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Drain that compressor!

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aeronca65t

aeronca65t

Great Pumpkin
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I've been doing a lot of work on the Spridget lately....and I *live* with my compressor "on" (my fav tool is my 3/8" air ratchet).

Anyway, I'm a bit lazy about draining the compressor........especially after a long day of LBC repair.

So I've been letting it go.....I *know* you're supposed to drain it every day and I *know* you can get rust in the tank, etc., etc.

It's been muggy here in the great NorthEast, so I figured I better drain it..........WOW! Flood City! (and yucky brown rusty water, too!)

From now on, I'm draining it every day! I promise!
shocked.gif


[ 06-18-2002: Message edited by: aeronca65t ]</p>
 
Boy isn't that the truth... I don't use air-tools, just don't have the room for a decent compressor in the garage although I have a huge one ready if I run a 220 line out there.

I used to install, maintain, and managed large number of photo labs across several states. I always had small air compressors installed simply as a source of high pressure air to clean parts, negatives, lenses, etc. One of things we were always supposed to do was to DRAIN THE COMPRESSOR (weekly). A lot of people just never bothered, and I have to admit to my own laziness. They would literally fill with water - to the point that you could rock the compressor around and hear it slosh around. I even had one start to rust through after a few years.
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by aerog:
One of things we were always supposed to do was to DRAIN THE COMPRESSOR (weekly). A lot of people just never bothered, and I have to admit to my own laziness. They would literally fill with water - to the point that you could rock the compressor around and hear it slosh around. I even had one start to rust through after a few years.<hr></blockquote>

A simple solution for the "lazy person" in all of us is to take a little time to install a lever action "ball valve" to the air compressors drain line..
I have my on/off switch, two ball valve "cut-offs" (to shut off each of the two main air lines) and the drain valve all located within arms reach of each other.. (I actually have a total of nine ball valves in my air lines.. two [shut-off and drain]at each of the three quick-connect outlets and the three at the compressor)
I shut the power off to my compressor when I leave the shop for the day.. it doesn't need to be cycling all night from the bleeding off of some air, so it makes draining the 80 gal tank an easy daily process.
During heavy usage on a high humidity day (in north central Texas), it will drain half a one pound coffee can of water.. it can add up quick over the course of a week.
 
Hey guys - I thought I'd share a compressor story of my own. I grew up on a farm and we had a 250 gallon compressor with a 10hp electric motor on it - bolted into a concrete floor in the barn. One day the pressure switch failed and it built up until the end cap of the tank blew off (not the plug - the WHOLE endcap). That sucker sheared off the anchor bolts, took down half the barn and traveled over a 1/4 mile into the next farm. Good thing no one was nearby at the time
 
The old compressor i have in my workshop i got from a body shop, it ran alot and the motors
burned up rather quickly(one a year) i got it cheap and when i went to pick it up i took my pipe
wrenches along to pull a plug(half way up the side
of the tank) and water ran out, the guys at that body shop wondered where all that water got in there???? 20 min to drain the water out. needless
to say i piped a drain line into the plug into the bottom with a lever handle(ball valve) i used that compressor for 10yrs with no problems, finnally the big end bearing are getting sloppy.
so i have replaced with a new one. maybe one of these days i will pour some babbit in there and put the ol' compressor back online!
tt
 
I'm guessing that some folks won't know what "babbit" is...I've done similar things....got to keep those old skills alive!

The story about the endcap blowing off is shocking but not surprising.....it's exactly why I always stand away from a compressor while it's filling (never know when some unseen internal rust could cause failure).

Thanks for the ball walve idea....I like the idea and will proably add one to my compressor.
 
Right after I graduated from college, I worked at a used car lot. We had a good sized compressor with an 80 gallon tank. It had been used for all the tools and to run the 3 in-ground lifts. However, before I started there (years before), they moved the shop work to a different location so that the only thing that compressor was used for was filling tires and running a a high speed buffer, but it was used every day.

I knew nothing about mechanics or compressors back then, and as far as I know, no one had drained the compressor for years before I started and about 2 years after I started. Over the course of time, it seemed the compressor would kick in faster and faster when buffing. Finally, I learned of the drain valve. When I opened it over 40 gallons of the vilest, nastiest water (probably close to 50) drained out all over the shop (I opened it then went to deal with a customer).

It was amazing- the thing took a long time to fill in the morning, but went a long time between fills after that- and yes, I used to drain it daily, I'd open the drain when I threw the breaker every night before I left.
rolleyes.gif


[ 08-08-2002: Message edited by: lawguy ]</p>
 
Have had good luck with the cable operated swivel valves from a truck air tank. They work well on trucks too so you don't have to crawl under the truck to bleed the tanks. I suppose the same automatic type used on most trucks now would work on a stationary unit as well.
 
Something else to consider is an air oil separator. This will help keep moisture build-up in your system from reaching your air tools down stream.

But by all means follow the suggestions made thus far and try’n drain the tank as often as possible. My employer uses International trucks as the base platform for our products and as part of our preventative maintenance program we are to drain the air tanks for our pneumatics systems at lease once a week.
cheers.gif
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Bret:
Something else to consider is an air oil separator. This will help keep moisture build-up in your system from reaching your air tools down stream.

But by all means follow the suggestions made thus far and try’n drain the tank as often as possible. My employer uses International trucks as the base platform for our products and as part of our preventative maintenance program we are to drain the air tanks for our pneumatics systems at lease once a week.
cheers.gif
<hr></blockquote>

I have a new upright 22 gal compressor and have been draining once a week.

Bas
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Basil:


I have a new upright 22 gal compressor and have been draining once a week.

Bas<hr></blockquote>

Basil gets a GOLD STAR!

thumbsup.gif
 
harbor freight, and others im sure, make a purge valve that ties into the compressors on/off cycling wiring. Every time it cycles off, the valve opens out the bottom to blow out any moisture. Cant forget that way! havent done it myself, but its on the list. -Josh
 
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