Air boosters take pre-compressed air from an existing plant air system or from a low-pressure compressor and increase it to the required higher pressure. An oil free air booster is a specially designed reciprocating compressor that accepts elevated inlet pressures, usually below 150 psig, and boosts that pressure up as far as 1500 psig.
When & where is it applied?
When plant pressure isn’t enough, an air booster is often the best solution. Standard compressed air systems in industrial facilities are typically designed for pressures of 80 to 130 psig. When higher pressures are required it is very effective to use a portion of your plant air and apply an air booster to obtain the desired higher pressure.
Other methods of acquiring higher pressure air such as stand-alone air compressors, air amplifiers and increasing the pressure of the entire plant are more costly and less efficient. It simply takes more power to start from a standstill, while an air booster gets a running start because it receives pre-compressed air.
How does it work?
Think of an air booster as a second or third stage to your existing air compressor. An air booster connects into your plant air system via a receiver tank, piping and discharge tank. These tanks are used to dampen pulsation created by the reciprocating movement of the booster and provide a small amount of storage capacity.
Our angle cut design allows for flexing of the ring end to seal the gap better than butt cut designs, while retaining its strength vs. step cut designs. In smaller cylinders where gap leakage becomes significant, we use a 2-piece ‘L’ style design that removes the end gap by using an inner and outer ring for sealing.
Why choose an Air Booster?
Cost – When combined with your plant air, an air booster pays for itself in short order. Because an air booster starts with an elevated inlet pressure, you are using a smaller machine to meet your requirements.
Air boosters use less horsepower and still provide higher pressures. It takes more power to begin compression from ambient air. For example: when you are compressing ambient air from 0 psig to 600 psig the compression ratio is 41.8:1; however, when compressing air from 100 psig to 600 psig the compression ratio is only 5.4:1. A smaller compression ratio equates to smaller equipment, which makes your system less expensive to purchase, install, operate and maintain.
Bottom Line: When your plant air pressure isn’t enough, an air booster is the most efficient and cost effective choice for worry-free and oil-free continuous duty high pressure air.