The celebrated Etches Collection of around 2,200 fossils will be housed in a purpose-built £4.7 million building in Kimmeridge, between Swanage and Weymouth. The museum has been developed and constructed by The Kimmeridge Trust, which will also be responsible for conserving and enhancing the fossil collection and operating the museum once it is built. When it opens towards the end of 2016, the museum will feature an area demonstrating how the fossils are cleaned and prepared for display.
Since the public will be able to watch this activity, Steve Etches, the curator of this unique fossil collection and founder of the Kimmeridge Trust, was keen to feature attractive and eye-catching equipment in the demonstration area of the museum.
David Whetlor, director of Poole-based Wessex Compressors, explained: “The new stone-built building will display the fossil collection from the Kimmeridge Clay, which is 152-156 million years old. There will also be a workshop area behind glass so that visitors can watch work being done on cleaning the fossils, including air abrading the matrix off of the specimens with a BOGE C5DR compressed air station.”
Wessex Compressors will fit and maintain the system, which is designed to supply up to 22 cubic feet of air per minute at 8 bar of pressure.
“Because the compressor will be on show and sometimes operating during demonstrations, it is important that it looks good and is whisper quiet,” Whetlor said.
The compressor sits on a receiver and features a refrigerant dryer and air is fed into a square-sectioned aluminium pipework system.
The C series compressors have all of the essential components integrated in a single compact module. The lack of hoses and connection pipes makes it practically impossible for leaks to occur and minimises pressure losses. The compressors are modular, which means they can be custom configured.
The small footprint will allow it to be installed easily in the fossil museum workshop, right where it is needed. Each individual element – from the receiver to the refrigerant dryer and oil/water separator – comes ready assembled and the package is delivered ready for connection.