compressed air consumption calculation 1

[windpomp]

I was asked (ordered) to write a technical spec for instrument air dryers for a new installation. I know very little about compressed air, and no-one at my company can help me. (We're electrical and automation people)

After some research I found out I need the total air consuption in m3/h. I don't know how to calculate (or estimate) that.

Can I take the volume of each valve actuator (they are all on/off valves), multiply that by the number of times it will operate per hour, and add them all together? Will that, plus some thumbsuck factor, give me a rough estimate?

 

[Compositepro]

Instrument air must be clean and dry (typical dewpoint -40F). Yet almost all systems that I've seen have problems with liquid water collecting in the lines. Dryer efficiency depends on instantaneous flow, not average flow. Don't take your responsibilities lightly. It is apparent you have a lot to learn. Talk to vendors for help but be skeptical. Most will try to sell you something that will handle your typical average flow because that will be the lowest cost and most customers choose the lowest bid. But it truly is not their fault if you have an instrument air system and then mechanics use it for power tools.

 

[saberblue]

I think that if this was my project I would take a pocket full of quarters (to buy coffee the universal manufacturing mental lubricant) down the the maintenance department and talk to the old timers about what they know and which of the suppliers that call on your facility are worth anything --- and then start by talking the suppliers that they (the people in the maintenance department) think are best

 

[saberblue]

Sorry about not thinking of this earlier and pardon the senior moment -- In a time long ago and a job that no longer exists - so long ago that PCs didn't exist and we carried a slide rule in our pocket protector I had a control problem on a pair of Besley Double Disk Grinders (they had air logic controls) the cost and lead time on proper air conditioning equipment made that out of the question so we solved the problem by getting cylinders of dry nitrogen from the plant gas supplier and hooking them up to the controls -- it was not as expensive as we thought and there was no PM etc. on them -- the ROI on the conditioning equipment V the cylinders was about 7 yeas so to the best of my knowledge they continued to do that until the equipment was replaced.