Hi-line Industries, a manufacturer of compressed air purification equipment, says it’s introduced a cost-effective alternate solution to meet the ongoing demand for replacement compressed air filters. Rather than pay for OEM filters, the company offers a range of alternative elements, which can be used to provide an ‘upgrade’ on existing devices at a lower cost.
The company claims its alternative range of flow elements can cost circa 60-70% less than those available from compressor manufacturers. When considering there could be four elements on one system, the saving is potentially significant.
The alternative elements are designed to provide an exact match with the size and connection specifications of the originals. The company says its alternative elements at least match and sometimes exceed the performance of the original parts. For instance, it uses pleated filter media rather than wrapped as it reportedly offers four times the cross-sectional area of standard elements.
The larger cross-sectional area provides advantages, including lower pressure drop, which in turn saves energy as the compressor does not have to work as hard to force air through the filter. Further benefits include higher contamination-holding capacity, longer service life and greater flow characteristics, Hi-line says.
The alternative filter elements can be used with the original housing, however the company can also supply its own die-cast aluminium filter housings, which are subject to alu-chrome treatment on both external and internal surfaces, and finished (externally) with a tough epoxy baked-on paint in compressed air blue (RAL 5015). These treatments are aimed to provide long-term protection, even when subject to the harshest of conditions.