5th April, 2012 - Posted by genair_admin - No Comments
Sometimes an air compressor will turn on and off rapidly and unendingly, this is an occurrence known as short cycling. The good news is that it does not mean that your air compressor is broken or defective, however there is something going wrong that requires immediate attention so as not to permanently damage the air compressor on your dry pipe sprinkler system. The sections below describe how to resolve this problem for each of our compressor types. (more…)
1st February, 2012 - Posted by genair_admin - No Comments
Utilizing the RFP System’s Alarm Contacts
We are often asked about the availability of alarm contacts in our RFP systems as many fire protection contractors and home owners would like their system to provide a wide variety of alarms. Fortunately the engineering team behind the design of the RFP System had the forethought to provide several options regarding alarms: standard audible alarm, flow switch “dry contacts” alarm terminal, and a pump run “hot contact” terminal.
13th January, 2012 - Posted by genair_admin - No Comments
Wiring to the Pressure Switch of an Air Compressor
A problem General Air Products’ service representatives see on a regular basis is that of incorrect wiring at installation. Often times, out of habit, electricians or installers wire directly to the compressor motor. DO NOT WIRE DIRECTLY TO THE MOTOR. In a fire protection air compressor the pressure switch is the brain that tells the compressor when to turn on and turn off and the brain needs power.
If you bring power directly to the motor or if you wire to the pressure switch incorrectly (most commonly done by doubling up on the motor contacts instead of using the line contacts) the compressor will run continuously. Once the system is full the compressor will continue to run and the safety relief valve will start popping.
The video below speaks to these problems and aims to demonstrate the correct way to wire to a pressure switch. If you have any questions please feel free to comment below, email us or call one of our fire protection air compressor experts at 800-345-8207.
If you need information on adjusting a pressure switch on a General Air Products air compressor please click here. If you are looking for information on how to change the motor voltage on a General Air Products air compressor please visit our Wiring Guide page.
11th November, 2011 - Posted by genair_admin - 2 Comments
Standard Pressure Air Compressors
General Air Products’ air compressors have two standard or factory pressure settings, depending on the type of compressor you select for your dry pipe system:
1.) Oil Less Air Compressors: After the initial system pressurization or fill, our OL & OLT Series air compressors are factory set to turn ON when the dry pipe system reaches 27 lbs. of pressure or psi (pounds per square inch) and turn OFF at 40 psi. The standard OL Series compressors can be adjusted to accommodate 50 psi maximum and 15 psi minimum settings.
Essentially you can set our standard compressors to 37 psi ON and 50 psi OFF at the highest end and 15 psi on and 30 psi off at the lowest end. You can adjust the compressor for any pressure in between as well as long as the pressure switch differential (difference between ON and OFF pressures) is a minimum of 13 psi.
2.) Lubricated Air Compressors: After the initial system pressurization or fill, our L & LT Series air compressors are factory set to turn ON when system pressure reaches 30 psi and OFF when the air compressor has brought the system up to 40 psi (an AMD-2, air maintenance device with pressure switch must be used to operate all L series air compressors). Our lubricated air compressors have a maximum pressure of 60 psi and the pressure switch on these units must maintain at least a 10 psi differential.
(Important Note: All of our air compressors can be field adjusted to fit the specific demands of the system you are working on. If you would like to field adjust your General Air Products air compressor to a setting other than the factory setting please call us at 800-345-8207 to have one of our fire protection air compressor experts walk you through the process.) (more…)
Also let me state clearly that this installation was NOT done by P&J Sprinkler Company. They were called in by the State, years after the install, to prepare the building for winter by removing water trapped in the low point drops. David did bring this situation to the attention of the new building owners but the building is now vacant and they plan to demolish the entire structure in the near future. (more…)
21st October, 2011 - Posted by genair_admin - 1 Comment
DO NOT USE A RETAIL AIR COMPRESSOR FOR A FIRE PROTECTION APPLICATION.
The air compressors that we manufacture at General Air Products are specifically designed to meet the code set out by NFPA and therefore the demands of a fire protection application. The air compressors that many contractors buy “off-the-shelf” at a home supply store or appliance store are designed for hobbyists, handy men and light auto or air tool work. Retail air compressors and fire protection air compressors are two similar but not identical pieces of equipment designed to work properly in two completely different applications.
Think about it this way – Would you use the light bulb from the lamp in your living room as a headlight in your car?(more…)
6th October, 2011 - Posted by genair_admin - No Comments
On October 6, 2011 we received an email from Teresa M. King, S.E.T. from Front range Fire Protection in Colorado, Terry asks:
“Can you tell me why you recommend a tank mounted air compressor when there is an accelerator used in a dry pipe sprinkler system?”
In short, yes we can. I’ll refer to Ray DeCecco, our Manager of Customer Service and resident dry pipe system air compressor expert, for elaboration. Ray responds: (more…)
3rd October, 2011 - Posted by genair_admin - No Comments
This blog post is an excerpt from a larger article on Custom Cooling Solutions published in the August 2011 issue of Process Heating Magazine – click here to see the entire article.
A job recently completed for an optics company required an air cooled chiller specially designed to work with a reverse osmosis (RO) water optics process. The optics company contacted General Air Products, described the need for elaborate customization of the internal piping and components of the air-cooled chiller to ensure the integrity of the RO water, and asked for pricing. Changing the internal components was both costly and unnecessary, the chiller manufacturer explained. Instead, our process cooling engineers suggested a loop-in-loop process so the RO water would not have to run through the chiller itself (click here to view flow diagram). The loop-in-loop process would utilize an off-the-shelf, 5 ton air cooled chiller with a small amount of specialized piping for the process side, and a shell-and-tube heat exchanger mounted to the chiller frame to maintain the RO water process.
By adding a few standard components, the out-of-the-box approach to the process allowed for a significant cost savings for the optics manufacturer. Keep in mind that a loop in loop design is not limited to RO water applications. This process design is used regularly on deionized water (DI) applications, food-grade applications and with all sorts of corrosive chemical and hazardous material cooling. Loop in loop designs also are used in more commonplace applications where large temperature drops are required. In these cases, the heat exchanger is used to add a large amount of surface area, allowing the chiller to handle large-differential process temperatures. This saves the customer from having to buy an expensive chiller and tank system.
If you have any questions about loop-in-loop design, air cooled chillers or any process cooling related questions please contact us today! Call 800-345-8207 or email
30th September, 2011 - Posted by genair_admin - No Comments
On September 28th, 2011 we were asked this question by Chris Redmond, PE at Redmond Engineering & Design in Michigan:
“I have specified and used General Air for years and have recently come up with a dilemma. An AHJ states that the air compressor must meet NFPA 13 requirements (2007 Section 7.2.6.2) that the air supply be available at all times. How have other customers handled this? Do I have to tell the owner to provide a secondary means of power?” (more…)
