compressor blew up - lost leg

[Joe R.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

j joe with the posi-drain, do you have to bleed all pressure from the tank before the posi-drain kicks in? mike

Hi Mike,

Nope, the Posi-Drain is designed to work under pressure. It does sound a bit like a train whistle when it's running. To keep things as quiet as possible for my neighbors, I use a custom circuit to only allow the air compressor and Posi-Drain to run when the lights are on inside my garage. Here's the Posi-Drain datasheet:

http://www.conditcompany.com/pdf/acc.../POSIDRAIN.pdf

Joe

[Mike M.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

thanks joe. i just ordered one. regards,mike

[Jim M.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

I consider this post and subsequent comments invaluable. I just drained mine and after it was done draining, I powered it up momentarily on low pressure with the drain valve open and a little more water came out before I closed the drain valve. Thank you all.

[Gary C.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

FWIW the Wilkerson 4TKO4 is $48 bucks from this website http://www.zorotools.com/g/Pneumatic...rain/00024305/

The Wilkerson is a mechanical automatic drain that drains whenever there's a 20 PSI decrease in tank pressure. I ran mine outside of my shop and into a shallow hole filled with gravel to silence the loud whoosh sound when the drain activates.

Gary
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[Joe R.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

FWIW the Wilkerson 4TKO4 is $48 bucks from this website http://www.zorotools.com/g/Pneumatic...rain/00024305/

The Wilkerson is a mechanical automatic drain that drains whenever there's a 20 PSI decrease in tank pressure. I ran mine outside of my shop and into a shallow hole filled with gravel to silence the loud whoosh sound when the drain activates.

Gary
....

Gary,

The gravel pit is a great idea! Thanks for that! I may need to wait till spring, though, it's 14 degrees out there right now. I'm not sure I understand why your Wilkerson drains when there's a 20 PSI drop in tank pressure. Does that imply that you have quit using the compressor for a while and the pressure has dropped? Or what???

Joe

[Gary C.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

Joe,

As the air compressor is used, the pressure inside the tank drops until the pressure switch minimum pressure is reached which will turn the compressor on to provide more air. When the pressure in the tank drops 20 PSI the Wilkerson auto drain will open for 4 or 5 seconds to drain the water from the bottom of the tank. The Wilkerson auto drain does this repeatedly during the use of the compressor. I also have a Wilkerson auto drain at the bottom of the first cast iron pipe loop.

Gary
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[Jim T.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

My Sears craftsman 5hp 20 gallon compressor is about 23 years old. I drain the tank after every use using the original petcock on the bottom of the tank. Can hear the small amount of moisture leaving backed by the draining air pressure. Main use is to put air in tires. The space saver tires need inflation to 60 psi and generally low when checked.

[Monte M.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

As Joe mentioned, I drain mine every day or at least every time I use it.

Every Spring I get my auto A/C vacuum pump out and vacuum the tank down. This gets all the moisture out of the tank and makes it much easier to tell what the condition of the inside of the tank is.

If you have a vacuum pump, or a friend with one, I recommend doing it.

Again, I do mine in the spring because the Winter has so much moisture in the air.

Just a suggestion, but compressor maintenance / tank maintenance really is an important thing as we have all been reminded by the initial story.

M

[Bill W.]

Re: compressor blew up - lost leg

Guys,
One of the last jobs I did while working for Phillips Petroleum Comp. was travel around the country to 300+ company owned gas stations in 35 + states certifying air compressors. We used a hand held ultrasonic device that measured wall thickness of the tank. All tanks have a manufacture plate stating max. pressure and wall thickness. For not much money someone in your area will come to your house and inspect your air tank. If it's marginal, toss it. Back to the garage! Bill