Air Compressor Flushing Procedure

A guide for oil flooded screw compressors for air

Executive Summary:

This document is for the purpose of providing Atlas Copco with relevant guidelines
regarding compressor flushing, to be used for field trial and oil change over
purposes. It includes flushing procedures for replacing mineral detergent and non-
detergent rotary air compressor oil with mineral and synthetic fluids. This will all be
related to the use of Atlas Copco oils in rotary air compressors.

1 Introduction

The primary purpose of flushing is to reduce the levels of harmful solid and liquid
contamination to acceptable levels such that equipment is not placed at risk from
malfunction. The system should be in an operational state following the flushing and
subsequent filling activities with contamination having been stabilised at a level
considered acceptable. Flushing should not be viewed as a substitute for rigorous
attention to contamination control throughout the equipment building process i.e.
cleanliness standards should not be relaxed on the assumption that all or most of the
in-built contamination will be captured and removed during flushing.

The guidelines and procedures that follow are general guidelines only. Installations
vary widely in size, design and complexity and may therefore require different
process steps. However, in general the following guidelines will be undertaken in
most cases.

2. Flushing procedures

2.1 From a detergent to a non-detergent mineral oil

For rotating compressors running on a detergent fluid, the internal cleanliness of the
oil cooler, compression element, oil stop valve and oil separator is very often
acceptable. Based on this assumption the following flushing procedure is given.

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 a. Thoroughly drain the system when the oil is warm, leaving as little oil in the
system as feasible especially in dead areas, if possible blow out remaining oil
by pressurising the oil system
b. Replace oil filter
c. Fill compressor with the minimum amount of replacement oil, run the
compressor under light load conditions for 30 minutes
d. Thoroughly drain the system when the oil is warm, leaving as little oil in the
system as feasible especially in dead areas, if possible blow out remaining oil
by pressurising the oil
e. Repeat steps c and d
f. Replace the oil filter and oil separator
g. Fill system with final oil charge
h. All waste lubricant collected during the flushing process should be disposed of
in accordance with the customer’s procedures for managing waste lubricant

2.2 From non-detergent to a (non) detergent mineral oil

For rotating compressors running on non-detergent oils, the internal cleanliness of

the compressor and system components is amongst others a function of the
machine lifetime, the quality of oil that has been used, oil drain intervals and running
conditions. It is strongly recommended to carry out an oil sample evaluation and/or
compressor inspection to establish the oil condition and the level of cleanliness. If
this shows the unit to be contaminated it is advised to run the compressor for about
500 hours on a detergent oil after which the flushing procedure mentioned in 2.1
should be followed.

Only when the inspections show a satisfactory cleanliness level of both the
compressor and system components the flushing procedure mentioned below is
advised.

a. Thoroughly drain the system when the oil is warm, leaving as little oil in the
system as feasible especially in dead areas, if possible blow out remaining oil
by pressurising the oil system
b. Replace oil filter
c. Fill compressor with the minimum amount of replacement oil, run the
compressor under light load conditions for 30 minutes
d. Thoroughly drain the system when the oil is warm, leaving as little oil in the
system as feasible especially in dead areas, if possible blow out remaining oil
by pressurising the oil system
e. If there are a lot of dead areas step c and d should be repeated
f. Replace the oil filter and oil separator
g. Fill system with final oil charge
h. All waste lubricant collected during the flushing process should be disposed of
in accordance with the customer’s procedures for managing waste lubricant
2.3 From (non-detergent) mineral oil to synthetic oil

For rotating compressors running on non-detergent oils, the internal cleanliness of

the compressor and system components is amongst others a function of the
machine lifetime, the quality of oil that has been used, the oil drain intervals and
running conditions. It is strongly recommended to carry out an oil sample evaluation
and/or compressor inspection to establish the oil condition and the level of
cleanliness. If this shows the unit to be contaminated it is advised to run the
compressor for about 500 hours on a detergent oil followed by the flushing
procedure below with steps c. and d. carried out twice.

Only when the inspections show a satisfactory cleanliness level of both the
compressor and system components the following flushing procedure is advised.

a. Check the compatibility of the synthetic replacement oil with the oil in the
system. If these fluids are not compatible then abstain from the oil
replacement
b. Check the compatibility of the seals and coatings in the system and of the
components in the pneumatic network with the synthetic replacement oil. If
these are not compatible than replace the seals and components and /or
change the coating before filling the machine with the replacement oil.
Alternatively abstain from the oil replacement
c. Thoroughly drain the system when the oil is warm, leaving as little oil in the
system as feasible especially in dead areas, if possible blow out remaining oil
by pressurising the oil system
d. Replace oil filter, make sure filter material is compatible with the synthetic
replacement oil
e. Fill compressor with the minimum amount of replacement oil, run the
compressor under light load conditions for 30 minutes
f. Thoroughly drain the system when the oil is warm, leaving as little oil in the
system as feasible especially in dead areas, if possible blow out remaining oil
by pressurising the oil system
g. If there are a lot of dead areas step c and d should be repeated
h. Replace the oil filter and oil separator, check separator is compatible with the
synthetic replacement oil
i. Fill system with final oil charge
j. All waste lubricant collected during the flushing process should be disposed of
in accordance with the customer’s procedures for managing waste lubricant
k. The first oil drain interval (ODI) should be 50% of the recommended ODI

2.4 From a synthetic oil to a synthetic oil

For this combination the guidelines set out in 2.3 apply.

2.5 From a synthetic oil to a (non-detergent) mineral oil

Replacement of synthetic oil with a mineral fluid should be discouraged. First of all it is most
likely that the performance of the replacement fluid is lower. But there is also the possibility
to run into complicated seal compatibility issues, which may lead to increased oil
consumption.