Construction - Air Compressor:
Typical Scene: At construction sites everywhere there is almost always an air compressor to operate many tools ranging from paint sprayers to sand blasters to jack hammers. Lights are becoming increasingly important as more and more construction and road maintenance work is done at night. Frequently there is a generator set somewhere near by in order to provide power for hand tools and lights.
Some manufacturers of air compressors offer an option of a synchronous generator mounted on the larger compressor engines. This arrangement allows the contractor to:
- transport and manage one fewer piece of equipment,
- manage one less fuel supply chain,
- save manpower,
- avoid theft of highly portable generator assets, and
- reduce set-up time and labor.
- use the existing air compressor trailer as a logical base for a light tower, avoiding another rental piece of equipment, which rents for $800 per month.Sounds great, except for one big problem: for the synchronous units to generate useful electricity air capacity is compromised. The Blackbird can provide 5 kW of 60 Hz AC power for lights or tools while the engine speed varies from idle to full throttle with no impact on air operations. In addition, the Blackbird is significantly lighter than existing solutions and mounts easily, even on smaller units. A Kaeser 185 CFM compressor served as a highly successful demonstration unit. Discussions with other compressor manufacturers are underway.
