:: Air Compressor Parts ::

If you are one of the many folks that have purchased or are considering purchasing a home compressor, you do want to have a bit of information about compressed air filters.

Compressing air generates a reservoir (receiver / air tank) full of wet, dirty, hot compressed air.

As the air leaves the tank, it carries the crud and free water along with it. It also carries a great deal of water vapour. As the compressed air travels to your appliance (air drill / air grinder / blow gun / air brush - what have you?) the compressed air in the air line cools, and some of the water vapour will condense into free water.

That’s why just having a small compressed air filter at the discharge of the compressor tank may not be enough. Even though the unit at the compressor will take much of the debris and free water from the air there, it can’t remove the vapour. Even though you think your air is being filtered, by the time the air gets to your application, water may flowing out of the exhaust ports and onto your work piece, along with the used compressed air.

Of course, if water flowing or blowing onto your work bothers you just a tad :~} , you’ll want to add another compressed air filter just before you use the air.

Many standard compressed air filters have 5 micron filter elements. If you want to know how big that is, check out the details in the Filter page on my web site.

You can purchase compressed air filters with much finer elements, and you can purchase elements that are coarser, allowing much larger particulates through. Much larger is a relative term. We’re still dealing with pretty small bits here.

If you decide that your application needs extensive air filtration, get a micro-filter element for the additional air filter you will need. The new one might filter particulates down to .005 micron, and if you don’t have a 5 micron unit upstream from it to take out the larger bits, the finer element will plug up really quickly, which is why you’ll need the additional filter housing.

You can purchase compressed air filter elements that will strip oil from the compressed air, these known as coalescent filters. Some piston / reciprocating, and other types of compressors too, let oil “blow by” the piston seals into the compressed air tank, and this oil will get blown downstream as you use compressed air. Compressor oil is not good for most tools that have Buna-N type seals. The compressor lubricating oil might ‘eat’ the seals.

Each compressed air filter you install has a negative affect on the available air pressure at your tool. Pressure drop is a reality in compressed air plumbing. You could supply compressed air at 100 PSI into the discharge air line from your tank, and by the time it gets to your tool, all you have available might be 85 PSI. The flow of compressed air through the air lines, the elbows, the ‘T’s and yes, the air filters, all create pressure drop.

If you are using your compressor a lot (make sure you know it’s duty cycle so that you don’t burn it out) then it would be beneficial to have an auto-drain of some sort on the air filter. A float type will open up and let water and crud flow out when the water in the bowl gets to a certain level. An electric auto-drain will be plugged into a 120 Volt outlet, and will open the bowl drain at preset intervals for a preset length of time. You set the electric auto-drain to the interval necessary to keep the filter bowl fairly empty.

If the water and debris in the filter bowl gets above a certain level in the bowl of the filter, it floods the element, and now your compressed air supply is pumping water and debris through the element downstream to your tool.

Did you know that water rusts metal air tool innards, and that water droplets on your work piece will not allow the beautiful paint job you are air brushing on to it to adhere? Of course you did! That’s why you need a compressed air filter.

One more thing. If your air consumption is great enough then even a filter at your tool may not stop the water vapour streaming along with your compressed air from condensing onto your work piece or in your air tool as the air cools. If that is a problem for you, you will need an air line dryer.

Drop me a email from my site if you have any questions. I’ll be happy to respond.

Bill Wade’s experience in compressed air and other industries spans decades; from field sales positions through to the corporate presidential office. His sales agency represents a select group of industrial firms. Mr. Wade writes about all facets of compressed air at http://www.about-air-compressors.com.

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A thermostat is an apparatus for maintaining the temperature of a system within a particular range by directly or indirectly controlling the flow of heat energy into or out of the system. All air conditioners have thermostats that can be manually operated or automatically preprogrammed to work at regulating the room temperature. There are many ways in which you can use an air conditioner thermostat effectively.

One of the most successful yet economical ways to reduce your air conditioning costs is to adjust the thermostat setting on the air conditioner. The savings are more noteworthy when you set your thermostat at 78 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. For each degree you raise the thermostat setting, you reduce seasonal cooling costs by 7 percent to 10 percent. In doing so, you can use ceiling fans in addition to the air conditioner and thus, save a lot of money.

Most centrally located air conditioner thermostats are equipped with two fan settings, ‘on’ and ‘auto’. When the thermostat setting is set to ‘on’ the fan runs constantly and when it is set to ‘auto’ the fan runs only during cooling cycles when the air conditioner compressor is in use. When the air conditioner is in use all day, the cooling compressor only operates about 50 percent of the time, that is, for about 12 hours. The extra fan operating time that occurs when the thermostat is set to ‘on’ can add roughly $25 to monthly air conditioning bills. Using the ‘auto’ setting, alternatively, saves energy and money because the fan operates fewer hours. Besides achieving energy and cost savings, the ‘auto’ setting also promotes more comfort by offering better humidity control as moisture removed during the cooling cycle is re-circulated back into the home while the compressor is off.

Thus, thermostats play an important role in the cost and function of an AC.

Air Conditioner Rentals provides detailed information on air conditioner rentals, portable air conditioner rentals, window air conditionar rentals, RV air conditioner rentals and more. Air Conditioner Rentals is affiliated with Window Air Conditioners.

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When it gets warm outside, your air conditioner becomes your best friend. This is most definitely true in your car, where temperatures can sky rocket to 170 degrees under direct sunlight. But most people these days are under the impression that the more you run your air conditioner the more gas your car will guzzle. Now that gas prices are higher than the cost to eat at McDonald’s, people are starting to take precautions and do what they can to help with their cars fuel economy. The assumption that running your air conditioner burns way more gas is somewhat untrue. Leaving your air conditioner off makes barely any difference in the amount of gas you burn. With the advent of modern, more fuel efficient cars, this myth is busted!

The air conditioner draws its power from the engine which uses some gas, but with today’s cars, this use of gas is minute. The air conditioner can decrease the fuel economy of your car up to 20% in some vehicles, but it depends on the type. Driving with the air conditioner is more fuel efficient than driving with the windows down. Driving with the windows down creates drag which means that your engine has to work harder to keep your car at the current speed; this burns more gas than if you just ran your air conditioner.

In the long run, using your air conditioner is far better than any other means of cooling yourself off in the car, unless you’re driving in traffic. When you drive in traffic you aren’t going very fast so the drag on the car is minimal. In these cases, you burn more fuel running the air conditioner than having the windows down. That makes sense. When you drive on the highway you can use either the air conditioner or the “window down” method to cool yourself, because, honestly, there is no noticeable difference in gas usage at those speeds.

Here are some tips about you and the heat in your car. Before you get into a hot car, roll down the windows and let it air out. There is nothing worse than getting into a hot car, sitting on a lava hot seat, touching a super hot steering wheel, and breathing stuffy super heated air. Your car needs some time to cool down for itself and for you. Once you believe it is cool enough to actually sit on the seat, turn on the car and run the air conditioner on recirculation. This will help the car cool down much quicker, and you can be on the road fast without sacrificing a layer of your precious skin.

So now that you know the air conditioner can be your fuel efficient friend, maybe you won’t be so quick to turn it off or ignore it in favor off putting the windows down and choking on bugs. The air conditioner in your car burns much less gas than your window method, so give your air conditioner a chance and be cool in the heat.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as a car wax at www.carcarewizards.com

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