Water in Pneumatic lines.

Little Jonny · January 24th, 2009, 11:25 PM

One of our guys discovered water coming out of a thermostat. Checked a few more on that floor and all of them had water. Throw something at me. In need of all the help I can get. This is serious.

iOperate · January 24th, 2009, 11:31 PM

Jonny, this is serious stuff. Could cost you tens of thousands to fix and heads may roll. Is there water in the actuators too? How far has the water gone in relation to where the compressor is?

sparky · January 24th, 2009, 11:34 PM

you might have condensation in your air lines

TheSuper · January 24th, 2009, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little Jonny

One of our guys discovered water coming out of a thermostat. Checked a few more on that floor and all of them had water. Throw something at me. In need of all the help I can get. This is serious.

Is it manual bleed or auto bleed? Auto blow down cannot be trusted. Is your cooler working? What changed with your system in the last 6-8 months? This should not be happening duing winter.

143 · January 26th, 2009, 11:18 AM

Check your air drier unit (refrigeration unit), is it functioning well. A working unit does'nt necessarily mean it's working well. Is the bleed solenoid functioning well. How often does the system bleeds? When was the last time the system was checked and found free of water in the lines?

Colin J · January 26th, 2009, 12:36 PM

In pneumatic system the media (Air) must be dry and oil free. This is why a dryer (refrigeration unit) and Oil seperator are incorperated between the compressor and the tank. I have seen automatic blow down, manual and even a old steam trap installed in the bottom of the tank to drain out the water. The TANK should be blown down each shift, depending on the outside humidity.

Once I found an air line connected from the bottom of a main air supply line, instead of from the top and all the moisture that was in the line drained into this brance causing major problems. If moisture accumilated in the line, the slope of the main line should be away from the branch lines and a drain valve available at the lowest point.

If the main or branch air line goes through a cold area the moisture in the air line could condensate inside the line and cause water problems down stream (branch line).

Check out these Site for Pneumatic Air soultions.

NECC Delivers - johnson controls, hvac training, honeywell thermostat

Air/Oil Separators

Colin J

143 · January 26th, 2009, 12:40 PM

I agree with Colin.

Little Jonny · February 16th, 2009, 05:32 PM

Here's the beef.

When the original air dryer failed, the service provider (Big name in the industry) replaced it with a unit of lesser capacity so it could not effectively dry the air. The unit was recently replaced with a larger unit and monitoring is in progress. Thanks to you all for pitching in. You guys rock.

January 24th, 2009, 11:25 PM	#1
Little Jonny Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada. Gender: Male Posts: 137	Water in Pneumatic lines. One of our guys discovered water coming out of a thermostat. Checked a few more on that floor and all of them had water. Throw something at me. In need of all the help I can get. This is serious.

January 24th, 2009, 11:31 PM	#2
iOperate Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: 3rd Rock From The Sun Gender: Male Posts: 101	Jonny, this is serious stuff. Could cost you tens of thousands to fix and heads may roll. Is there water in the actuators too? How far has the water gone in relation to where the compressor is?

January 24th, 2009, 11:34 PM	#3
sparky Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: toronto Gender: male Posts: 123	you might have condensation in your air lines

January 26th, 2009, 11:18 AM	#5
143 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 43	Check your air drier unit (refrigeration unit), is it functioning well. A working unit does'nt necessarily mean it's working well. Is the bleed solenoid functioning well. How often does the system bleeds? When was the last time the system was checked and found free of water in the lines?

January 26th, 2009, 12:36 PM	#6
Colin J Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 6	In pneumatic system the media (Air) must be dry and oil free. This is why a dryer (refrigeration unit) and Oil seperator are incorperated between the compressor and the tank. I have seen automatic blow down, manual and even a old steam trap installed in the bottom of the tank to drain out the water. The TANK should be blown down each shift, depending on the outside humidity. Once I found an air line connected from the bottom of a main air supply line, instead of from the top and all the moisture that was in the line drained into this brance causing major problems. If moisture accumilated in the line, the slope of the main line should be away from the branch lines and a drain valve available at the lowest point. If the main or branch air line goes through a cold area the moisture in the air line could condensate inside the line and cause water problems down stream (branch line). Check out these Site for Pneumatic Air soultions. NECC Delivers - johnson controls, hvac training, honeywell thermostat Air/Oil Separators Colin J

January 26th, 2009, 12:40 PM	#7
143 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 43	I agree with Colin.

February 16th, 2009, 05:32 PM	#8
Little Jonny Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada. Gender: Male Posts: 137	Here's the beef. When the original air dryer failed, the service provider (Big name in the industry) replaced it with a unit of lesser capacity so it could not effectively dry the air. The unit was recently replaced with a larger unit and monitoring is in progress. Thanks to you all for pitching in. You guys rock.

Water in Pneumatic lines.

Electrical, Mechanical and Control Systems