Glaston’s top 5 tips to protect your compressor during the Festive Season!

Is your factory closing down over the Christmas and New Year break? This is often the only time of the year that many factories stop production completely and shut up shop. Unfortunately, this time period coincides with some of the coldest weather of the year. Many industrial compressors have run all year at +70 degrees, so when they are shut down and cool to close to freezing this can give rise to condensation problems with the electrics and motors.

Can you store an air compressor in the cold?

Shutting your equipment down for a Christmas break is sometimes unavoidable, but there are ways to safely maintain your machinery while you are away. At Glaston, we offer bespoke air compressor maintenance advice to help shutdown your cooling water system, or air compressors in the correct manner ensuring they are reliable on restart.

Glaston’s top 5 tips for air compressor maintenance

1. Shut your equipment down correctly

Make sure you shut the compressor down in accordance with the instruction book for the particular piece of equipment. This will ensure that the unit is stopped in the correct manner – don’t be tempted to shutdown using the emergency stop unless there is an actual emergency. Emergency stopping causes the compressor to stop whichever mode it is in and this isn’t good practice as it causes undue stress. By stopping via the emergency stop also means that you / or another have to reset it when starting up again.

2. Keep the temperature above 5 degrees when possible

If possible, block any vents into the compressor room to help keep the compressor room above +5 Degrees – if you have risk of the room falling below zero then we would strongly recommend additional room heating for frost protection.

3. Treat your water with antifreeze

If you are operating water cooled compressors make sure your water is correctly treated with antifreeze. If not and the temperature drops, as with any water supply, it will cause damage to the compressor and the cooling water system itself which isn’t easily repaired and can be very costly.

4. Drain all air receivers

Drain all air receivers to make sure there is no condensate left to sit and freeze in cold weather.

5. Release air slowly when restarting your equipment

When re-starting a compressor after the break, release the air to the factory slowly and in a controlled manner as rapidly refilling the system could damage your system, the compressor and its ancillary equipment.

So don’t get your tinsel in a tangle this Christmas! If you are interested in Glaston’s bespoke expert advice, call 01695 51010 to speak to one of Glaston’s experienced engineers today, or visit our contact page. We can also help you find the most suitable nitrogen generation equipment and vacuum blowers for your business.