A program designed to eliminate confusion and guesswork when selecting an air compressor or compressed air dryer has been developed by the Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI), the leading organization representing manufacturers of compressed air system equipment.

CAGI Performance Verification employs standard format datasheets, the templates for which are displayed on CAGI's website. Once completed, these datasheets allow viewers to see precisely how the verified flow and efficiency of a machine from one manufacturer matches up to that of equipment from other manufacturers. Equipment users will be able to compare "apples to apples" when evaluating equipment to meet compressed air requirements.

"In the past, performance data for compressors and refrigerated dryers was often based on criteria that varied from manufacturer to manufacturer," notes CAGI spokesperson John Addington. "The verification program is a significant milestone in the history of the compressed air industry, and will help to further raise the bar for industry standards and equipment performance."

Focusing initially on lubricated rotary screw compressors from 50-200 hp and standalone refrigerated compressed air dryers from 200-1,000 scfm, the CAGI-sponsored verification program provides a uniform and commercially practical method of verifying participating manufacturers' claimed equipment performance ratings.

CAGI has contracted an independent testing laboratory, Intertek Testing Services, Cortland, NY, to randomly select and test samples of equipment to verify that they meet the manufacturer's published performance ratings. The tested machine's performance is measured using established industry standard rating codes: CAGI/PNEUROP PN2CPTC2, Acceptance Test Code for Electrically Driven Packaged Displacement Air Compressors (which is also Annex C to ISO 1217, Displacement Compressors -- Acceptance Tests) and CAGI ADF 100, Refrigerated Compressed Air Dryers; Methods of Testing and Rating.

If the tested machine meets the performance standard under the CAGI Verification Program, the compressor or dryer manufacturer will be authorized to display a CAGI performance verification seal on all products within the scope of the program. The manufacturer will also be able to use the seal on its literature and advertisements for those machines as public representation that the stated airflow capacities and efficiencies have been verified by an independent laboratory.

To facilitate comparisons, ratings verified under the CAGI Performance Verification Program will be displayed on datasheets published on participants' websites in the standard CAGI datasheet format.