
drop of 1.5 bar.
And, your equipment needs 5 bars to operate. Than you need to set
your compressor at 5 + 1.5 = 6.5 bar!

Now if you had a smaller pressure loss, say 0.2 bar, then you could set
your compressor at 5 + 0.2 = 5.2 bar.
You ‘save’ 6.5 – 5.2 = 1.3 bar!
This equals THOUSANDS of dollars in electricity costs per year.
My tips:
- Find parts in your compressed air system that create
pressure drops and fix it.
If you have compressed air filters that create a large pressure drop:
replace them with bigger ones.
- Change compressed air filters in time
Don’t want to spend money on a new compressed air filter? Think

again! A dirty filter creates a larger pressure drop. As a result, you will
need to set your compressor at a higher pressure to counter the
pressure drop.
The increase in electricity costs can easily be 3 or 4 times that of a

new compressed air filter! So, change those filters!
- Have a look at your piping system
Did your factory grow over time and you slowly added more pneumatic
tools, machines and equipment to it?
Maybe it’s time to upgrade your piping system! Smaller pipes create a
much bigger pressure drop than bigger pipes!

It’s often worth it to install a bigger piping system. These costs for that
can be recover in a year or two!
My tip: did you outgrow your compressed air piping system?
Upgrade!
Illustration 5: Every resistance to air flow creates a pressure drop - costing

you money!


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‘Hidden Compressor Problems’

Maintenance Issues You’re Not Aware Of Right Now

Copyright © 2018 by C. van de Beld

Air Compressor Guide

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 3

I compiled this list from my years of experience with maintaining and

For more information about air compressors and compressed air

I also have a very popular guide about troubleshooting oil-injected

rotary screw air compressors. It includes

detailed explanations of how the compressor

Please check out my complete Oil-injected Rotary

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 4

Compressed air is an important asset in many factories and workshops.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Compressed air is in fact very

Imagine a complete factory shutdown..

First you might experience some machinery malfunctions in one part of

Believe me, I have rushed to these places so many times:

Compressor tripped…. No more compressed air. Production shut down.

Please, calculate for yourself what an air compressor break down

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 5

If you just keep an eye on the 5 things that I explain in this

report, you most certainly will have a much ‘healthier’

compressor and save thousands of dollars per year in

compressed air costs.

A small problem can quickly grow out of hand. Or worse: a small

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 6

But my experience is that many compressors run in dusty and dirty

Illustration 1: Typical running

 Compressor element screws (the heart of your compressor!)

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 7

An oil separator collapse is not pretty. It basically send all the

My TIP: In case of a dusty environment… Change your oil and

filters more often than is indicated in the manual! If the

manual says every 4000 hours, change it every 2000 hours.

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 8

Illustration 2: Very dirty separator

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 9

You see, at high temperatures, the compressor oil degrades much

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 10

 The screw element

This varnish looks like a Illustration 3: Keep your coolers clean

In short, it slowly ruins your compressor.

- Don’t run your compressor at too high temperatures for a

long period of time

- Keep coolers clean.

- Change your oil more quickly. If the normal interval is

4000 hours and your compressor runs at 100+ degrees

Celsius, change it every 2000 hours.

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 11

The water is naturally in the ambient air that is sucked in by the

This water is removed by compressed air dryers and condensate traps.

Simply nobody ever checked.

Their pneumatic equipment was basically running on water instead of

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 12

- Check your compressed air dryer every daily

- Check the correct function of all condensate traps daily

- Drain your main compressed air receiver daily.

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 13

Illustration 4: Check your compressed air drains

Well, consider this:

A small 1/8” leak will leak around 25 CFM at 100 psi.

What this costs you?

And that is just one small 1/8” compressed air leaks.

‘Hidden Compressor Problems’ Page | 14