Compressed air mishaps - #2

How to deal with compressed leaks (...)

There are many ways to deal with those annoying compressed air leaks. And the best I have seen so far is on this picture: Just cover it up with Duct Tape! You can also use old rags, chewing gum etc. It eliminates the noise. Problem solved!

Top 5 leakage fix procrastination tips:

• Apply duct tape
• Cover the leaks with rags, clothes of any kind to eliminate the noise
• Implement a leak tag cleaning program: Change the date on the leak tags, and clean them regularly, so it looks like the leak was found yesterday
• Just don't go in that area anymore, place a "do not enter" sign
• Buy one or more new compressors to compensate for the losses

A bit more serious: Leaks cost companies 10 to 30% of their energy bill. And leaks also cause loss of production capacity. We have also seen dangerous situations, for example malfunctions in bag filters which caused environmental damage to the surrounding area of a plant. Which can lead to fines or closure.

So how to start a serious leakage management program?

• Monitor flow permanently to all important main areas in your plant to have a global picture of the leak rates and to keep an eye on consumption when the leak has been fixed. This saves you a lot of time finding leaks and provides timely alerts when new leaks occur.
• Invest in tools to find leaks: Invest in one or more leak detectors to find the exact leak location of the leak.
• Make sure leaks get fixed ASAP: Take away barriers by enabling your maintenance department to fix them without budget approval. Just set a rule: Every repair with an ROI < 2 months can be ordered without formal approval. Just keep track of the overall results.

Do you need further help with identifying savings potential in your plant? Fill out this form for a free energy savings assessment.