Gardner Denver aimed for energy efficiency and low whole-life costs with the CompAir L-series range. By David Fowler
What do customers want most from a compressor? Before designing the latest CompAir L-series oil-lubricated rotary screw range, Gardner Denver undertook a survey to ask what they thought was the most important attribute. The answer was cost – not the purchase price, but cost of ownership.
Gardner Denver business line director Colin Marder points out that over ten years the capital cost of a compressor amounts to only 8% of the total. “The real cost is the energy used,” he says. So with the new machines, available in 90, 110 and 132kW versions, it set out to design them for reduced energy consumption as well as maximum reliability.
Aiming to be best in class, it first spent another $300,000 buying machines from its competitors, stripping them down and testing them.
In 2016 it had invested €16m in its Simmern plant in Germany to create a global centre of excellence for air-end design. The company designs and manufactures its own air ends, optimised for the complete package.
The company aimed to design the most efficient air end profile for the 90-132kW range. The unit operates at a low rotational speed to minimise energy consumption. Oil filter and oil regulation valve are integrated, resulting in a more compact design with fewer external hoses, making possible a footprint of only 3.2m². The air-end is backed by a 10-year warranty.
Other design innovations include redesigned internal piping to minimise pressure losses, and the pressure drop has been reduced by 60%.
The range features a new Delcos XL SE touch screen controller with colour display. It features a home page giving an instant overview of the compressor status; trend diagrams; a fault history log; and auto-restart after a power failure. Profibus and Modbus communication, and Gardner Denver’s iConn remote condition monitoring are enabled. This alerts Gardner Denver engineers both to any developing fault and also when routine servicing is due.
Overall Gardner Denver says the new range offers efficiency improvements of up to 6% when compared with previous models, and a 7% higher flow rate, with potential energy savings put at €6000 annually.
The new compressors deliver flows of 5.1-24.5m³/min at pressures of 5-13 bar. Both air and water cooled versions are available. The range has been designed to provide excellent accessibility, contributing to low maintenance costs.
Further options and upgrades include an ultra-efficient IE4 motor, and regulated speed models to handle varying air demand, offering a further energy savings of up to 30%. Integrated heat recovery can recover up to 80% of energy consumed.
The new air end was already 3% more efficient than its predecessor, but this year it has been further improved by optimising the rotor profile, optimising castings and fixtures, minimising air gaps and using CNC machining of components to gain another 3.5% improvement.
This is to be launched in January in the new premium “e” range, which also features a new patented oil regulation valve, which automatically regulates oil injection and discharge temperature according to conditions, eliminates the risk of condensate and avoids corrosion, as well as maintaining oil quality.
www.gardnerdenver.com/en-gb/compair/oil-lubricated-air-compressors/90-132kw