dklawson
Yoda
Offline
I moved my old compressor last week. Its Harbor Freight auto drain had plugged leaving a couple of cups of water inside. Along with the water were a LOT of decent size chunks of rust. As the tank is 40+ years old I decided it was time to retire it. New tanks cost about 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of a new compressor. New cast iron pump compressors with the CFM I want are north of $500 so I found and purchased a good used one locally.
The "new" compressor looks showroom new and clearly hasn't been used much. However, I heard water inside and decided to carry out maintenance before using it. I opened the drain **** and all it did was slowly drip. I dropped the tank pressure to about 10 PSI and slowly unscrewed the petcock. Even with the petcock removed all the tank did was drip. I grew impatient and probed the port with a bent coat hanger. Then all heck broke loose. I disloged whatever had plugged the port and about a quart of muddy water geysered out against the floor splattering me and most everything close in the garage. That will teach me to be impatient. I should have at least taken the thing out to the driveway. Now that I have cleaned the tank, the garage floor, and me up, it is time to move on to different plumbing and a better auto drain.
I want a better auto drain than the Harbor Freight one... one less likely to plug (which is what I found wrong with the HF one). The electric timer based ones don't make sense for a home shop (adjustable drain time 1-10 seconds every 1 to 45 minutes). They can also be expensive (Chinese from about $25 to name brand U.S. for upwards of $160).
Now that you know the background it's time to finally ask my question.
I am considering buying a programmable timer and solenoid valve to make my own more flexible auto drain. Before I start that project, do any of you use auto drains and if you do, are you pleased, how is yours adjusted, and how much did you pay for it?
The "new" compressor looks showroom new and clearly hasn't been used much. However, I heard water inside and decided to carry out maintenance before using it. I opened the drain **** and all it did was slowly drip. I dropped the tank pressure to about 10 PSI and slowly unscrewed the petcock. Even with the petcock removed all the tank did was drip. I grew impatient and probed the port with a bent coat hanger. Then all heck broke loose. I disloged whatever had plugged the port and about a quart of muddy water geysered out against the floor splattering me and most everything close in the garage. That will teach me to be impatient. I should have at least taken the thing out to the driveway. Now that I have cleaned the tank, the garage floor, and me up, it is time to move on to different plumbing and a better auto drain.
I want a better auto drain than the Harbor Freight one... one less likely to plug (which is what I found wrong with the HF one). The electric timer based ones don't make sense for a home shop (adjustable drain time 1-10 seconds every 1 to 45 minutes). They can also be expensive (Chinese from about $25 to name brand U.S. for upwards of $160).
Now that you know the background it's time to finally ask my question.
I am considering buying a programmable timer and solenoid valve to make my own more flexible auto drain. Before I start that project, do any of you use auto drains and if you do, are you pleased, how is yours adjusted, and how much did you pay for it?