Reply With QuoteI don't drain mine. It loses about 10 psi in a week or so. I drain the condensation from the tank about once a month. I don't see any drawback, but maybe someone here can shed some light.
How many of you leave your compressors full all the time? I have always drained mine after using it, everytime. I was told to leave them empty, but found myself wondering why? I just sucks that everytime I use it, I have to wait for it to fill, cause the tank is huge. Especially if I want to just air up a tire, or blow something out.
How many of you guys with mini shops and big compressors actually leave them full? Any downsides?
I don't drain mine. It loses about 10 psi in a week or so. I drain the condensation from the tank about once a month. I don't see any drawback, but maybe someone here can shed some light.
I would love to leave the air in mine. My buddy was telling me he leaves his full too. I just dont want to strain it and want to make it last a long time. I guess it is more strain on the motor filling it up everytime.
I leave mine full or what ever is left in the tank (60 gal) after use....going on 7 years now and once a year if I remember I dump the air (I also have a water seperator in line for the air tools)
I leave full, always have. Do turn off switch at night though, don't want it blowing a hose or line and running and overheating possibly catching fire.
I leave full, always have. Do turn off switch at night though, don't want it blowing a hose or line and running and overheating possibly catching fire.
I run a pretty big compressor myself.
I always leave it full. I drain the water once a week. I turn the power off like Ol Rexie does, just in case. I also have a ball valve out the outlet side so I don't have any pressure in the shop when it is not in use.
I am more concerned with my PVC pipe's lifespan than the compresser.
My worthless two pennies.
Brian
I leave full, always have. Do turn off switch at night though, don't want it blowing a hose or line and running and overheating possibly catching fire.
Ditto... and ditto.
Pretty much any decent compressor is rebuildable. It's not a huge deal to overhaul them, either. You'll probably spend 100 times more time waiting for the thing to fill than you would spend rebuilding it once every 15 years.
I am more concerned with my PVC pipe's lifespan than the compresser.
Gotta say... I think PVC is a terrible material in a compressed air system. Everyone I know who's run it for more than a season has had a blowout. It's a miracle I don't know anyone who's gotten hurt.
It could be the cold/hot cycles we get up here in Canada screwing up the PVC but I'll stick with black pipe.
I wish I would have known this a long time ago. I always thought I was helping the compressor by keeping it empty. I have a regulator and then the air/water seperator. There is an off/on valve also. I guess I will fill it up, turn the power switch off and then close the valve, so there is no air in the line and only in the tank. Then empty it once a month or so. I dont use it too much, just every other weekend or so, it is kind of overkill.
Gotta say... I think PVC is a terrible material in a compressed air system. Everyone I know who's run it for more than a season has had a blowout. It's a miracle I don't know anyone who's gotten hurt.
It could be the cold/hot cycles we get up here in Canada screwing up the PVC but I'll stick with black pipe.
An old thread on this subject (http://www.***boat.com/forums/showth...ght=copper+air)
I've used PVC in my old shops and been very lucky and didn't have anything blow up. Never will use it again for compressed air after all the horror stories I've heard. Will be using type K copper from now on. Not worth the risk even if the cost is substantially more for copper (which it is).
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