I have been looking at the floating piston design from Thomasson for recip compressors, and while it is certainly a different purpose it kind of reminds me of the Dresser VIP piston.

There were a few negative comments about the VIP in another thread, so I guess my question is, has anyone used the floating piston technology? If so how did it work out, and were there any problems with the valves/Bellow Seal Valves in the piston failing? What about plugging off of ports?
BTW if you are not familiar with the technology, basically there are ports on the bottom of the piston, and gas is pressurized inside the piston using what looks like a standard compressor valve mounted in the piston face. The gas then flows out of the ports in the bottom to support the piston in the cylinder, making rider rings unnecessary. Sort of like air hockey...

My main objection to the FFP design is that most gas streams contain solid contaminants. Any design that involves the internal distribution of gas via small flow passages is prone to blockage. The design is non-lubricated nor does it appear to incorporate a standard wear bands as back-up or a fall-back option. So whaddya do if you discover that contamination is a problem....scrap the cylinder and start over??

Thomassen claims the design is "fail-safe" without explaining how....in view of the above, I have no idea how they can claim this.

They also claim the FFP design obviates the need for a spare machine. They completely ignore the need to repair/replace valves and rod packing, which the FFP design does nothing to address.

Such exaggerated claims detract from their credibility.

Better to let somebody else do Thomassen's R&D than risk your clients/employers operational reliability.

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