Air compressor oil

[alan camby]

What kind of oil are you using in your reciprocating piston air compressor?

I have used the Ingersoll rand stuff a few times in the past and the last oil change was with Amsoil 40weight air compressor oil. I change the oil once a year.
I like Amsoil but it is not convenient to get.

Went down to TSC tonight to look at the oils they sell for their Campbell Hausfeld and Ingersoll Rands. The oil seemed very expensive. The Ingersall oil was $6.99 for 16.9 oz, that is close to $14 a quart. The Campbell oil could be bought for $20 for a gallon but it is made in China.

I would like to find something I can get locally instead of thru mail order.

What is every ones thoughts on SAE30 motor oil? How about 10w30 synthetic Mobil 1 motor oil? I read a bunch on the internet about people saying motor oil will gum up or foul the valves. IMO very little to none of the oil will reach the reed valves, so don't understand why this would be a problem. Seems to me that a compressor pump is constructed very much like a lawn mower engine. Should be a little better environment considering that no combustion is taking place.

My compressor is a IR SS5N5 running at 1000rpm pump speed with splash lubrication.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Gort the giant robot]

One of the things i do at my job is maintaining the air compressor. It is a 60 gallon Speedaire. I have been taking care of this machine since 1981. In 31 years i have replaced the reed valves once and replaced the electric motor once. All i have ever used in it is 30 wt. detergent engine oil. I drain the water out of the tank every evening and change the air filters every 3 months.


Gort.

 

[osborn.ozzy]

Motor oil suspends dirt and debris, this is good if the system uses a filter. Most compressors do not.

 

[RangerDaleXp]

I was going to show you but the 1990s file size limitations on this forum would not let me

 

[pipsters]

How much oil does your machine take? For me it's not worth the space in my garage to store gallon buckets of compressor oil to save $10. Also not sure why you are against mail order, you change it once a year just plan ahead a little bit.

 

[Major Ramifications]

If you feel that you must use motor oil, use a non detergent motor oil.
There is no oil filter in most of our compresors and no combustion.

Do you have a Lowes, Home Depot, Grainger, Harbor Freight or MSC near you? How about a compressor place or an IR dealer? All of them should have some decent compressor oil at a decent price.
At work we sell the CH oil for right at $2 for a 16 ounce bottle. It certainly wasn't made in China the last time I looked, but I will check again tomorrow.
You only change it once a year, get some decent compressor oil and pour it in there.

 

[alan camby]

I am going to Lowes tomorrow and will check out what they have. After some searching found that the oil capacity is 1 liter.
Why do I not want to go mail order? Just found out I can have a vacation day tomorrow. Trying to put together a list of projects for tomorrow.

As far a the CH oil being China made, I have noticed this for several years. This has turned me off to their oil in the past. The back of the bottle says something like, " engineered and tested in the USA" Small print "made in China". I just saw this again today.

 

[pipsters]

Lowes does sell a "synthetic blend" oil as well as regular compressor oil. I've had the synthetic blend in my smaller 120v pump for 3 years, not that it's used all that hard but it hasn't failed on me.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_221009-7504...lt+5hp+compressor&pl=1&currentURL=&facetInfo=

 

[Jawn]

Harbor Freight has some US-made compressor oil, FWIW. I just picked some up for the next change.

 

[kald]

I'm using non detergent straight 30 Travelers from TSC. I'll probably pickup some synthetic 10w30 next. My CH 60 gallon manual says that it is fine and I have used it exclusivley in the past.

 

[Big-Foot]

I've used 10w30 Mobil-1 in my 6HP compressor for many years now (10-12) and I run the ever lovin' do-dah out of it.. No problems. Change the oil annually. Absolutely no loss of oil either.

 

[EOC_Jason]

The only compressor that I've seen where they say it is okay to use motor oil are the Campbell Hausfelds... Specifically it says it's okay to use Mobil 1 Synthetic... *shrug*

You can get 30 wt non-detergent at most auto-parts stores, some even carry separate compressor oil labeled stuff.

What do you have against oil sitting on your shelf a while? Just order three or four qts of Amsoil and you should be set for a while if you really want to run synthetic.

As others have said, I believe HD or Lowes carries synthetic compressor oil too. If they don't have it on the shelf you can ask customer service if they can order it for you.