compressed air receivers... can someone identify avantages

[iSign]

does anyone here use compressed air receivers?
I found a deal on one or two 120 gal Manchester receiver tanks in great shape.

My 80 gallon take kicks on often when I use the air for our Multicam, which is somewhat noisy, and conributes to the heightened electric bill. It also kicks on to replace small amonts of air used to blow dust off parts etc.

I'm not familiar with compressed air receivers, but it seems that they serve a purpose of adding volume to the system, and can be plumbed to where they reduce the running time of the motor. I've tried to do some research because this deal may not be available for long, but I'm not finding a lot of concise information.

It seems that the extra volume of air would help if I used so much, that I had to sit idle waiting to build up more air, but that's not my situation. It still has me curious if it also reduces cost and wear on the compressor, but since it kicks on when a little air is used, rather than when all the air is used... why wouldn't it still kick on when the same little bit is used... unless it was plumbed in such a way that the compressor doesn't know that air is being used until the receiver tank was empty... but that would mean the pressure would drop, which is not good at all.

maybe it has no value to my system, although a lot of the websites I found info on, said it is a must for all systems... but failed to explain why. None of the CNC people I've spoken with have mentioned them, so they can't be real crucial... but at 10 cents on the dollar, I still want to find out if it might be a wise investment for me.

 

[Steve G.]

In my opinion, It wouldn't help your situation Doug. Sure it would add volume and take longer initially to kick on you compressor, but after that, it'll run the same as it does now. It won't reduce the run time, just increase the storage, and pro long the time before the first run. After you initially use the xtra stored air, It'll run to generate how much air you use regardless. With the switch being a pressure switch, it'll take longer to kick on, but run longer to fill back up, essentially running the same amount, or more.
I beleive the recievers are mainly for when you use a lot of air quick, but not frequent.

You could adjust your pressure switch differential to start at a lower pressure... if it starts too soon and you never run out of air.

If you have a conventional (oil) compressor, i wouldn't worry about the use.. these things run for a very long time. the Normal 5-7 hp 80 gallon single stage compressor can take a beating for years. I used one of those for automtive painting and sanding.. it would run constantly and it lasted over 15 years with one rebuild.

Find a new place for it, where you won't hear it... even outside, build a dog house around it get a good moisture trap and let it run and run.

steve

 

[GB2]

What you are trying to accomplish sounds almost like a cascade system, which is the high pressure air system typically used for refilling high pressure air cylinders such as scuba tanks. I'm not specifically familiar with air receivers but my first quick search turned up this site that you've probably seen but seems fairly informative and concise:

http://www.ecompressedair.com/library/airreceivers.shtml

 

[GB2]

After looking a bit further I found lots of information on the www. but I'm not going to put a laundry list here, I'm sure you have or could do that yourself. What kind of compressor did you finally get, 80 gallon tank but is it a single stage or a two stage? I can't imagine that you really need a receiver tank, those seem to be designed for use with much larger systems. I can't imagine that your router alone is consuming so much air that it is causing concern. I'd like to get a new compressor for my router and I'm looking at this:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/1WF59

I think that is probably very similar to yours, right? 80 gallon, two stage, 15 cfm, which should be more than adequate. What is the cfm requirement for your router?

Another air use consideration might be that plasma cutter but those are down about 6 cfm so again your compressor should be more than enough if it is like this one.

 

[iSign]

Thanks guys.
That explains it better than I had understood, and I let the guy know I would pass on it. My 7.5 HP 80 Gal. compressor is more then adequate for what I'm currently doing with it, but at a price less than freight alone would cost if I grew to needing one in the future, I thought I should at least educate myself on how great the chances were that I would need one in the future. At this point, I don't consider it that likely, thanks to the help I got here.