Air Compressor Rental: Diesel or Electric
If you are lucky enough to have a standby compressor in your facility, make sure the standby is in good working condition. Weekly test runs and a regular run rotation is a good idea. If you do not have sufficient standby, you will need to obtain a rental compressor and be prepared to install it quickly. Often Air Power Equipment can get a rental air compressor to a site in less time than the plant can make arrangements to install it. Now is the time to consider the issue and prepare for it. Don't wait until the last minute when production losses are already mounting
Your plant air piping should have a adequate shared connection point, a glad hand. For portable diesel air compressors this is normally a pipe to the outside of your facility ready for a hose connection and valved off inside. Portable diesels might not always have aftercoolers so it might be good idea to have one pre installed on the emergency line. This of course is dependant on how important air quality is to your process. The portable also needs to be located near an area that fuel trucks will have access to. For an electrical rental, a tee fitting in the main supply line should suffice. It is important to also understand the availability of an electrical disconnect.
If you have not planned ahead, a diesel rental might be your only choice. However with adequate planning you can take advantage of the cleaner, less expensive aspect of an electric rental. Electric rentals cost less to operate, require less maintenance, provide better quality air, and do not create a potential noise problem for neighbors.
Maintenance Costs
A portable diesel unit will require replacement of its engine oil, oil filter, fluid filter and compressor oil filter every 250 hours. The compressor oil will be replaced every 1000 hours. In a 24/7 facility, major maintenance is required every ten days! Not only is the maintenance expensive, but production will need to go down as a result. An electric rental only needs minor maintenance every 2000 hours or three months in a 24/7 facility.
However, most important, with an electric motor, there is no diesel fuel to source, store or replenish, there are no hazardous fuel spills; and there are no offensive exhaust fumes. a 24/7 facility will need to refuel a diesel three times a day. At $3.50 a gallon, this can be an expensive alternative.
Better Air Quality
Electric rotary units are almost always equipped with an efficient air cooled aftercooler to remove the condensate. An aftercooler will remove approximately 60% of the moisture generating in the compression process. By comparison, portable diesel units are generally not aftercooled at all. This can be disastrous in most industrial plant air systems. As an example, a 400cfm unit at 75F ambiant temperature and 75% RH can pump up to 2 gallons of water per hour in to a compressed air system.
Electrical units also have an industrial quality coolant separation system with levels of only 2 to 3 PPM oil carryover to plant air systems (portable diesel compressors have levels of 10 to15 PPM up to 5 times more!!)
The electrical unit is clearly superior and a much more economical choice for industrial plant air rental applications. Make sure to contact Pat Becker (pbecker@airpowerequip.com) so he can help you prepare your air system to be ready next time there is a compressed air emergency. Go to our website for further information:
www.airpowerequip.com/rentals
