G'day guys, I was using my air compressor last night to blow dust out of some computer parts for a mate. I filled it up and used it before letting the pressure out of the tank afterward via the 'tap' thing on the belly of the tank. My concern is that the moisture that came out of the tank via this tap with the compressed air also had an oily texture and colour. I have noticed this the last couple of times I have used it but not really thought anything about it until last night. I have no idea how the thing works as I have never pulled it apart to find out, but am wondering if this could be a problem, especially as I was hoping to do alot more spraypainting with it soon.
The compressor is just a cheap one I bought from autobarn a couple of years ago but have so far used it to spray my Torana and alot of other bits and pieces with no trouble from it. Even though I run an inline moisture trap on the bottom of the spraygun, I'm concerned that oil may now have a chance to become present in the sprayed paint, which could root a paintjob. Has anyone had this sort of experience with a compressor before? Any ideas what could be the problem, if any? I don't know if it would be worth repairing but I would rather do that than throw it away and get a new one because not only does that mean forking out more money but its just a waste basically.
Oily moisture when I purge air compressor tank?
Started by
_mick74lh_
, Dec 11 2010 03:52 PM
13 replies to this topic
#2
Rockoz
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Posted 11 December 2010 - 04:29 PM
Normal.
Thats why you need to use an oil and water seperator.
Thats why you need to use an oil and water seperator.
#3
rodomo
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Posted 11 December 2010 - 04:44 PM
It's just a bit of oil getting past the rings in the compressor.
Don't forget to check the oil level in the compressor regularly. It will give you an idea how much oil it's using.
Compressors are usualy splash fed for oil. Dont let it get low.
Don't forget to check the oil level in the compressor regularly. It will give you an idea how much oil it's using.
Compressors are usualy splash fed for oil. Dont let it get low.
#4
_Bomber Watson_
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Posted 11 December 2010 - 04:48 PM
Thats strange cause my compressor doenst make oily, only watery air...
Basically inside the pump is just like an engine, piston/s, rings, bores, head/s with valves (though usually butterfly type valves)....
I'd recommend at least giving it a service, drop the oil out, replace it with new stuff, and change the air filter on the intake while your going. Last time i serviced my compressor as above it cost about $12 for oil and filter.
Cheers.
Basically inside the pump is just like an engine, piston/s, rings, bores, head/s with valves (though usually butterfly type valves)....
I'd recommend at least giving it a service, drop the oil out, replace it with new stuff, and change the air filter on the intake while your going. Last time i serviced my compressor as above it cost about $12 for oil and filter.
Cheers.
#5
rodomo
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Posted 11 December 2010 - 04:58 PM
change the air filter on the intake while your going.
Good point!
If it can't get air through the airfilter, it will try and drag it past the rings along with oil.
#6
_Squarepants_
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Posted 11 December 2010 - 08:52 PM
This is your first point of call.
change the air filter on the intake while your going.
Good point!
If it can't get air through the airfilter, it will try and drag it past the rings along with oil.
I'm inclined to think, being a cheap compressor, the rings are rooted and you're up for a re-ring or new compressor.
But try the simple things first, you never know. It could be something as simple as a blocked crank case breather. Give it a full service and see how it goes.
#7
_fitzsi_
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Posted 11 December 2010 - 10:46 PM
Don't know where you are located but if you want to use the compressor for spray painting your car you may want to invest in a decent moisture trap and filter.Don't do any spray painting in humid or wet weather as moisture will travel through your hose and up in your paint on the car.I'm sure you don't want to buy an air dryer to remove the moisture but you can buy a filter called a Deltec filter which will remove 99 % moisture after your water trap and also any oil.Also make sure the receiver is large enough so the compressor isn't running flat out during the processG'day guys, I was using my air compressor last night to blow dust out of some computer parts for a mate. I filled it up and used it before letting the pressure out of the tank afterward via the 'tap' thing on the belly of the tank. My concern is that the moisture that came out of the tank via this tap with the compressed air also had an oily texture and colour. I have noticed this the last couple of times I have used it but not really thought anything about it until last night. I have no idea how the thing works as I have never pulled it apart to find out, but am wondering if this could be a problem, especially as I was hoping to do alot more spraypainting with it soon.
The compressor is just a cheap one I bought from autobarn a couple of years ago but have so far used it to spray my Torana and alot of other bits and pieces with no trouble from it. Even though I run an inline moisture trap on the bottom of the spraygun, I'm concerned that oil may now have a chance to become present in the sprayed paint, which could root a paintjob. Has anyone had this sort of experience with a compressor before? Any ideas what could be the problem, if any? I don't know if it would be worth repairing but I would rather do that than throw it away and get a new one because not only does that mean forking out more money but its just a waste basically.
Edited by fitzsi, 11 December 2010 - 10:47 PM.
#8
_Bomber Watson_
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Posted 12 December 2010 - 02:37 AM
GR 3 shit and mostly bullshit....
Cheers.
Cheers.
#9
_mick74lh_
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Posted 12 December 2010 - 11:12 AM
Thanks for the replies. When you mentioned oil getting past the rings I was like 'what the hell?', as far as I knew this thing didn't have an internal combustion motor. I'd never put fuel in it! So I found a diagram of all the parts and pulled the cover off the actual compressor to sort of examine whats what when it suddenly made sense. So basically an electric motor drives a crankshaft which draws air in via a one way valve and piston/rings/bore and compresses it back out and down a tube which feeds into the tank.
Well I'm assuming the rings are possibly a bit worn as it has used about 30ml of oil since i last checked which was probably about 6 months ago. I checked out some Deltech filters on the internet but they are really too expensive. There are some other brands of inline filters on ebay which claim to seperate oil as well as moisture but I'm not sure if I should trust this. The photo below is of the inline moisture filter I've been using for the past couple of years. It just screws into the bottom of the spraygun. I'm not sure if something like this is capable of filtering out oil as well or whether something completely different is required to reliably do this.
I get the idea that in an ideal situation you would run a good compressor that doesn't let any oil past the rings coupled with an expensive oil and moisture trap, but this would mean spending lots of $$$$ that i honestly can't justify spending that much. If anyone can recomend a reliable type of filter that isn't too expensive that would be awesome.
Um I don't know what you mean but top stuff!
Well I'm assuming the rings are possibly a bit worn as it has used about 30ml of oil since i last checked which was probably about 6 months ago. I checked out some Deltech filters on the internet but they are really too expensive. There are some other brands of inline filters on ebay which claim to seperate oil as well as moisture but I'm not sure if I should trust this. The photo below is of the inline moisture filter I've been using for the past couple of years. It just screws into the bottom of the spraygun. I'm not sure if something like this is capable of filtering out oil as well or whether something completely different is required to reliably do this.
I get the idea that in an ideal situation you would run a good compressor that doesn't let any oil past the rings coupled with an expensive oil and moisture trap, but this would mean spending lots of $$$$ that i honestly can't justify spending that much. If anyone can recomend a reliable type of filter that isn't too expensive that would be awesome.
GR 3 shit and mostly bullshit....
Cheers.
Um I don't know what you mean but top stuff!
#10
_Bomber Watson_
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Posted 12 December 2010 - 01:08 PM
Sorry...Was quiet drunk....look at the time.
Wheres that forum bretholizer???
Cheers.
Wheres that forum bretholizer???
Cheers.
#11
_mick74lh_
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Posted 12 December 2010 - 01:59 PM
Sorry...Was quiet drunk....look at the time.
Wheres that forum bretholizer???
Cheers.
Ah ha ha I thought so
#12
_nzstato_
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Posted 12 December 2010 - 06:18 PM
What kind of oil are you using in it? You can't use oil with any form of additives in it (i.e. engine oil) or else you can get the situation you are describing.
#13
_mick74lh_
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Posted 13 December 2010 - 02:41 PM
The oil I'm using is the stuff which came with the compressor when I bought it. I'm not sure what grade it is but I havent put any other type of oil in it. I haven't looked yet but I'm guessing you'd be able to get different grades of oil specifically for air compressors?
#14
_nzstato_
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Posted 14 December 2010 - 12:12 PM
The oil I'm using is the stuff which came with the compressor when I bought it. I'm not sure what grade it is but I havent put any other type of oil in it. I haven't looked yet but I'm guessing you'd be able to get different grades of oil specifically for air compressors?
That should be alright then. Nah you just need to make sure you use "compressor oil" (pure mineral oil without additives), not just a generic engine oil. It'll gummy it up
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