Long-term non-drainage of air compressors has the potential risk of causing an explosion, but it is not a direct and inevitable explosion, and the risk is gradually accumulated.
Core path of indirectly induced explosion
Long-term non-drainage will allow condensed water to be mixed with lubricating oil, resulting in oil emulsification failure, lubrication effect is greatly reduced, equipment operating temperature is abnormally soaring, and internal carbon deposition is accelerated. Carbon deposits are very easy to spontaneously ignite in high temperature environment, and then ignite the combustible mixture of oil mist in the system, and finally cause explosion; at the same time, the water will rust the inner wall of the gas storage tank, resulting in the thinning of the tank wall, the pressure bearing capacity is greatly reduced, and physical explosion may also occur under overpressure conditions.
Other Overlay Risks
The accumulation of water will also cause problems such as short circuit of electrical control cabinet and abnormal fluctuation of system pressure, which will further enlarge the potential safety hazard of equipment and increase the probability of explosion accidents.
Here is a list of the safe drainage operation frequency and daily inspection of the air compressor that can be directly implemented on the ground. Novice can also apply it directly:
1. sub-scene drainage operation frequency
| Working condition | Recommended drainage frequency | Operation Points |
| High load continuous operation (daily full load operation 8 hours or more) | Every 4 hours manual drainage 1 times, daily shutdown after the whole system thorough drainage | Cover the gas storage tank, oil and gas separation barrel, filter, pipeline low point 4 core drainage points |
| South high humidity/plum rainy season, high temperature environment | Daily drainage at least 2 times, rainy weather encryption to every 8 hours 1 times | Drainage check valve closed, avoid cold air back |
| Winter low temperature environment | Each shift several times drainage, drainage after confirmation no residual water | Prevent pipelines and valves from stagnant water, freezing and blocking |
| Low load intermittent operation (daily operation time less than 2 hours) | Every 5-10 days drainage 1 times | Before running, manually press the automatic drain valve to test the patency |
2. Daily Inspection Safety Checklist
Check before starting
Confirm that the lubricating oil level is between the upper and lower limits of the oil mirror, and there is no emulsification and whitening; check that the drain valves are free of blockage and rust, and drain the residual water in the pipeline in advance.
In-operation inspection
Make an inspection every hour, record the exhaust pressure and exhaust temperature, monitor whether the equipment has abnormal metal friction and abnormal sound, and confirm that the safety valve can be triggered flexibly.
End after shutdown
The whole system shall drain condensed water, clean the dust and oil stains on the surface of the machine body and the radiator, confirm that the emergency stop button functions normally, and record the current water discharge synchronously. If the water discharge increases suddenly, the hidden danger of sealing failure shall be checked in time.
Automatic Drainer Maintenance
Manually test the drainage action of the automatic drain valve once a month to clean up the impurities in the filter screen to avoid the blockage of the sensor and cause the drainage failure.
