Find the cfm of air compressors 2

[isutechman]

I'm doing a summer internship this summer, and one of my tasks is to do a compressed air study for the company to determine how much they are losing to leaks. The company I'm working for has very poor records of any of their equipment so the only information I have is what I have been able to get of nameplates of the compressors (we are talking about 1950’s 2-stage reciprocating compressors). They do not know what their supplies needs are other than it takes 7 or their 8 compressors to run the plant.

My 1st idea it is figure out what the total compressor capacity is, but I have not been able to come up with a good way to do this. I have heard a lot about draining air tanks and timing how long it takes to fill them up, but this is out of the question with the way the system is piped and the plant’s 24-7 operation. Are their any ideas of the best way to calculate the cfm of the compressor?

Here is a sample of the data I have from the nameplates:
Brand: Ingersoll Rand
Model XLE
Size: 20.5x12.5x8.5
Year: 1957
HP: 250
RPM: 514
And it has un-loaders, but almost never starts to unload.

Any other ideas about ways to determine the need for equipment and so on would be of great help. Thanks

 

[compressorprofessor]

A good resource for information is at

http://www.compressedairchallenge.org

They have tools and information to help industrial users lower their air needs. "The Compressed Air Challenge is a voluntary collaboration of industrial users; manufacturers, distributors and their associations; consultants; state research and development agencies; energy efficiency organizations; and utilities. This group has one purpose in mind - helping you enjoy the benefits of improved performance of your compressed air system."
As far as the Worthington compressor- I think that Atlas Copco bought Worthington, so you may want to call them.
CompressorProfessor

http://www.compressoroils.com