The advantages of Sollant Air Compressor Oil Filter.

Do you want to protect your air compressor and save money on expensive maintenance and repair costs? Then one of the things you need to is to ensure that you have the right air compressor oil filter. Compressor oil filters are often found on bigger air compressors, for instance, the oil-injected rotary screw air compressors.

As the name goes, compressor oil filters are used to remove any kind of dirt found in air compressor oil. In other words, they are essential in protecting the air compressor from damage caused by any sort of dirt or particulates.

Dust and other dirt particulates damage the filter element, bearings, and also clog the oil-separator. If this is not prevented in the right way, the air compressor may start experiencing complications.

Typically, an air compressor oil filter looks like an open can on one end. If the filter is opened, you will see paper filter elements, which are folded in a harmonica way to increase the surface area for the maximum flow of compressed air through the filter.

However, you should take caution when looking for the right air compressor oil filter. Not all of them are the same, and not all of them may be perfect for your compressed air system.

What you need to know about air compressor oil filters

Well, not all air compressor oil filters are the same, and you need to know how to identify an authentic one. The best way is to understand some basics of air compressor oil filter. Here is something to get you started.

Bypass-valve

The purpose of the compressor oil is to cool down the air compressor element and compressed air. If for some reason, the flow of oil is hindered or stops altogether, the compressor elements heat up very quickly and are damaged if the situation is not handled accordingly. The right compressor oil filter comes with a bypass valve.

When the air compressor experiences massive pressure difference, the bypass valve opens to allow the flow of oil without passing through the oil filter. This situation happens when the oil filter becomes too dirty or when the oil is very cold. And why is this so?

It is okay to supply dirty oil to the air compressor than there not being oil at all. Some air compressor oil filters get clogged up very quickly, especially if they do not have a bypass valve or when the bypass valve is not functioning optimally.

 

 

Buying air compressor oil filters

You need to be very careful when buying a new air compressor oil filter. And the first thing is to ensure that it has a bypass valve.

Accordingly, automotive oil filters may have the same appearance and external design. However, they do not withstand the high temperatures of a synthetic air compressor oil.

Oil-free compressors with oil filter

Oil filters can be found as inbuilt components in oil-free rotary screw air compressors. Do you know why? Although air is compressed in the absence of oil, the gearbox, which holds the compressor elements and motor, contains some gearbox oil that should be filtered.

A small reciprocating air compressor does not have oil filters because lubrication of the internal compressor parts is done by the splashing of the crankshaft in the oil bath. In that case, there is no oil pump or filters.

The only maintenance in this situation is replacing the dirty oil with clean oil after some time.

The importance of air compressor oil filtration

The purpose of the compressor oil filter is to remove all impurities that would otherwise cause damage from oil without the separation of any special additive in the compressor oil. In both oil-free and oiled air compressors, the air compressor oil is used for the lubrication of compressor elements such as drive shaft bearings and gears.

Any dust or dirt particles in the oil will cause damage to the gear contact surfaces and the rollers of the compressor element bearings. If the bearings and the gears are damaged, they cause rotor contact, which results in reduced performance and life span of the air compressor.

If the damage on bearing rollers is not prevented at the right time, it may lead to cage-breakage and, ultimately, destruction of the air compressor element.

In an oil-injected screw, which has the compressor oil applied to create a sealing between the rotors and heat exchanger, the dust and particulates in the air compressor oil end up accumulating between the rotors and compressor element.

If not taken care of, it may lead to the destruction of the rotors and reduced performance of the air compressor. You need air compressor oil filters that are designed to handle the harshest running conditions of your air compressor.

Additionally, the quality of oil you use in your air compressor is equally essential to guarantee cooling and lubrication of the compressor elements.

• The extraction efficiency of the air compressor oil filter

The filter media and fineness depend on various factors. First, the size of particles that go through the oil filter and the extraction probability for various particle sizes influence how efficient the compressor oil filter is. Your compressor oil filter should come with an instruction manual that shows its efficiency based on the size of particles that it can allow going through.

If you consider any filter medium, you should understand that the possibility of oil filtration without increasing pressure drop depends on the surface area of the filter element. In that case, you need a filter element with the largest surface area.

You can determine this by the size of the oil filter. Additionally, the number and depth of the pleats (how the filter paper is rolled) can also help you determine the surface area and, therefore, the quality of the air compressor oil filter.

• Bypass valve

The oil used in an air compressor is mainly meant to absorb heat generated when air is compressed. In other words, the work of that oil is to cool down the system when the heat is generated.

If the air compressor oil filter is clogged, the temperature of the rotor goes up and may lead to the failure of the entire compressed air system. As said before, it is better to supply unfiltered oil than no oil at all because these compressor parts need cooling at all costs.

The function of the bypass valve is to ensure that there is sufficient lubrication by opening when absolute pressure is reached or when the filter element is clogged. If the air compressor is started when the oil is still cold, the unit will experience a pressure drop, and the bypass valve will open to allow unfiltered oil to pass to the compressor element.

The bypass valve must open at the right pressure because if it opens too soon, a high quantity of unfiltered oil will pass to the bearings and gears, and this may lead to premature wear. This problem is often rampant in the pirated compressor oil filter.

 

 

Pressure resistant housing

Since the air compressor oil filter has to withstand the unload pressure of the air compressor, it is essential that the housing also withstand the same pressure. The working pressure of your air compressor will always fluctuate between load and unload during its normal working cycle.

This situation can result in a temporary pressure over-load (or over-shoot), in which the air compressor oil filter needs to handle such temporary situations where the pressure is exceptionally high.

Unauthentic compressor oil filters will save you upfront money used in purchasing the filter, but you risk buying an air compressor filter that cannot withstand such pressure over-shoots, and this may lead to bursting.

You need an air compressor oil filter that is made of corrosion-resistant materials. In wet conditions, water is formed when air is compressed, and part of this water may find its way together with the compressor oil through the oil filter.

If your air compressor filter is made of noncorrosive resistant materials, it will corrode. If that happens, the flashpoint of the compressor oil is drastically reduced, and this can cause a fire.

When you decide to buy an air compressor oil filter, ensure that it has a specifically saturated filter paper that will offer perfect resistance to water and other liquids in the oil filter. The saturation protects the filter paper from any mechanical, thermal, and climatic harshness.

Additionally, you should ensure that the oil filter you go for has filter paper that is constructed in a way that the paper pleats offer a wide surface area and high resistance to prevent collapsing when exposed to varying pressure levels.

Some manufacturers make sure that their filter papers are designed with continuous and uniform pleats that guarantee full usage of the entire surface area of the filter paper.

High sealing quality

A unique rubber seal will ensure that the elements are tightly connected. If your oil filter is fitted with inferior rubber or gluing is done in the wrong way, you may experience temporary but frequent oil leaks, which may hinder the flow of compressor oil, causing overheating in the air compressor elements.

If you are not keen enough, you may see that all air compressor oil filters are similar. In most cases, it is challenging to make a visual differentiation from the outside appearance of the compressor oil filter. The materials used to make the oil filters and the design employed by various manufacturers determine the quality and performance of the compressor oil filter.

Therefore, the only way you can compare two oil filters to note their difference is by opening them or putting them under similar conditions to gauge their performance.

The best air compressor oil filters are specifically designed to work efficiently and withstand all compressor applications. This means that the filter paper has to be fully compatible with all compositions of the compressor oil, and the filter must be designed to withstand extreme pressure fluctuations.

Most unauthentic air compressor oil filters are regular oil filters that are used in automotive for engine oil filtration. The filter paper of such oil filters cannot withstand the chemical compositions of synthetic compressor oil at extreme operating temperatures and pressure.

If you want to determine whether an air compressor oil filter is authentic or not, look at the following elements:

• Lack of a bypass valve or if the bypass valve opens too quickly

In unauthentic oil filters, you will notice that the bypass valve opens up so fast before the specified pressure is reached. In other cases, the bypass valve will not be there altogether. Additionally, you can see that the filter pleats are not uniform, reducing the effective filtration surface area.

• Differences in mechanical construction

The unauthentic oil filter will have more filtering medium to offer the same filtration efficiency, and this results in a higher initial pressure drop. At the same time, you will notice that the free space between the filter housing and the filter paper is smaller.

Therefore, the flow of oil in this region is destructed, resulting in a higher pressure drop.

• Metal treatment

The metal housing of an unauthentic oil filter is often prone to corrosion when exposed to atmospheric air and wet conditions. On the other hand, authentic air compressor oil filters are made with durable corrosion-resistant housing.

Other signs of a pirated compressor oil filter include:

• Poor seal quality.
• Small filter paper length.

Final words

Every part and component of an air compressor is essential in the provision of quality compressed air. When it comes to lubrication, the filter elements, bearings, and gears, you have to make sure that the compressor oil used is in the best state. That is where an air compressor oil filter comes in.

Air compressor oil filters are essential in ensuring that compressor oil is rid of dust, dirt, and any other oil contaminant before it is passed through compressor elements. If your air compressor oil filter is not in optimal condition, your air compressor will also experience reduced performance.

Therefore, you have to ensure that you have an oil filter that matches the requirements and operations of your air compressor.