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MAINTAINING AIR QUALITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY THROUGH
REGULAR MAINTENANCE
IT HAS LONG BEEN THE PRACTICE TO CHANGE FILTER ELEMENTS BASED UPON THE PRESSURE DROP MEASURED
ACROSS THE FILTER AS THIS IS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO OPERATIONAL COSTS. HOWEVER, ONE MUST
REMEMBER THE REASON FOR INSTALLING THE FILTER IN THE FIRST PLACE, i.e. TO REMOVE CONTAMINATION.
FILTER ELEMENTS MUST ALWAYS BE REPLACED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS
TO ENSURE THE DELIVERED AIR QUALITY IS NEVER COMPROMISED.
‘Why should I change my filter element?’
T
o achieve the stringent air quality levels
required by both modern industry and
ISO 8573.1 : 2001 the int
ernational
standard for compressed air quality,
highly specialised filtration materials are
employed, which has both a finite life and
a finit
e capacity to retain contamination.
It is important to remember that when
the filter life has expired, the required air
quality can no longer be maintained.
Filters are installed to provide
contaminant removal to a specific air
quality requirement, therefore the
primary reason to change filter elements
should always be to maintain air quality.
Filter elements should be changed based
upon manufacturers recommendations
to maintain air quality.
What are the benefits of regularly changing filter elements?
•
High quality c
ompr
es
sed air - Guar
ant
eed
• Protection of adsorption dryer beds
• Protection of downstream equipment, personnel and processes
• Reduced operational costs
• Increased productivity & profitability
• Continued peace of mind
"My filter is fitted with a differential
p
ressure gauge and the needle is in
the green - why should I change my
el
ement ?"
Many filt
er housings are fitted with
"Differential Pressure Gauges".
Gener
ally, these are indicators not
precise gauges and offer no level of
calibration. Typically these will show
an area of green and red, indicating
if the needle is in the green, that the
element does not require changing.
Differential pressure gauges are not
filter service indicators or air quality
indicators, they are simply measuring
differential pressure and offer an
indication of premature blockage.
As the filter media in an element
degrades, even a tiny hole can result
in the filter media rupturing, allowing
all contamination to be carried past the
filter into the system. If this should
happen, the needle on the gauge would
always indicate in the green area and
the el
ement would never be serviced
until the user spotted contamination
downstream. If the element was
r
eplac
ed after such an incident,
contamination will still be present
do
wnstr
eam of the filt
er f
or some time.
What are the consequences
of not changing filter elements?
What seems like a cost saving in
the short term can turn out to be
a very costly mistake. Having
identified a c
ontamination problem
in the compressed air system and
the need for purification
equipment, what would be the cost
t
o your business of poor air
quality?
• Damaged adsorption dryer
beds requiring unplanned
desiccant changes
• Corrosion within the
compressed air storage
and distribution system
• Blocked / frozen valves
and air motors
• Damaged machinery
• Contamination exhausting
from valves and cylinders
leading to unhealthy working
environments, risk of personal
injury, st
aff absenc
es and
personal injury claims
•
Inefficient production
processes
• Spoiled, damaged products
• Re-worked products
• Increased manufacturing costs
•
Incr
eased pr
oduction downtime
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