New Compressor

[Andy BrocklehurstParticipant @andybrocklehurst85292]

My old compressor thankfully finally died, it was far too noisy for my small workshop.

At the weekend I bought a new Clarke shhhh50/350 quiet compressor and what a difference it’s made, it’s very bearable working while this things running!

Any how to my question, I obviously want to look after this the best I can and Clarke recommends draining the tank daily of water that’s gathered in the tank through condensation.

I’ve been religiously doing this since Sunday 😀 and it’s already becoming a pain moving things to drag the compressor out, getting on the floor (which is hard work)to unscrew the drain valve.

Would it have a detrimental effect on the compressor if I replaced the drain valve with a 1.5m length of tubing with a ball valve on the end so I can put it where it’s easier to get to and just crack the valve open when I’ve finished using it?

thanks.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

There are automatic valves that will do the job. Not sure how they function as I don’t have a compressor but might be worth investigation.

Link to one I found on-line. Automatic Drain Valve have no idea if this is any good prices go from around £20 upwards!

John

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

NOT a problem BUT Since the pipe will be at the tank pressure all the time and were  it to get loose be VERY dangerous I would use a properly crimped hose, a hydraulic hose would come to mind. With BSP fittings it will screw straight into the tank and your tap on the other end. The tank end will be BSPT may be 3/8″ or 1/2″. If you are near me I can give you one where are you ?  Noel.

[Journeyman]

On Journeyman Said:

There are automatic valves that will do the job. Not sure how they function as I don’t have a compressor but might be worth investigation.

Link to one I found on-line. Automatic Drain Valve have no idea if this is any good prices go from around £20 upwards!

John

Thanks John, I’ll look into them.

 

 

[noel shelley]

On noel shelley Said:

NOT a problem BUT Since the pipe will be at the tank pressure all the time and were  it to get loose be VERY dangerous I would use a properly crimped hose, a hydraulic hose would come to mind. With BSP fittings it will screw straight into the tank and your tap on the other end. The tank end will be BSPT may be 3/8″ or 1/2″. If you are near me I can give you one where are you ?  Noel.

thanks Noel, that’s very generous of you. Im in Macclesfield, Cheshire.

 

[cogdobblerParticipant @cogdobbler]

You don’t need to drain it every day in most home hobby workshop applications. If it were running all day every day, it might need draining daily. But for most of us, it will run only the odd bit here and there so probably draining once a week would be enough. On weeks when you are not in the workshop it will need no draining. (Cue the Googlista doomsayers quoting the one famous video online showing a compressor tank that blew up , 3, 2, 1…)

It depends on the humidity of the air being sucked into the compressor too. If you are finding large amounts of water coming out the drain then drain more often. If its just a tiny bit, nowt to worry about.

A remote valve as suggested is a good idea though. Things that are not easy and user-friendly will get neglected once the novelty wears off. Automatic drain valve, aka trap, is worth looking at too.

[cogdobbler]

On cogdobbler Said:

You don’t need to drain it every day in most home hobby workshop applications. If it were running all day every day, it might need draining daily. But for most of us, it will run only the odd bit here and there so probably draining once a week would be enough. On weeks when you are not in the workshop it will need no draining. (Cue the Googlista doomsayers quoting the one famous video online showing a compressor tank that blew up , 3, 2, 1…)

It depends on the humidity of the air being sucked into the compressor too. If you are finding large amounts of water coming out the drain then drain more often. If its just a tiny bit, nowt to worry about.

A remote valve as suggested is a good idea though. Things that are not easy and user-friendly will get neglected once the novelty wears off. Automatic drain valve, aka trap, is worth looking at too.

Thanks for that, I would imagine Clarkes recommended drain daily is when it’s used constantly and they’re erring on the side of caution?

As you say when the novelty wears off it will get neglected is spot on and the main reason I was trying to make it easy to do.

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Is it too big to mount it on a shelf or brackets on the wall at a suitable heigh

One of my friends has his unit so mounted to save floor space, easy to drain !

No need for valves/pipes ect.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Put the tap on the vessel so no pressure tube involved. Operate the tap with a lever, bowden cable  etc – think steam loco drain cocks.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

It might also be useful to mention internal cylinder coatings in this conversation.

Some air compressors come ‘pre-coated’ but most of the cheaper ones don’t. You can do a DIY coating for these but it’s much easier/better to buy one where it’s already been done for you. Otherwise rust might/will eventually cause problems.

Regards,

 

IanT

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Both the  main restoration compressor and the portable one for pumping up tyres at the museum have remote reciever drains which make the bother of getting underneath to reach the valve an easy job. The recievers get drained every day after shutting down. As per H & S rules only proper crimped clips are used on the hose joints, never screwed Jubilee type.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Just in passing – I had to deal with a faulty compressor of the cheaper type that many use. it was 11 years old and I SHOULD have conducted a hydraulic test before repairing it but didn’t ! Having repaired it, on running it I saw a small puddle under the tank, and NO it was not under the drain – The tank had corroded through ! I was a long way out of pocket ! These tanks are only just about thick enough, would a yield point calculation have revealed this ? Noel.

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