How to Prevent Your Air Compressor Overheating

Heatwaves are amazing but also terrible at the same time. We’re scheduled to have another in August and we don’t know whether to be excited for the sun and heat or worried about the struggles of sleeping again!

When a heatwave hits you’ve got to make sure to look after yourself, keeping hydrated, wearing sun cream and avoiding too much time in direct sunlight. The good news is you have time to prepare, pop out and buy that fan and fill the freezer with ice lollies!

While you prepare yourself make sure you also prepare your Air Compressor to ensure it doesn’t overheat. The earlier you start preparations the better, nothing is worse than your air compressor overheating and production disrupted.

Thankfully there are preventative measures that you can take to avoid this happening:

When was your Air Compressor last serviced? – Just like a car is due to be serviced after so many miles, an air compressor should be serviced after so many hours of use. Make sure to check 

when your last service was and get booked in to ensure your system is primed and ready for the heatwave!

Check the ventilation – Ensure that the area around the compressor is clear and nothing is near the vents. If your compressor is in a separate room, ensure that it has adequate ventilation. If not, then check if fans are required to assist in circulating cool air and the removal of hot air. Air compressors like to work in a cool environment, so if it’s too hot for you in there then it’s too hot for them. We can visit and offer advice on ventilating the room.

Clean the coolers – Dust and debris can end up coating the coolers, so give them a good clean. Some coolers may require further pressure washing to remove the dust and debris.

Check the oil levels – Oil acts to cool, seal and lubricate, so ensure that your levels of oil are correct. If temperatures are too high oil will start to deteriorate prematurely.

Do you have a backup? – If you have a backup air compressor it may be a good idea to run it alongside your main one to relieve some of the pressure. If push comes to shove and your air compressor stops you have the backup to keep production moving. What happens if you don’t have a backup? We offer a 24/7 Breakdown service so we can come and look at the issue but you’ll have to wait until an engineer can reach to and sort the problem before production can start up again. Talk to us about standby / additional compressors.

Most importantly it’s vital to ensure to keep on top of services, as postponing the plan for regular service of the compressor installation can result in shorter component lifetime and increased 

energy consumption along with unplanned production downtime costing your business money.

Regular maintenance of your compressed air equipment & ancillaries protects your investment and minimises your operational costs.

Why not ask us about ‘SMARTLINK’, this allows us to remotely monitor your compressors trending performance and operating conditions, which can alleviate the risk of breakdown.

For help or assistance with any of the above please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Tel:  0151 546 6689
Email: sales@precisionpneumatics.co.uk