Leave pressure in my compressor tank, or drain it every time I shut it off?

[pontiac428]

An auto drain is awesome with the drain hosed outside.

Yep! And the Harbor Freight auto-drain kits actually do work like they're supposed to. Ball valves or draincocks help for manual purges, no need to depressurize the tank to take the plug off of the hose/reservoir.

 

[David2011]

Like many, I have an automatic drain and there’s a ball valve on the discharge side of the compressor. It’s on a short hose since the compressor is in a storeroom in the garage and the shutoff ball valve is on the other side of the wall that separates the garage from the shop. It’s the style of compressor that has a separate motor and cast iron pump so it’s not as loud as the oilless one it replaced. I can barely hear it in the shop. The power is switched by a switch duty breaker. When the shop was wired I had a jelly jar top mount light fixture installed in the shop on the dedicated circuit for the compressor. That light fixture has a blue light in it that’s on when there’s power to the compressor. It’s a great reminder for me to close the ball valve and shut the power off.

 

[keeena]

[...] added a “sacrificial” high pressure hose to drain petcock. This way, water collects in the hose instead of on the tank floor. [...]

I have a similar setup in my fixed, upright 60gal. I used brass piping w/ a ball valve to snake from the tank to closer to the ground (my compressor is about 3' from the floor on a riser platform). I drain the water regularly / as needed after a n-number of compressor cycles; only takes a few seconds; just crack the ball valve enough to purge the water.

I didn't make it with the intention of holding water per se; just wanted to ditch the original wing-nut valve which was a pain to get to. But it did cross my mind that it keeps water from pooling in the bottom of the tank as long as you burp the line before it totally fills with water. I think its a good option if you don't go the auto-drain route.

 

[toprecyler]

Yep! And the Harbor Freight auto-drain kits actually do work like they're supposed to. Ball valves or draincocks help for manual purges, no need to depressurize the tank to take the plug off of the hose/reservoir.

I installed a HF auto drain on the compressor I am storing / using for a friend. When I went to remove it from his decommissioned shop, it was in a little utility room up about 6 steps. It almost hurt couple of us laying it down. The drain valve was opened several times a week, with very little water coming out.

Surprised, the tank was 1/3rd full of water! Guy never noticed a reduced capacity of air, or water in his lines. I really should inspect it more when I plan on moving it out to an outside shed.

Anyways, the auto drain works, but does not stay open long enough to actually drain all the water. I also have a ball valve that is easy to reach to manually drain every time I start the compressor.

For the record, this is like a 60 or 80 gallon vertical tank, and the compressor does not cycle often. Would cycle less if I actually fixed several air leaks.


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[verbotenwhisky]

I installed a HF auto drain on the compressor I am storing / using for a friend. When I went to remove it from his decommissioned shop, it was in a little utility room up about 6 steps. It almost hurt couple of us laying it down. The drain valve was opened several times a week, with very little water coming out.

Surprised, the tank was 1/3rd full of water! Guy never noticed a reduced capacity of air, or water in his lines. I really should inspect it more when I plan on moving it out to an outside shed.

Anyways, the auto drain works, but does not stay open long enough to actually drain all the water. I also have a ball valve that is easy to reach to manually drain every time I start the compressor.

For the record, this is like a 60 or 80 gallon vertical tank, and the compressor does not cycle often. Would cycle less if I actually fixed several air leaks.


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The auto drain valve I have is a float valve that drains the water without any manual intervention.

 

[B Mann]

Anyways, the auto drain works, but does not stay open long enough to actually drain all the water. I also have a ball valve that is easy to reach to manually drain every time I start the compressor.

Jumping in on the end of this thread. I use air in the garage quite a bit, so the compressor is always on. I put in a cheap auto drain. I think I got it on the bay. Mine has a timer. 2 controls, one how long it drains, other other how often. I think I have it set for a 1 second blast every 5? minutes. I wired it to the motor, so it cycles when the motor runs. It drains when the motor kicks on and every 5?

On the plus side, I have the compressor in a storage area in one of the buildings. (Lines run underground) So in the garage you don't hear the compressor run. I have a gauge on the wall to eyeball pressure if I use a lot. If you are outside you can hear the pop offs of the auto drain. I live in a humid area, and thought I would run a hose outside. Seems to be fine shooting a small spot of water on the floor randomly.