Air Systems
As with the steam system the air system is very critical in its design, An incorrectly designed system can cause the compressor to run excessively, shortening the compressor life and also increasing maintenance costs. Too often equipment is blamed for requiring too much air when actually it is because of a badly designed air system.

The air system should be installed with the drops to the machine coming off the top of the headers and the size of the feed line to the machine being the same size or one size larger than the machine inlet. As like the steam lines the pipe run should drop 1" for every 10' in the direction of flow, and drip legs should be installed at the end of each drop and also at the end of the line.

The air compressor should never be installed in a boiler room or other areas with high ambient temperatures; this will reduce the life of the unit considerably, as well as reducing the air volume produced. If the compressor must be installed in the boiler room the compressor should be oversized, as the high temperatures will reduce the output of the unit. The air intake should also be piped outside and the room should have a good flow of fresh air passing through. In areas where the outside air has a high moisture content an after-cooler and automatic separator must be installed to reduce the moisture in the air system.