Leak Detection for Air Compressors

You rely on your air compressor, and, day-in, day-out, it provides the compressed air you need to power equipment, generate gasses, or run processes. One of the reasons the air compressor is so ubiquitous in industry is its steadfast reliability. However, almost every air compressor is having to work a bit harder than it needs — and possibly costing a lot more than it should — due to air leaks.

Leaks in compressed air systems are inevitable and will often go unnoticed by the human ear. But each one will have an impact, reducing pressure and performance, making regular leak detection critical.

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Why leak detection is critical for your business

Although you might not have noticed leaks, or those that you have noticed may seem small, their impact quickly mounts.

  • Increased wastage: Air leakage means your compressor has to do some work for nothing, the compressed air that escapes through the leak is lost, and the compressor has to work harder to power everything else.
  • Higher costs: Air compressors are generally very efficient, and with measures like heat recovery can offer exceptional value for the energy they use, but the more leaks you have, the higher your costs will be.
  • Lost productivity: Leaks can impact on your processes and productivity, for example, you might experience pressure loss on the equipment furthest from the compressor. And because this might fluctuate, it can be difficult to manage.
  • Reductions in service life: The need for your compressor to work harder and the unnecessary cycling this involves will have an impact on its service life, make you spend more on maintenance and get less value from your equipment.

What causes leaks?

Leaks are a fact of life for compressed air systems, and even the best installed pipework will, in time, have leaks which can be caused by several things:

  • Vibration: A common cause of leaks is vibration. Over time, this increases wear and tear at joins, allowing leaks to develop.
  • Corrosion: Corrosion can affect systems. Again, areas like valves and joints are particularly susceptible.
  • Material failures: Even high-quality materials can sometimes fail, especially when installed in demanding environments.
  • Oversights: Human error is always possible, and things like not opening or closing values, or mismanaging pressure, can all put strain on a system that can develop into leaks.
  • Accidental damage: It’s impossible to prevent pipework from the occasional knock. While these will usually make no difference, they can sometimes create leaks at the accident site, or even further along if they dislodge a join.
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How we detect leaks

Many assume that leaks are obvious, but, in fact, most are all but invisible to the human eye and ear. Even in sites we know are impeccably maintained, we expect to find at least 20-40 leaks in a regular check.

We will use an ultrasonic air leak detector to complete a thorough audit of your compressed air system. This helps us pinpoint every single leak. And the equipment means that, even though humans could never hear the leaks, we can conduct compressed air leak detection even with background noise, so there's no impact on your operations.

What we report

We provide a thorough survey report detailing every leak we find. This will not just provide an identifier and photo of each leak, so you know exactly where it is, it also estimates the cost implications. This means that, once the survey is complete, you can prioritise repairs and will know exactly how much you are saving.

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The benefits of a leak detection survey

Using Anglian Compressors for your leak detection offers you many benefits.

  • A thorough survey: Using compressed air experts, like Anglian Compressors, means that you can be assured of a comprehensive and systematic survey of compressed air leaks in your system and one that does not disrupt your processes.
  • Immediate savings: Even the smallest leak costs you money. Our report will help you identify the costliest leaks, so you can prioritise repairs and start saving straight away.
  • Improved efficiency: Repairing leaks ensures that your system works at its peak efficiency, without risking power loss or pressure fluctuations that can impact productivity.
  • Extending the life of your equipment: By removing and fixing leaks, and optimising your system, you help reduce the wear and tear caused by it having to work harder.
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Book a leak detection survey

We offer a comprehensive leak detection survey for an all-in-one fee. And as many of our customers will attest, a regular survey often pays for itself quickly, saving them the time-consuming task of air leak detection, and allowing the prompt repair of leaks that would have gone undetected, but proven costly otherwise.

Contact us today, and we can take you through our process and give you details of how quickly we can start saving your money.

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