Compressor

[Djgeib]

A gentle reminder to clean out your compressor at regular intervals.
The first time I drained my compressor was about six months into my build. Dropped the air out opened the drain valve and zero water came out. So in my infinite wisdom I decided I could put that job off for awhile.
Fast forward to yesterday, about two years later I opened the drain valve and drained a considerable amount of nasty dirty water onto my hangar floor. Spent the next hour cleaning up. Moral of the story. I will now drain every six months and wheel the compressor out in the grass to drain

[Kyle Boatright]

I leave the valve on mine slightly cracked all of the time to make sure condensate is forced out ASAP.

[Mel]

Air tanks should be drained after every session of use. If you are working every day, it should be drained every day. Or at the very least once a week.

[Northernliving]

Originally Posted by Mel

Air tanks should be drained after every session of use. If you are working every day, it should be drained every day. Or at the very least once a week.

Much worse in warmer, humid climates. I was constantly draining my compressor when I lived in South Carolina where dew-points were in mid-high 70's during the summer months. Probably similar in many of the southern states. Not nearly as bad in northern, cooler climates. Easy to plumb your tank drain outside and crack it open weekly.

Good info on Pressure Dew Point(PDP), temperature, relative humidity and water in your compressor here.
https://www.atlascopco.com/en-us/com...densate-in-air

Also, makes a big difference in how hard you're working!

[Vlad]

Building in NYC/New Jersey I was draining the tank every forth day on average. Lots of moist air there.

[Waiex-guy]

If you leave it pressurized, contrary to the obvious idea ?pressure will keep moisture from coming in?, the pressurized air is much denser and holds much more water.

[rocketman1988]

I got an automatic drain and connected it to my tank. Put it on a timer and it does a one second purge several times a day...no water here...

[emsvitil]

I have an automatic drain that automatically opens momentarily every time the compressor stops or starts.

[Northernliving]

Originally Posted by Waiex-guy

If you leave it pressurized, contrary to the obvious idea “pressure will keep moisture from coming in”, the pressurized air is much denser and holds much more water.

Hot, high pressure air will hold more moisture - just as it comes out of the comes out of the compressor. As the air cools in the tank, it condenses and that’s why we have purge the tank for time to time.

Here is the chart.
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/w...ir-d_1275.html

[9GT]

I had an old compressor I bought at a garage sale blow up on me back in the '80s. That will make you take notice and take care of your tools. It blew apart at the weld seams while I was using itand sent the big parts flying. I had it in my garage under the work bench and the blast blew out the back wall.