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Are you familiar with air compressor lubricant TAN, or Total Acid Number? TAN is a measure of the acids in your air compressor lubricants. When a lubricant’s TAN reaches 2.0, it’s time to change it, otherwise the sulfuric acid in your oil can do serious damage to your compressor. Acid corrosion can lead to premature air/oil separator and filter blockages, bearing failure and other major maintenance headaches.

Understanding the differences between petroleum, semi-synthetic and full synthetic lubricants can help you make the best, most cost-efficient choices for your business. While petroleum-base mineral oils may seem less expensive on the front end, in the long run their use can cost you much more in downtime and labor associated with excessive lubricant changes and air compressor maintenance.

Component-level approach is often taken to improve a compressed air system, and it typically involves very specific, short-payback, and easily quantifiable measures (i.e. replacing an old compressor with a more efficient one). The Department of Energy and the Compressed Air Challenge, however, advocate a systems approach as the best practice for analyzing and improving a compressed air system.

Energy Saving Tips: Best Practices from the U.S. Department of Energy In the U.S. industrial sector, compressed air systems account for an estimated $5 billion per year in energy costs. Many industries use compressed air systems as power sources

Air compressor dealers would like you to believe that all replacement oil is low-quality “pirate” lubricant that will damage your machinery. That’s simply not true, and they know it. Just like any other product, high-quality doesn’t necessarily need to mean high-priced, and good lubricant is good lubricant, regardless of the name on the barrel.

What are the conditions inside your pipes, is it cloudy and hot with showers or cool and dry? Could there be snow and blowing snow and excessive icing conditions? Are there smog and dust storm conditions or is the air as fresh as a mountain breeze. All these conditions are commonly experienced inside compressed air systems. What you get is determined by your selection of system equipment, ambient conditions and how well your system is maintained.