Controls & BAS · Manufacturer
Barber-Colman Pneumatic & Network 8000 Service in Phoenix, AZ
The pneumatic thermostat on the wall of a 1985 office building, and the compressed-air system behind it that nobody has looked at in years.
Barber-Colman built pneumatic and early electronic controls in Illinois for most of the twentieth century, and its pneumatic thermostats, actuators, receiver-controllers and relays are still operating in Phoenix office buildings, schools, hospitals and government facilities from the 1970s through the 1990s. Its Network 8000 DDC platform from the 1990s survives in some buildings. The company passed through Siebe and Invensys into Schneider Electric, and the Barber-Colman name is gone from new controls. Bleuwave services legacy Barber-Colman systems as an independent contractor, without dealer affiliation or factory authorization.
Pneumatic controls work, when maintained. They also leak, drift and depend on a compressor and a dryer that were installed forty years ago. Every year fewer technicians know how to calibrate a receiver-controller. The service question on a Barber-Colman pneumatic building is how long to maintain the system and when to convert it, and the honest answer is usually to convert the terminal equipment first and the central equipment as it is replaced.
Product Families
Barber-Colman Equipment We Encounter
Families and designations that appear on nameplates in the Phoenix market. Capacities, refrigerants and configurations vary by model and year; we verify from the nameplate on site rather than from a catalog.
| Family | Category | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Barber-Colman pneumatic controls (legacy)Legacy | Controls & BAS | Pneumatic thermostats, actuators, receiver-controllers and relays installed through the 1980s and 1990s. |
| Network 8000 (legacy)Legacy | Controls & BAS | Early DDC platform from the 1990s, later carried under Siebe and Invensys. |
Barber-Colman Equipment in Service
Pneumatic thermostats on walls and in VAV boxes; pneumatic damper and valve actuators on air handlers, terminal units and central plant; receiver-controllers, relays and transducers in control panels; the compressors, dryers and air lines that supply them; and Network 8000 DDC controllers and workstations in buildings that were converted in the 1990s.
Service, Calibration and Conversion
We service pneumatic systems — compressors, dryers, filters, main-air pressure, leaks, thermostat and receiver-controller calibration, actuator and relay replacement — with components from the general pneumatic-controls market, which remains reasonably supplied. Network 8000 systems are supported where controllers and software can be kept running, with migration recommended. Pneumatic-to-DDC conversion — new actuators, controllers and sensors on existing terminal units and air handlers, integrated with a modern building automation system — is planned in phases through the building automation practice, and it typically pays back through energy savings and the end of the recurring complaint cycle.
Straight Answers
Questions About Barber-Colman Equipment
Can pneumatic controls still be maintained?
Yes. Pneumatic components are still available from the general controls market, and we calibrate and repair pneumatic systems. But drift, leaks and a shrinking pool of technicians make conversion the long-term answer.
How is a pneumatic-to-DDC conversion done without shutting the building down?
In phases — terminal units first, floor by floor, then air handlers and central plant as they are serviced or replaced — so the building keeps running throughout.
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