New Compressed Air System

What do you guys think about our new compressed air system?



http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq173/eww_enterprise/Kaeser_2.jpg

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http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq173/eww_enterprise/Kaeser_13.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq173/eww_enterprise/Kaeser_15.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq173/eww_enterprise/Kaeser_16.jpg

Two Kaeser 7.5 HP rotary screw compressors feed into a 60 gal wet reciever tank with a Kaeser eco drain. From there the air goes into a particulate filter then a cycling air dryer then an oil removal filter. The filters and dryer have a bypass so I can work on them and still have air. The air then goes into a 240 gal dry reciever tank and then to a regulator and through our shops air piping system. We're still working on getting all the condensate drains connected to our condensate separator.

I had a 15 hp Ingersol Rand total air sytem (integrated dryer and filters) that we replaced with this setup. The IR was problematic and the warrantee was out. It had an 80 gal tank, so it would fill the tank very fast. It ended up cycling so much that most of the time I ran it in continous mode. The first full month after I disconnected it, we were running our old 3 hp recip, I saved $170 on my electric bill. Might not sound like much but when the bill drops from $500 to $330 it's a lot easier to write the check each month. The IR was also a lot noisier than the Kaesers and it put out a lot more heat than the Kaesers. The new compressors each have a shutoff valve so we can work on one compressor and still have air. This was becoming a problem with our old air compressor. Compressor goes out and no work gets done

Well did we miss anything?

Compressed Air

Wow. Very nice setup. Thanks for posting.

Nice...

I just went thru the compressor woes and will be doing something like that in the future. Right now i have a home depot compressor running thru the Atlas (so i can use the dryer) and out into the lines. Its going to have a rough life until the atlas is fixed. 240gal tank will be next.

Very nice installation!! Well designed and well executed. Bravo.

I saw a similar Kaeser setup at the local Nascar race shop (now defunct). The comps were 50hp each, I think. They had used 2" copper pipe, instead of the blue Kaeser aluminum pipe.

Really nice setup. Some coin invested there....

I don't run my kaeser much, but have had absolutely zero trouble with it.

And I've never gotten any water out of any of the drains - the water remover seems to work very well indeed.

Very nice! That is what a compressed air system should look like.

But now come the inevitable question: What did that beautiful setup run you??

Sweet...I hope you went with the VFD machines (I presume Kaeser has them that small). Just kidding, but they would cut your bill even more! I like the duplex idea, and even had the chance to exchange one 15 hp Kaeser for two 7.5's just recently, but holding out on a 20 hp VFD Boge that may even happen by year end.

Anyway, VERY, VERY nice.


Steve

Nice set up, looks great.

We've got a very expensive Atlas Copco system and it breaks down way too often. It oilless so maybe that's why it sucks.

(you should put up more pictures of your shop. Looks like you probably have a nice one)

Wow...very nice. I'm envious!

What did you use for the air lines? I am just starting to lay out the new shop and your system looks easy and clean.

I love your piping system. I just finished plumbing in a new compressor and spent more time chasing leaks in the home despots black iron pipe joints than anything else. Super teflon tape or dope, did not seem to matter, just another high quality product from our friends who bring us poison dog food and DVD players that last one day longer than the guarantee.

...jealous...

Yea, I also like your piping system? Who makes it? How's the cost of it(roughly)? Where'd you get it from?

Thanks for all the replies guys

Seekins, did you find out what was wrong with your atlas copo?

I used a mix of Transair and Kaeser piping. The Kaeser piping is just re-badged Transair so it's interchangable. I have two industrial condo units and each one is piped with the 1" Transair pipe. I used 1.5" pipe from the 240 gal tank to each of the condo units so one side would not starve the other. I have a shutoff valve for each unit so I can work on one air system and still use the other. Eventually I plan to make each 1" system into a complete loop so if I have a heavy demand for air it can be fed from both sides.

I've been using the Transair pipe for about 4 years now. I started with a starter kit from Garage pak and kept adding on to it. The price of the pipe is pretty cheap, but the fittings will kill you, especially the 1.5" stuff. I found a better distributor (davie's supply) and their price is much better than GP. If anyone is contemplating this pipe system I'd definatly shop around. I'm paying about half of what I was from GP.

The saying "you get what you pay for" definatly applies to this piping. Most people get sticker shock from the price and they never think about it again. This stuff goes together so fast it's not funny. They designed this system to be worked on and added to easily. I don't need any unions, tape or pipe dope with the system. There are no leaks because everything is sealed by orings. The pipe doesn't corrode and crap up your system. The drops actually take air from the top of the pipe so if there is any moisture in the system the drop doesn't pick it up. To do this with black pipe or copper pipe is a pita!

I used some black pipe and fittings for the dry reciever and some stainless pipe and fittings for the wet reciever. We used pipe dope and we still had to chase down a bunch of leaks. I couldn't imagine chasing leaks down in the whole shop system. Just the air leaks alone in a system with black pipe is probably enough to justify the cost of the Transair piping.

I honestly couldn't tell you what the whole system cost. I've been building it for the last 4 years. The two compressors, dryer, filters, wet and dry tank, main regulator, eco drain, and condensate separator cost 16k. That didn't include any air piping, fittings, disconnects, breakers, wire, conduit or labor. We had about a weeks worth of work just getting the back corner ready to install the system. I had unistrut installed but it wasn't long enough, so we had to remove about ten 5ft sticks and replace them with 10ft sticks. The gas line for the furnace had to be moved. There was also a conduit pipe that had so many wires in it you probably couldn't blow smoke through it. We had to re-route that too, and fix a few other things the builders cheaped out on. The system took about one week to install after the spot was ready. I don't think I want to know what the grand total was.

So far the system is working flawless. The wet reciever tank is catching most of the moisture. The eco drain we have hooked up to the wet tank drains a lot more than the eco drain that's built into the dryer. I haven't even seen any moisture coming out of the filters. The Kaiser eco drain is a cool piece. It has a small resivour that builds up with water and when it's full it discharges it without letting out any air.

I have more pics at photobucket if anyone is interested.

http://s445.photobucket.com/home/eww_enterprise

We have had a new compressor system in our budget for a couple years, this year looks like the year we will have to do it. Having 2 is a good idea, our present system is 2 compressors. We will probably buy one rotary screw for the main and keep one of the old piston types as a backup.

That blue pipe looks like the stuff that Kaeser sells with the quick fittings... it's anodized aluminum? How well does that work? did you repipe the entire shop too? I would be interested in how well it performs 5 years after installation. We have an aging black/galvanized pipe system that is slowly rusting out, and are exploring options to repipe the shop. The blue stuff is pricey, but much of the cost would be offset by quick installation.

Edit: Your last post wasn't up before I finished, Edster... Thanks for the info, especially about price shopping for the fittings.

Nice system there...backup compressors are awesome. I put in a new 40HP Sullair variable displacement/ variable speed in February 2009 with the 60 HP Ingersoll SSR-EP60 screw still online as my backup. My backup before was a 25HP ingersoll, but it just became too small to run the whole shop. I like the sullair, way quieter than the 60 HP and it runs cheaper, but hard for me to tell how much. I do know I lost a board in the new sullair and was damn glad to have the 60 online to run parts.

I will shop around for some of that piping. Thanks

My compressor being a single phase, there are start and run capacitors on the motor. Either one of those are bad OR there are also points on the back of the motor that switch from start to run. They can be bad. Atlas is great to work with so far. They are bringing a new motor and just swapping the entire thing out. then i have a motor warentee for another year

got a dual stage little compressor running now (biggest i could find in town from home depot, runs both tanks as wet tanks and all air goes out the air dryer side of the atlas. Im not getting any moisture and we are running. 240gallon tank is the next step and i may have found one.

thanks !!!

Nice setup. You can fill a few tires with that.

Mickey_D said:

I love your piping system. I just finished plumbing in a new compressor and spent more time chasing leaks in the home despots black iron pipe joints than anything else. Super teflon tape or dope, did not seem to matter, just another high quality product from our friends who bring us poison dog food and DVD players that last one day longer than the guarantee.

Click to expand...

To seal your system, close the ends after you find the leaks, a loght vacuum and 545 loctite.
the 545 would have fixed all the leaks as you assembled.

I haven't looked at the price on the blue aluminum pipe lately, but remember that it and fittings were pretty expensive. I don't have need for such a large diameter distribution, so found that heavy wall copper pipe and Sharkbite fittings work very well. It has the same advantage as this in that it can be taken apart and re-configured at a moments notice, and is sealed by o-rings. Look around for the fittings, prices vary widely, but now that Home Depot and Lowes are carrying the fittings, you can usually find them pretty cheap.