A compressed air receiver stores energy: several hundred litres of air at 8, 10 or 16 bar. That is why it is regulated as pressure equipment, from its manufacture to its use in your workshop.
On delivery: marking and documents
An air receiver sold in Europe and the UK carries a conformity marking and a nameplate showing its maximum allowable pressure (PS), its volume (V) and its year of manufacture. It is supplied with its instructions and its declaration of conformity.
Keep these documents with the compressor's documents, in a file you can find easily. You will be asked for them during inspections, and if you sell the machine.
In service in the UK: the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000
In Great Britain, the use of compressed air systems is governed by the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR), with guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The obligations depend mainly on two values shown on the nameplate: the maximum pressure and the volume, often combined as the product PS × V, in bar·litres.
For example, a 500-litre air receiver at 11 bar represents 11 × 500 = 5,500 bar·L.
Above 250 bar·litres, the user (you) must in particular:
- have a written scheme of examination drawn up or certified by a competent person;
- have the receiver and its protective devices examined by a competent person at the intervals set in that scheme;
- keep the records of these examinations and maintain the system in good repair.
The exact thresholds and intervals depend on your equipment. The safest approach is to have them checked for your specific air receivers.
Day to day: good practice
- Drain the water: without an automatic condensate drain, open the drain valve regularly. Water standing at the bottom eats away at the receiver from the inside.
- Look at the receiver: rust, impact damage, deformation, leaks at the connections. If in any doubt, do not put it back under pressure.
- Never modify an air receiver: no welding, no drilling, no added connections.
- Leave the safety valve alone: it protects the receiver against overpressure. It is not adjustable and must never be blocked.
- Respect the pressure limit: the compressor's pressure switch must never be set above the receiver's maximum pressure.
Having your air receivers inspected
To find out which obligations apply to your equipment, check the HSE guidance and have the examinations carried out by a competent person, often an engineering inspection body or your insurer's inspector.
You can also contact us from the Maintenance and inspections page: we organise the servicing of your compressors and put you in touch with inspectors.
For your trade: Compressor for garages, Compressor for agriculture, Compressor for body shops.