Strategic Planning for Your Air Compressor’s Maintenance Budget

The following is an excerpt from the article Consider Your Air Compressor’s Maintenance Budget featuring Trey Ragsdale, CTS product marketing manager, Atlas Copco Compressors. The full version can be read online or in the October issue of Maintenance Technology.

Large capital purchases, such as compressors, require careful planning and financial forecasting. After the initial cost, many organizations still have to pay down interest and principle. While they typically include those line items in their budgets, they often forget to factor in another crucial cost: annual maintenance. According to Atlas Copco’s Trey Ragsdale, while maintenance only composes about 5% to 10% of annual compressor-related expenditures, those costs can increase exponentially if maintenance is forgotten or deferred, causing unexpected and expensive downtime.

Compared with the overall life-cycle cost of compressor ownership, maintenance expenditures are minimal. A sound maintenance budget will help ensure they stay that way. To develop an accurate picture of these costs, Ragsdale, who’s with the company’s Compressor Technique Service (CTS) division in Rock Hill, SC, says it’s important for end users to pay attention to these seven aspects of their compressor systems:

Type of compressor

The type of compressor(s) you run can greatly affect service costs. For instance, oil-lubricated compressors have more oil to change than oil-free compressors, thus increasing the cost of service.

Installation conditions

Equipment installed in severe-duty applications may require more-frequent service. If your compressor is housed in a hot, humid, or dusty area, take that fact into account when planning your maintenance budget.

Keep Reading…

You can read the full article on developing an air compressor maintenance budget in the October issue of Maintenance Technology. Contact an Atlas Copco expert to start creating an air compressor maintenance budget for your facility.