You wouldn’t think that one of the most time consuming tasks of setting up our warehouse was getting the ‘air’ right. By air we mean the high pressure air required to be compressed, stored and then distributed through the airline to all of our tools.

The first phase in getting the air setup was working out what type and size of compressor to purchase. It’s surprising the variety of options available and it’s not just their capacity that varies. Firstly you need to decide if you want a 3 phase electric motor or a normal electric motor. We had already decided to get as many electrical appliances in 3 phase power as possible so this was already decided for us. Next we needed to work out the storage capacity of the cylinder. This was a bit of a stab in the dark and we decided to go for a 200 litre cylinder. Last we needed to select the engine power and output pressure. Again we weren’t 100% sure and was guided by some of the other businesses in our warehouse complex. They proved helpful and provided some great advice.

The second phase was to plan out the locations and number of air outlets we needed. Here we needed to consider both current and future needs and decided on four outlets. Next we had to decide on the type of air outlets and their various uses. The air we needed to operate hydraulic clamps and a clinching machine needed to be, pressure regulated, moisture filtered and then have oil added. Normal high pressure air used for blowing and cleaning only needed the water separator. Each of these requirements effected the type and location of the outlets. We decided on one outlet with a water seperate with the other three outlets having both the water separator and oil regulator.

The last phase was then to find a contractor to provide the component parts and install the airlines to our specifications. It was surprisingly difficult to find a competent contractor. Even after receiving a quote for the job, the contractor conveniently left off a number of required accessories that were then included in the final bill. You could only imagine how frustrated we were at this blatant misrepresentation.

Overall, we now have a working high pressure air system throughout the warehouse. It was a long journey to setup what we thought was a simple requirement but at least it’s all done and operational.