Small Air Compressor - Initial Set-Up

[Wagtail]

^^^
Well I'm sorry that I wasn't able to adequately explain what the problem was as I'm not familiar with air compressors. I realise that there are many different types of compressors; mine has no belt, is wheel portable... just a small 'shop' compressor. I know that there is a large capacitor as there is a bloody big warning label.

Anyway, an update: It looks to be working now.

I checked the tank drain valve, open & shut it a few times, then left it shut. <possible 'fault'.

I then plugged it in to a power outlet and let it sit for a couple of hours. <Just to ensure that the capacitor was fully charged.

I checked the oil level and it was good.

I've just now turned it on and it has fully charged the tank (152psi) and automatically shut off. I'll check if it holds that pressure in a couple of hours, followed by turning it off, discharging the tank and then recharge to ensure that all is well.

Thank you for the constructive suggestions.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Unless you have some sort of 'starting capacitor' I don't know of any that have a capacitor. That said, a normal capacitor would be charged before you moved your hand to the start switch. I think you found the real culprit in a sticky drain valve.

 

[Wagtail]

Unless you have some sort of 'starting capacitor' I don't know of any that have a capacitor. That said, a normal capacitor would be charged before you moved your hand to the start switch. I think you found the real culprit in a sticky drain valve.

I agree on the capacitor... but it didn't hurt to eliminate it as a fault. No harm/no foul.

The compressor did bleed down a wee bit (130psi) after leaving it for a couple of hours. Still, I was able to use it to inflate the front tyres on the Z-turn.

I drained the tank and put it away in its corner of the workshop.

Thanks again to all.

 

[WinterDeere]

Glad you have it working. Sounds like it’s was the drain?

Just to close the loop on the capacitor, most single-phase motors (including compressors) have a capacitor which is momentarily switched in to start the motor, and sometimes a second to correct motor power factor. But these capacitors charge and discharge literally 100 or 120 times per second, depending whether you’re in a 50 Hz or 60 Hz country.

The warning is there, because depending on the instantaneous voltage at the moment when it was disconnected from power, some voltage can remain on the capacitor for hours after disconnecting. But there is no long-term (beyond milliseconds) capacitor charging effect requiring you to leave it plugged in for any period of time. Things like that are only applicable to DC circuits.

<— electrical engineer