Air compressor oil?

[sberry]

To the op, that is a beautiful comp. I can tell from here that it likely doesn't need an oil change, it won't hurt but resist fooling with it, don't add everything you ever read or heard on the internet about it. Get a filter/regulator and run it, don't undo every fitting, take the bungs out, dump **** in the tank, re design the controls, add buzzers lights and whistles.
You can't wear it out if you and everyone you know try, first thing that will go wrong with it is belt slip from old age providing it gets used.
Most people that worry about wearing it out never wore one out, they just worry about it. Guys that have simply replace it if they do. Only thing I ever re man 2x was due to corrosion. I scrap 1 truck I rebuilt and just not worth it anymore to fix it.

 

[sberry]

I have seen a couple comps worn out. They were in auto body shops, 1 sucking dirty air and a couple of those little Sears 2 cylinder portables with a couple guys running them non-stop painting cars.
I recently saw a little portable running for a week in town with a couple guys grinding rivets out of a truck frame. I was roofing a house next door, I was tempted to take a 4 1/2 over,, they took dam near 2 weeks non stop doing 2 hours work. Poor little comp run continiously, I was thinking it would seize at some point but it was still running.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Amazon has this synthetic air compressor oil for $10.98.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZBNQ9W/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[sberry]

Here is a point. Yes, there is an optimum point to turn it off at. This has been set by the engineer from the factory. The 175 is not as much as it will pump, that is where they set it at. It will pump north of 200. If there was a better place they would have included it in the instructions.
The engineer already set it back from its maximum capacity.

 

[sberry]

That oil price is probably about as good as it gets. It's been so long since I bought any don't even know what off the shelf Amsoil or Royal is?

 

[sberry]

Air isn't used because it's efficient but because we need work done. I am sure an engineer can explain the trade off in energy demands and stored energy and efficiency and maybe even in wear and tear but if it needs more cycles to do the same work any savings would be pretty small if any especially considering how much is wasted during starts.
It is short for sure but we are dumping 8 or 10x the current thru the motor under load, or at least some load and thru the start circuits, contacts etc.
Most loss comes from leaks and from inefficient operators and not so much within the realm of the machine.

 

[ATC]

To the op, that is a beautiful comp. I can tell from here that it likely doesn't need an oil change, it won't hurt but resist fooling with it, don't add everything you ever read or heard on the internet about it. Get a filter/regulator and run it, don't undo every fitting, take the bungs out, dump **** in the tank, re design the controls, add buzzers lights and whistles.
You can't wear it out if you and everyone you know try, first thing that will go wrong with it is belt slip from old age providing it gets used.
Most people that worry about wearing it out never wore one out, they just worry about it. Guys that have simply replace it if they do. Only thing I ever re man 2x was due to corrosion. I scrap 1 truck I rebuilt and just not worth it anymore to fix it.

If you are looking at the sight glass, that pic was taken after I just changed the oil. The oil was pretty dark, and likely the original fill (it looked like motor oil with about 2-3k miles on it for reference). That's not to say it didn't look like that going in when new either...I don't know. Royal Purple is just under $20/qt on Amazon...$68 for a gallon. I'll probably go with the link OccupantRJ posted...thanks for that

I definitely won't wear it out...I'm just a weekend warrior with impacts, die grinders, a plasma cutter, tires to fill, and blow guns to use. I have a small spot sand blaster that I have a few projects for this year...but that's about it. I hate bodywork, so you can rule out any DA sanders or paint guns.

I'm just going to add an in-line regulator, water separator/air dryer (hot & humid here in VA summers), and remove the auto drain that's on it (already has a pipe with ball valve leading to it). The motor has grease zerks on both ends that are painted over, so I know they haven't been touched since she came from the factory....might put a couple pumps in there and run it.

I have a RapidAir kit to install when she gets to her final home in the back corner of the garage.

 

[ATC]

If it wasn't so tall would you have even found it

Hey now!


I'm actually getting excited to what I will find buried in there. I know I have a lot of stuff I've been looking for that I haven't seen in a while!

 

[sberry]

Royal and some of the other non detergents are dark to start with. Amsoil is near clear.

 

[sberry]

Yes, a pump or 2 of grease is plenty for the motor. It only takes a fuzz. Too little is better than 2 much as sometimes there is no where for the excess to go.