The analogy is pretty close. If you take a compressor apart it's more like a 2 cycle engine, complete with a piston and rings. There isn't a cam shaft, the better ones run a reed valve. As far as bleeding off in about 10 minutes, that is a sealing problem of sorts. I would tend to think it is in the 1 way valve located somewhere between the tank and the top of the cylinder. Not all are exactly the same but the principal will be. The valve you are looking for will have a spring to close or seal the air in the tank. Some look like a little valve, on a miniature scale. It will have a stem and head on the valve, it just won't have the angles cut on the face. It usually has some sort of neoprene that closes against another surface causing the seal. The spring isn't very stiff but doesn't need to be. It closes the valve but as pressure builds in the tank the pressure alone will hold the valve closed.
To find the silly thing, follow the main supply line from where it is connected at the top of the cylinder and trace that line down toward the tank. Somewhere in that line you should find the valve. If you pump it up and wait for the noise to stop you might be able to hear the leak. sometimes the valve will screw into the tank on 1 end, have the valve mechanism in the middle, and have a threaded end so the line can screw on to the end. Beyond that you might have a leaking pop off valve, or the petcock on the bottom of the tank may have some junk in it keeping it from closing all the way. I'm sure there may be some more reasons but this will give you a place to start. Most any part you might need can be bought at NAPA stores, or a Northern Tool store if you have one near you. ----- Original Message ----- From: robert moore To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 4:59 PM Subject: RE: [BlindHandyMan] Compressor question: to blow or no. This thread causes me to ponder. I have an old compressor it has an electric motor that turns the piston in the actual compressor it looks kind of like a small gas powered 4 stroke engine, it is driven by a belt. As I said this thing is old, what I mean is that it is very very old. My question is this. Is it normal for some of the older units to bleed off by them selves with in about 10 minutes. Or do I have a worn out release valve or is there an adjustment that I need to make some where? Out side of that it works great. I have no problem with the way it performs. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Dale Leavens Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 12:50 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Compressor question: to blow or no. I almost never blow my tank off though I do occasionally open the drain at the bottom and drip any water out of it. Some time ago I turned it over and poured an ounce or two of oil into the tank which settles to the bottom, My thinking was that since oil floats on water it would keep the lower part of the tank more or less oiled and possibly protected. The other thing is that I often forget to turn the compressor off after a week-end it may cycle every 6 or 8 hours for a couple of days when I am at work, I reason that I may need it some evening and the pressure will be there. My tank is 22 Imperial gallons I think so it takes a little time to charge at start-up. Now I am not recommending this procedure. My compressor doesn't get a lot of work either, I have had it probably 7 years now maybe 8. Sometimes when I shut it off I blow it off too but often I forget. So far it serves me well. Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:DLeavens%40puc.net> Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: William Stephan To: [email protected] <mailto:blindhandyman%40yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 12:36 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Compressor question: to blow or no. All: The operating instructions that came with my cheap compressor advise that you bleed off the tank if you're not going to be using air for over an hour. I understand this is to prevent the tank from rusting due to the condensation in compressed air. I know of some guys to do this religiously, and others who don't really worry about it, and I've never heard of rust being a problem, though that's not to say that it isn't or couldn't be. So, what do you folks think about this? Do you all blow out your tank regularly? This just seems like a real waist of energy to me, and I'd a lot rather keep air up so I can use it when I need to rather than have to fill the tank every time. Are some tanks made of metal that doesn't rust, and mine is not? Any thoughts will be appreciated. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
