Drain your compressors

[Papa Charlie]

You and Darkzero have the drain moved next to a leg. Duh, why the heck didn't I think of that?
Sometimes I do things that make me feel awfully dumb.

I did exactly what you did and then got tired of it in the way and changed it. So you are not alone.

 

[7milesup]

You and Darkzero have the drain moved next to a leg. Duh, why the heck didn't I think of that?
Sometimes I do things that make me feel awfully dumb.

Ya know, we have a thread for that here.....

 

[MtnBiker]

This was my first "real" machining project. Got the flex line but wanted a more secure way of managing it (sometimes the flex line would get away from me and go nuts spraying air everywhere).

 

[The Shootist]

Most of the pressure sensing auto drains tie into the unloader and cycle for a couple of seconds every time the compressor unloads.

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

Yeah, I think everyone extends those damn drains, how inconvenient the stock placement is. I don't know about anyone else, but particularly if you run it quite a lot on a project, I drain it afterwards and the following day when I run/refill again, when I first fire it up, hit the drain again after you have about 20#'s built up. All the moisture and condensation builds up at the bottom AFTER it has been drained. I've blown out what looks like a solid 1/2 cup or more. Once a year when I go through and maintain the compressor, I will remove drain and give a decent spritz of WD40 in the tank. Not much extra work and I'll tell ya, I am not looking forward to a tank explosion one day. If you buy a good compressor and take good care of it, why wouldn't you want to keep it "forever", but I fear they are not meant to be kept forever.

 

[Illinoyance]

I bought a drain valve for truck air brake tanks. It has a 5' length of cable attached. Just pull on the cable until the balve quirs spewing water. I don't mind if I get water on the floor.

 

[lordbeezer]

I’ve cut open several 20-30 gallon compressor tanks to convert to grills. All have a lot of rust inside. Some way more than others. I’ve started draining more often after seeing how thin in spots some are