Hey I have a little 2.0 hp, 6.0 gal Bostitch compressor that I use, on average, a handful of times each month. The pressure release/drain valve is a P.O.S. and a pain in the
to use.&
#160; Needless to say, I have not been releasing the pressure and draining it after use. Is this a big no no or will it be fine? You hear horror stories of tanks rotting out. If it is a serious issue, I will just replace the crap valve that came on it with an elbow and a ball valve. Good design for a beefed up valve at hammerzone.com. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks much!
Jay
Replies
Bad idea. Replace the drain valve. You'll probably be horrified at the amount of orange water that comes out when you do. Even if it didn't rot out the tank and blow up in your face, do you really want rusty water running through your tools and onto your work surfaces?
Put a little ball valve on the drain. I got an amflo one on mine and it is so easy to open, plus it has a large opening to blast out the tank instantly. Got them at Lowes.
Good idea, thanks.
"Citius, Altius, Fortius"
My shop compressor has a large tank and was hard to get to the valve under the tank. So I installed a 1/4" elbow and a 6" pipe and a small ball valve at the end. It works great. Since then I replaced the drains on both my other compressors with ball valves. Change it, it's well worth the 3.00 for a valve.
Headstong, I'll take on anyone!
I did the same with both of mine. I had to stand on my head to drain the 80 gal shop compresser. I drain my big one once a week and the little one when I'm on install jobs, daily.
Norse
I may get a lot of water out, but the water is also clear. I also have an eighty gallon compressor which I use with pneumatic sanders and for HVLP. The volume of water in this compressor in both the tank and the air filter is really incredible after a day of use.
Elliott
Hey Guppy,
I don't want to hijack this thread but which air sanders and which HVLP do you use? I've been doing the approach/avoidance dance with these for over a year now and finally have a few bones to spend.I live in the Northeast and summers here, I can drain the big compressor daily and am amazed at the amount of water. I have water separators at the gauges in the shop and they never seem to have any visible water. I bleed them and its just a small mist (maybe they're not doing a good job???). But I've never had any issues with nail guns, etc.thanks,
Norse
Norse, we have days that are humid too. Sometimes the humidity is so high we get a mist out of the gun on every shot. On those days, it doesn't matter what we do.
The real problems occur if we get a cold day after a day like that. The hoses will freeze up. It's very important to get the hoses dried out at night following a humid day in winter.
If I was trimming, I'd probably be a lot more concerned but since I'm out in the mud and elements anyway, I don't really pay much attention to whether there is water in the tanks or not. I know there is water in there, but I also know it doesn't affect us. I've also tried water separators but they've never done us any good. My experience is the same, they are always dry.
blue
No luck with water seperators here either. Another $100 down the tubes. How do you dry out your hoses Blue? I've tried damm near everything in the winter to get the water out, but what I usually end doing is just 'cooking' them in the truck for a couple days and using different ones.
Last winter I tried something different for the first time. I poured a quart of anti-freeze made for big truck air brakes right into my 20 gal compressor tank. This on the advice of my nail/gun guy. Left it in there all winter and drained a clear tank in the spring when we were out of the cold weather. Didn't get a single frozen hose this winter. He swears it's safe for the nailers and I haven't noticed rings wearing any faster than normal. You probably already know this trick, but maybe someone else here might find it helpful.
Ever hear of this before? Pro's? Cons?View Image
We've never dumped antifreeze into our tanks, but I read about that in here.
I haven't had freeze problems since I started drying my hose out every day on the commute. I put a male end into the female so air can freely move through the hose, then I jamb one end up into the blower vent on the passenger side of the truck. I stuff a glove in with it to keep it tight and I just turn on the defroster/heat. The defroster actually conditions all the moisture out of the hose, as well as the truck. So, each day, I start with a bone dry hose.
The other guys just leave their hoses on the floor to heat up and as soon as they hook them up to the air compressor, they blow out all the moisture with an air tool.
That works fine too, but occasionally they had some minor issues and they'd have to heat them up again and reblow.
I have never had a freeze up since I started sticking the end in my blower vent.
blue
LOL.... I shoulda known you'd keep it simple but effective. Thanks for answering.View Image
LOL.... I shoulda known you'd keep it simple but effective. Thanks for answering.
Your welcome. I can't act to brilliant about it though because it took me 18 years to figure it out. I laughed at myself at how simply stupid it was.
blue
Dear Norse:
I use a 5 inch 3/32" orbit Dyabrade random orbit sander and a 6 inch, 3/16" orbit Dynabrade random orbit sander. These two machines give the best sanding finish I have ever seen. I have the central vac models, and hook them up to a Fein shop vac. I don't particularly like the non-vac models (too messy) or the self-generating vac models (I don't like the vacuum bags/boxes hanging on me). If you are dislike the heat and vibration of electric sanders, you will love the pneumatics. I generally only use electric sanders on the jobsite now. (It is difficult to transport an 80 gallon upright compressor :-).) I have tried to use the sanders on smaller machines, but they really don't work well. They just about kill any compressor under 10-12 gallons.
As for the HVLP, I use a cheap Ingersoll Rand gun (I think that the model number is 310 or something similar). This gun gives a good, but not excellent finish. If you are looking for a piano grade finish, go with something better. However, for most furniture, this gun is fine.
As far as water removal, I have a Norgen (sp?) air filter. I fit it as far from the compressor head as possible. At the end of a sanding session, I have a good deal of water in the tank, and a lot in the filter. While I am sure that water gets through, I have not experienced the physical symptoms of water infiltration (rusted hose fittings, wet exhaust, etc.).
I run all of these tools off of an IR 5 hp, single phase, 80 gallon, single stage compressor. The compressor is not overly taxed by any of these tools.
Elliott
Great. Thanks for the advice. Guess I'll swap the junk valve out. I assume you guys are opening it up and releasing the pressure when you're done using it each time.
Jay
Yup, every time. Think about it: you're letting all that water sit in the tank, which is slowly corroding. Sure it takes a long time to rot away the tank but if you use it only a couple of times a month that means the condensation is sitting in the tank, undisturbed, doing its thing. I always drain the tank, and once the valve gets sticky-which they always do-I replace them. I know the hammerzone design you are talking about and I think it's a good idea for a larger compressor but I think it might get in the way on a smaller one. Don't know for sure though. Maybe someday I'll know a little something.
I am shocked at the amount of water that gets in the tank, even after relatively light use. I was helping a friend frame part of his house, and we were using a 1.5 hp Hitachi pancake compressor (by the way, this compressor is a great little machine, but not the best for framing). After a long day of use, I always got at least a quarter to half a pint, maybe more out of the tank. It was very humid, but still, that's a lot of water. I would replace the valve.
Elliott
I think draining the tanks is overrated based on what you just said Guppy.
Lets say I drain the tank at the end of the day. The next day, I start out dry. Within minutes, there is water condensing at the bottom of the tank. Shoud I stop every minute and get it dry again? Of course not...we plod along all day using our air tools with the water in the tank building up. You drain half a pint, I drain half a gallon! Either way, we all have water in our tanks, all day except for the first minutes.
blue
"The next day, I start out dry. Within minutes, there is water condensing at the bottom of the tank."
I'm not so sure it ever really gets dry in there. Just draining the bulk water probably leaves plenty of moisture behind to feed the corrosion reaction.
Well,
Regardless, I just swaped it out. Quick trip to the hardware store and $7.00 later. I put on a ball valve with a street elbow. You guys were right. About a half cup of rust colored muck. Glad to get it out of there. Make room for the fresh water next time I use it! ;-)
Thanks again for the advice.
Jay
Somewhere, there's a product I've seen (and it'll be a while before I can remember what or where) that was some sort of corrosion inhibitor made especially for air tanks and compressors. Some kind of liquid that you got in there and sloshed it around and it sealed the tank and converted the rust. I know I have a bunch of gunk inside my P-C compressor and I am really bad about draining it out.
I'll post what it is once I find it again.
There are a few rust inhibitors I know of. Rust proofing products...
JP Weigle Framesaver (I couldn't find the manufac. website)http://www.bikemannetwork.com
Boesheild T9. http://www.boeshield.com/
Boiled Linseed Oil.
Gunk/Liquid Wrench Industial Chain Lubricant
Cyclists who are serious about preserving their steel frames coat the inside of their frames with this stuff. Boeshield and Framesaver are the preferred products.
Despite what some are saying here, I still say drain the tank daily. What's the big deal?
Take it for what it's worth, but we drain the tank daily.... and the water comes out clear. When a tank isn't drained daily.... it comes out orange when you do.
Draining the tank daily also leads to less problems with hoses icing up in the winter. And it also minimizes the water and crap that's getting run through your expensive nailers and air tools and ending up on your work surface. Maybe no big deal for framing lumber but it could really ruin your day on some expensive stain grade work.
I'm thinking that if the tanks didn't need to be drained..... the manufacturers wouldn't be installing drains on every single compressor on the market.View Image
I drain mine daily too ...
uncork it at the end of the day ...
and each morning it runs a few seconds blowing air before I crank her down tight.
just gave the play by play in another thread where I was on site when one blew ...
what ever it takes to make that day one day farther.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I agree. As far as corrosion, I think it is always 100% condensing humidity in the tank. I have one of those Hitachi twin tank models, and the valves are mounted a few degrees off center of the bottom,,,, a pita to completely drain the tank. It occured to me though that the designers may have been trying to keep the welds off the bottom of the tank and out of the water. I have seen several tanks rot out at these welds.