I have a big 240 volt compressor, maybe 40 gallons or so, its about 6 feet tall to the top . I have a pressure regulator on it and past that a moisture collector. I bought a fairly good size impact wrench but have not hooked it up as it says it should have the pressure regulator, the moisture collector AND AN AUTOMATIC OILER. I think it says to get an all in one unit. Well I don't want an auto oiler going to my tires or to my nail gun. Plus the all in one unit is expensive and it is well established I'm the world's cheapest man. Should I not use the wrench sparingly if I hand oil it like I do my nail guns? Do you really have to have the auto oiler in line? Also, the drain plug on the bottom of the tank seems stripped. It spins round and round and does not go in or out. Hard to see down that low even when I put the side of my head in the dirt and spiderwebs. What happens if I never drain it? Thanks.
I have a much smaller set up. Just oil the guns manually. Usually they get "clicky" otherwise, if you use them a lot (like a shop) do it daily. Petcock/drain plug is for removing water from the tank. Will rust without a drain. How long? No idea. Pull it all out and tap the hole when you have the energy. Philip
Put a little oil in the air line (at the air tool) every day you use it. You do not need an in-line oiler unless you are using a lot of rotary tools almost full time. If you are drilling rivet holes in an airplane wing, you need an auto oiler for the drill. Under any condition, use air tool oil if you can get it. 3&1 is better than nothing. If you don't drain the tank periodically, it will fill up with water and eventually water will run out of the air line. That might take years with your tank and limited use but in the meantime the air will be saturated with moisture and the tank will rust. Figure out how to drain the tank. Does not take much of a hole. The valve that you have might be OK. Some valves just open with a push. Try that. Of course you could get the book on your compressor and see what the manufacturer says. Lots of manuals are on line now. Try to Google the manufacturer. Good luck, John
We have used ours this way for years with no problems. Just a little oil in the hole where the air line hooks up before using.
Or you could get something similar to this... http://www.mytoolstore.com/toolaid/airta01.html We use something like this on all our air tools because the air from the compressors is oil free and dried so it can also be used for air supplied respirators.
Sears/Craftsman also makes something similar to this, which is fairly cheap (I am the world's second cheapest man) and convenient to use.
I drain my tank daily. A couple of ideas for making tank draining painless: My 1st compressor I replaced the awkward to use drain valve with a 150lb (~25psi above tank pressure) safety valve with a steel release cable.: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/productdetail.jsp?xi=xi&ItemId=1611778330&ccitem= Attached the valve to the tank with a 90 degree street (male-female) elbow. Cable was nice because I could just give it a yank & bleed the tank w/o getting down on my hands & knees & feeling for the darned valve. At end of the day, just yanked on the cable until water stopped blowing out & pressure had dropped to about 60psi(arbitrary choice.) Stopped my air tools from rusting due to humid air. Not to mention clogged sand blasters & water in paint being sprayed. Tank was still solid after 15years use when I retired it because the compressor pump was worn out. My current compressor I replaced the bleed valve with a plumbing arrangement that came out from under the tank, up about a foot to a U connection, then down an inch or so to a ball valve. I keep a container under the valve to catch the expelled water. One of these days I'm going to get around to hooking up a length of PVC tubing to route the expelled water & air outside of the garage.
Several years ago I purchased a little brass valve from Harbor Freight that screws into the bottom of my air tank where the manual drain valve was located. The valve has an air pressure line but I have long since forgotten where it goes, but it senses the bleed off when the compressor quits. Every time the compressor completes its run to charge the tank to the set shutoff pressure, the valve opens momentarily and spits out the moisture in the bottom of the tank. The little thing has worked for perhaps 4 years now and only cost about ten bucks.
I like those two last posts, I like the little ring pressure relief device, but I like the automatic idea even better; do you have a link to a device like that?? Thanks!
I'd be interested in the auto-bleed as well. Spent 1/2 hour search HF's site w/o finding it. Would like to see the installation instructions before buying to make sure it'll work with my compressor(s).
Due to the fact that I have no life, I like to overcomplicate stuff like this. 240V compressor w/ 60 gal tank. Air outlet goes to a pressure regulator then to a tee then a ball valve on each side of the tee. One side has an oiler on it. One's for dry the other's for oiled. Dry hose - wet hose. Tank drain - 90 degree ell to ball valve to hose that runs thru hole in shop wall to vent all the crap outside. Don't tell my wife about this. Now that auto bleed sounds like the cat's meow. It's nice to have a Parker-Hannifin dealer ten minutes from the house.
Here's a link to an Ingersoll Rand electronic drain valve. I have one on an Ingersoll Rand compressor at my shop. You set it for how often you want the drain open and for what time duration. Has worked perfectly for 4 years. http://www.air.irco.com/IS/product.asp/id/161,162,97
And available from Grainger.com for under $200. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/productdetail.jsp?xi=xi&ItemId=1611628499&ccitem= Plugs in, away you go. As a professional plumber, you should have no problem making the connections. DM
