A secondary air storage tank is an effective way to protect air compressor pumps against extremely high pressures, reports Fluid Power Journal.

Writing for the official publication of the International Fluid Power Society, Ron Marshall of Compressed Air Challenge outlines a solution that was presented at a recent CAC Fundamentals of Compressed Air Systems seminar.

He explains that many industries – such as agriculture, among others – use compressed air-powered dust filter cleaning, which can require high-flow, short-duration pulses.

In some systems, however, the high pressure involved can effectively rob nearby piping of compressed air, leading to fluctuations in pressure in the neighbouring region.

One solution is to install local storage receiver capacity – Mr Marshall suggests a 60-gallon tank – which can be slowly filled by the main air compressor pump.

When it is filled, this secondary storage can then discharge its full contents in one blast, providing the required pressure in a single blast, but without adversely affecting the main supply line.

“This is just one example of several ‘tricks of the trade’,” Mr Marshall writes, adding that CAC’s Fundamentals training focuses on this and many more such simple improvements for best practice in air compressor installation.