3 Factors that Impact the Air Pressure in Your Dunnage Bags

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Erik Burden

In this blog, I will discuss the 3 main factors that will impact the air pressure in your air dunnage bags. These potential issues apply to not only our dunnage bags at Complete Packing Systems, but to dunnage bags industry-wide.

Luckily, performing simple air pressure checks will prevent excessive movement, damage, and injury. This is one thing you don’t want to rush.

A lot of the time, people are busy and may cut corners to save a few minutes. For example, many people know of the “30 minute rule” – but they may neglect it. After your initial inflation, you must always check the pressure again after 30 minutes. If the pressure is low, you must top up your bags.

1. Stretching

Although you may think the loss of pressure would be caused by a hole, this is often not the case.

Dunnage bags are made from a woven synthetic outer shell and a thick plastic inner bladder. When filled to the recommended PSI, the air pressure will stretch the bladder after 30 minutes and cause a pressure drop. This is when you should top up your bags back to the original PSI.

2. Weather

Weather, in many cases, plays a large role in how dunnage air bags perform. Cold weather will reduce air pressure, much like in your car tires. In hot weather, the bags could expand past their recommended PSI.

Shippers must be aware of the weather their shipments will be experiencing and adjust accordingly.

3. Altitude

Finally, I must mention altitude. Recently, I drove from Las Vegas, NV to the Grand Canyon. This was an increase of nearly 5,000 feet above sea level. A bag of chips that I hadn’t opened yet was lying on the floor of my car. When I arrived at the Grand Canyon, the bag of chips looked as if it would burst at any moment.

This story is a good reminder: if you are shipping from a lower area to a high altitude or vice versa, you must ensure you take altitude into account when assessing your dunnage bags.

Summary

Dunnage bags are most effective when they are filled to the recommended PSI. You can save your shipments from moving around and becoming damaged by watching out for these simple factors that affect your bags’ air pressure.

>> Complete Packaging Systems can help you with your shipments. Our goal has always been to ensure our customers’ products arrive safely and damage free. Just give us a call at 1-800-858-8800!

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