By Ron Marshall for the Compressed Air Challenge
A few years ago, an Italian woodworking company producing benches and chairs for schools purchased a central system controller for their three screw compressors. The controller was designed to automatically rotate the compressors to share the hours. It also provided a single pressure band, rather than using a cascaded arrangement, which reduces the average compressor discharge pressure to save energy.
After installation, the technical support representative for the system controller company received a call reporting that the compressors were not working as they should. The support person had the company do routine checks to ensure the system was on, communicating with the compressors, and the compressors were in remote control, none of which solved the issue.
The company was insistent that the controller had to be repaired—and the problem was not their fault—so they had the support engineer fly to Italy at their expense to solve the problem. When arriving in the evening, he asked to take a quick look at the controller before retiring for the night. Within seconds, he noticed the controller was not turned on. He pressed the “Start” button and the compressors immediately responded, with the unit switching to run the unit with the fewest hours.
The next day, grateful for the nice visit to Italy, and a fancy dinner, the engineer supplied plant personnel with some much needed training, definitely with a focus on the function of the Start button!
Learn more about compressor control in our next Compressed Air Challenge seminar in your area. Visit www.compressedairchallenge.org for more information.
Filed Under: Pneumatic Tips