Which compressor to choose for your business

Compressors, that’s not something new, are not all similar. Just take a look at the products that Riem Italy produces and refurbishes to understand how vast this branch is and how the most suitable compressor should be chosen for each specific situation. Oil Free or Lubricated Compressors? Which one to choose? 

To answer this question, the first thing to take into consideration is for which process and which application the compressed air is intended. In fact, before making a choice, it is necessary to understand the needs and conditions of the system where the compressor will work. For example, in some cases, oil contamination is considered harmful and that’s why an oil-free compressor must be chosen. Let’s check all the specific cases: 

When to choose a lubricated compressor 

Compressors are used by most of the small industrial workshops except for the industries that deal with food production, for which obviously oil leakages could generate contamination issues. But what is compressor oil for? The role that it assumes is rather obvious, especially if we think of the word “lubricated”, in fact oil is ultimately necessary for lubrication and for sealing the compressor, as well as for cooling the compressed air. This particular type of compressor is widely used due to its lower cost compared to an oil-free compressor and can in any case guarantee optimal absence of oil particles. For example, it is possible to use coalescing filters, products that are useful for cleaning compressed air, and activated carbon filters can be added after that to obtain a Class 1 air purity. 

Look at the products relating to Riem Italy lubricated compressors: Machine maintenance lubricated refurbishment of piston machines 

When to choose an Oil Free compressor

As already mentioned, oil-free compressors are mostly used when there are particular requirements; i.e. when oil leaks, typical of lubricated compressors, can create problems of different types both for products and people. Oil Free compressors are therefore ideal for food industries, pharmaceutical industries, or industries that produce paper and semiconductors. 

Each of these compressors is labeled with tags that may look similar but are not: “Class 0” and “technically oil-free”. These two tags reveal the level of purity of the air following compression and follow the principles issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The air purity classes identified by ISO are 5: each is quantified by measuring the number of particles per cubic meter. Class 0 indicates the total absence of oil in the compressed air, therefore it guarantees that it is 100% oil-free and should be preferred to “technically oil-free” exactly because it meets more rigorous and absolute quality requirements. 

Discover the products related to Riem Italy oil-free compressors: Oil Free Machine Maintenance Kit