Compressed Air Best Practices - October 2008 - (Page 54) | 10/08 Compressed Air Industry AUTOMOTIVE TRANSIT | APPLYING AIR HOSE AND QUICK DISCONNECTS FOR OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE Almost all manufacturing plants run some distribution of compressed air to some of the final production areas or processes. Proper selection and application of air hose when used and the accompanying quick disconnects is very critical to achieving optimum performance of the process. “Extra pressure” means “extra energy use” and “extra flow generated.” This is an area where our compressed air system audits often find significant opportunity for savings. Often the total system is run at a higher pressure to offset the pressure loss from the main headers to processes or air tools caused by too small diameter hose and/or incorrect quick disconnects for the pressure/flow relationship. The most important data required to size the feeds correctly to any process is the amount of flow (in scfm) required at the entry to the tool or process and the minimum pressure required during operation at the same entry. If line size was implemented by connection size, i.e: 3⁄8" connection = 3 ⁄8" hose, you can be pretty sure it is too small. For Example: Most air tools are designed to perform with a nominal 90 psig inlet pressure. The designer really sizes for full flow at about 80 psig at the tool entry point for optimum performance. Pressures significantly higher than 90 psig may or may not increase performance (depending on the tool), but lower pressures certainly will reduce performance. In many cases too high and too low pressure can cause tool damage and significantly reduce the time between rebuilds. Summary of Technical Performance Data (Appendix A) The table on the following page shows selected technical data from an air tool manufacturer’s engineering manual. It clearly shows the magnitude of performance loss from too low pressure on various air tools and air motors. 54 www.airbestpractices.com http://www.airbestpractices.com
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