Evaluating on-going maintenance costs

By now it will come as no surprise to learn that the best way to keep down on-going maintenance costs for your air motor are to ensure good lubrication and filtration. In relative terms, the cost of lubricants and filters is minimal.

Replacement part costs

If the motor is well lubricated and protected from dust, then it should only be necessary to change the smaller parts, such as filters, bearings and blades from time to time. These are the elements that need replacing most regularly - either because they are used, damaged, or broken - but don’t worry, they won’t break the bank! For example, the Modec spare part kit, which comprises two sets of blades, key bearing and filters, costs less than 100€.

Again, imagine the car analogy: if you don’t top up the oil levels regularly in the engine, sooner or later you end up paying out for repair work that is far more costly as a result!

However, if the inside of the motor becomes damaged due to poor lubrication and filtration, the costs can rise considerably. For example, it may become necessary to change the rotor, cylinder, or the end plates and these parts are much more expensive – almost half the price of a new air motor.

It is a good idea to include the task of regularly checking the lubrication and filtration system in standard maintenance procedures, and/or to assign the task to one or two nominated employees as part of their job functions. This way, it is less likely that these simple but highly important steps will be overlooked.

Act quickly

If you notice a change in the performance of your air motor, don’t wait in the hope that it will soon sort itself out. It is probably a simple problem to fix, but if you put off putting it right, the small problem may have a knock-on effect on another aspect of the motor.

Comparative costs

Vane air motors maintenance is thus not expensive. Wearing parts are few and easy to replace. Simple and robust by design, vane air motors are easy to maintain, do not require any complex training or safety specific authorization and can, as a consequence, be carried out by operators themselves.