Compressed air leaks are like little holes in your wallet, slowly draining your hard-earned money. Although common in compressed air systems, these leaks often go unnoticed in industrial environments. This translates into significant financial losses, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of euros per year. The good news is that detecting and remedying these leaks can be easy, straightforward, and cost-effective.

By following a systematic step-by-step plan, you can easily identify and repair compressed air leaks, saving up to 30% of your compressed air installation’s total energy consumption.

The cost of repairing air leaks can even be fully recouped within a few days or months, after which the financial savings can be enjoyed for a long time. Imagine what you could do with the extra money in your budget.

Don’t let compressed air leaks continue to bleed your wallet dry. Stay alert, fix any compressed air leaks as soon as possible and avoid unnecessary financial losses. With proper monitoring and maintenance, you can keep your compressed air installation running smoothly and efficiently, while saving money and resources for your company.

Observe downtime consumption

    If a factory is not in operation 24 hours a day and, for example, is closed over the weekend, in theory no compressed air is used during that time. This is a good time to take a look at the compressor room. If the compressors continue to run frequently over the weekend, it can be assumed that there are serious leaks in the factory that cost the company a lot of money.

    Quantify compressed air leaks with a purge test

    To quickly get a first impression of the degree of leakage, a so-called purge test can be performed. To do this, the factory must be stopped and the compressed air system pressurized. After switching off the compressor, the time it takes for the compressed air system to drop, for example, 29 PSI is measured. The faster the pressure drop, the larger and/or more numerous the leaks will be.

    It is difficult to imagine a better starting shot for tackling leaks.

    Identify individual leaks

    Compressed air leaks can occur anywhere in the factory. They are caused by broken couplings and seals, damaged pipe connection threads, cracked or broken hoses, incorrectly selected and/or installed parts or rusty pipes. But leaks also occur due to normal wear and tear. For example, at the shaft and piston seals of pneumatic cylinders and at commonly used couplings. They always have one thing in common: they make noise. Sometimes a clear hissing sound is heard, but the sound can also be beyond the human hearing range. In that case, the solution is to use ultrasonic leak detectors and directional microphones. This makes it possible to immediately detect both the size and the exact location of compressed air leaks. By identifying and classifying leaks based on their nature and size, it is possible to prioritize the most costly leaks and those that are easiest to repair.