Common Causes of Blower Failure

The most common causes of blower failure are very easy to avoid. During my years of providing technical assistance to Republic clients, we most commonly run into either one of two issues that lead to failure: (1) Poor Filter Maintenance, or (2)Ineffective Relief Valve Setup.

POOR FILTER MAINTENANCE

These blowers, as with most airflow technologies, are air cooled machines.  They must keep a steady stream of air moving through them to dissipate the heat that is generated through compression.  When filters are not changed often enough, they can become clogged and eventually reduce the airflow enough that the delta T exceeds the blower’s ability to get rid of that heat and the temperature slowly rises until it reaches a critical point of failure.

Maintenance Recommendations

Filters should be changed as needed to maintain a differential pressure of less than 10" of water pressure differential. The dial on your filter change gauge should be in the green zone. Typical change intervals are between every two weeks and 90 days, depending on contamination levels in your plant. For more consultation, contact Republic.

INEFFECTIVE RELIEF VALVE SETUP 

The function of a relief valve, is to provide a pathway for air to exit the air system when a certain pressure is reached.  If there is any question as to whether you should opt for a relief valve when purchasing a blower, we recommend doing so and  to have a trained technician set it up.

When relief valves are not set properly, it means that they are set to activate at a higher pressure or vacuum level than the blower is even capable of producing, which does not protect the blower at all.  Should the downstream airflow become blocked or “dead headed” then the blower will attempt to overcome that blockage thereby spiking it’s pressure levels, potentially above its maximum.  The relief valve should activate at this point, letting air escape the system without overloading the blower.

If you think you have an improperly set relief valve you can contact Republic for consultation, maintenance and replacements.

Written by: Ben Millican