O.T. air compressor maintenance

[ratropia]

Hi all. I have a question about a shop air compressor. I have a 30gallon 150 psi compressor. How often should I drain it out form the bottom to remove moisture? The manual states after every use. I think that is a pain in the rear. Will it hurt to leave it full of air and just drain it once a month or so? How about in the winter or summer, will that make a difference?
Thanks Rick T.

 

[zzvyb6]

What if you just crack the bottom drain valve a bit? The water will sputter out and the compressor should be able to keep up with the leak. I forgot to drain mine after a while and it was 1/3 full of water !!!

 

[RobJ]

Depends on where you live and how much you use it. Down south we need to drain more. Once a month is probably fine unless you use it a lot. I use to work for Senco and we had companies that DID need to drain daily.

Leave it full is fine, unplug, turn off switch or put in a tank cut off valve incase a hose breaks and it starts running while you are not home.

Good Luck,
Rob

 

[Egon]

There are self activated liquid drain vales on the market.

 

[LarryD]

I bought a couple of brass nipples, a 90º elbow and a small gate valve to replace the valve on the bottom of my tank. Now all I have to do is bend over and crack the gate valve for a couple of seconds, lots easier than the factory drain.

A friend has one of the self activating drains on his compressor Egon refers to and that is a really sweet setup.

 

[ratropia]

The gate valve sounds like a good idea. So it's okay to just let the water out while the tank still has pressure?
Thanks Rick T.

 

[WTA]

If you go to just about any truck stop or place that sells parts for big trucks you can get a truck air tank drain valve. They usually have a 6 foot cord on them so truckers don't have to crawl under the truck anymore to drain the tanks.

I have two big compressors i my shop and put these valves on both of them. The pull cord comes out from underneath and I zip tied the handle end up near the pressure switch.
Now whenever I walk by them I just give the cord a pull and dump the water out real fast.

I did this about 5 years ago after getting down on my hands and knees and getting nailed by a black widow that was living under there. I don't reach under anything I can't see anymore.

 

[RobJ]

The gate valve sounds like a good idea. So it's okay to just let the water out while the tank still has pressure?
Thanks Rick T.

Much more excitement when the tank has air!!

 

[Bird]

The gate valve sounds like a good idea. So it's okay to just let the water out while the tank still has pressure?
Thanks Rick T.

I currently have the same arrangement as LarryD, and I never drain the air from my tank. But yes, I drain the water after every use. Leaving the water in there will just cause the tank to rust sooner.

 

[BigE_]

Check out
AUTOMATIC COMPRESSOR DRAIN KIT

Be prepared to toss the tubing that comes with it and get some copper, but other than that, it works fine.