Performance
Air Engineering High Performance Parts vs. Compressor Manufacturer's HIGH PRICED Parts
Recently, a challenge was made. A customer in the die casting business had been successfully using Air Engineering® High Performance parts for several years. When the local compressor dealer discovered that Air Engineering® High Performance Parts were being used instead of parts from the compressor manufacturer, the dealer became angry. The dealer's representative then asked why the customer had decided to use Air Engineering® High Performance Parts rather the parts from the compressor manufacturer. The customer informed the compressor dealer that Air Engineering® supplies the parts at a cost savings of 25% to 35%.
Then the compressor dealer said that he could prove that parts from the compressor manufacturer would perform more efficiently than Air Engineering® parts. So much more efficiently that any cost savings provided by Air Engineering® would be more than offset by the energy savings that would be realized when using the original manufacturer's parts. The customer, a smart and savvy businessperson, asked the compressor dealer to prove that claim. Thus, the challenge was made.
In order to attempt to prove his point, the representative from the compressor dealer, with the help of people from the manufacturers headquarters, designed a series of tests that would determine which brand of compressor replacement parts would perform at the highest level and the most efficiently.
The series of tests consisted of the following:
- Differential pressure at the air/oil separator
- Oil carry-over at the air/oil separator
- Oil filter differential pressure
- Discharge temperature
- Discharge pressure
- Electrical Amp draw needed to operate the compressor
In order to conduct the most accurate side-by-side test, the customer selected two identical 250 H.P. compressors. The test compressors were literally next to one another. Compressor A and Compressor B. These compressors operate 3 shifts a day, 6 days a week in a manufacturing environment.
The following service was performed on both compressors immediately before the performance evaluation was conducted: lubricant, lubricant filter and strainer, inlet air filter and air/oil separator element. Compressor A was serviced using all high-price compressor manufacturer parts from the compressor manufacturer's local dealer. Compressor B was serviced using High Performance Parts from Air Engineering®. Only the customer knew which parts went into which compressor. Air Engineering® and the compressor manufacturer's local dealer were not aware of which compressor had which brand parts installed.
After the parts were installed into both compressors, they were started simultaneously. The following performance measurements were collected after 2,000 hours of operation and again after 4,000 hours of operation.