Cold Weather Compressor Maintenance

[grizz_660]

Just fishing for some advice on my new compressor; and how to keep it in good shape for years to come.

It is an oil lubricated, 60 gallon unit. I only use it when I need it; which is not on a daily basis. My plan is to drain it after every use, and keep the drain open until the next time I use it.

Are there any other precautions I should make? Temperatures can drop to -40C here in the winter.

 

[jallyn]

Sounds good to me. You nailed my concern on the head...condensation left in pipes or fittings will expand upon freezing and burst them.

I would run it at least briefly every month or so to keep the bearings and belt from developing dead spots.

Of course change the oil periodically. If used very little maybe it can go 2 years between changes. Or just every year to make tracking simpler.

 

[grizz_660]

It will definetly be run multiple times a month, just not daily.

I am also replacing the drain with a small chunk of pipe to a ball valve that comes out from under the tank to make draining easier.

Also, the in line filter. Water will build up in the bottom, so that will have to be drained as well.

 

[Burgerkong]

If it's as cold as you say, you can get a magnetic block heating element/oil pan heater and stick it to your crankcase to warm up the oil before starting, should save some undue wear and tear on the bearings.

Also, synthetic oil with super low viscosity.

 

[rick carpenter]

If it's as cold as you say, you can get a magnetic block heating element and stick it to your crankcase to warm up the oil before starting, should save some undue wear and tear on the bearings.

Some heat for in-line drains might be something to think about too.

 

[grizz_660]

The block heater is a good idea. It normally doesnt stay that cold, but does get there. Generally stays between 0 and -20 for a couple months.

Thanks for the suggestions. My biggest concern was water in the tank. Think ill leave the valve open when not in use.

 

[Rossco]

Meh. It drops to sillyness here as well. Forget about it.

 

[woody6904]

A small glue on oil pan heater and some Mobil 1 0w-30 oil will make it startup a heck of alot easier when u do run it. Drain it as best as you can, a little water here and there wont hurt as long as it has some room to expand.

 

[dirtydogintex]

running a good grade of synthetic compressor oil?

 

[MrGiggles]

You'll want to run a high quality, preferably synthetic, oil in the pump. But that's pretty much it, aside from draining. You don't want water to collect in your drain pipe and freeze.

 

[CNGsaves]

WHERE in Canada ???

UPDATE GJ Profile with a Location.

 

[Jazz1]

Do you not heat the shop or is compressor outdoors?

 

[sberry]

I am also replacing the drain with a small chunk of pipe to a ball valve that comes out from under the tank to make draining easier.

Don't do this. As it is made it could freeze some water in the bottom and not hurt a thing. At the rate you would be using it and at those temps there is a chance you may not need to drain till spring.
A crank case heater and a blanket works even better is a small heated room. I sat up a temp one winter, air comp and pressure washer in old insulated truck body. It cost 20 to 30 a month to heat with electric. It could be way less in a build on. Put it in an insulated corner and stand 2 foam sheets around it, put small heater in. 100 watt lamp and it would be 25 cents a day or so.

 

[53chevy5]

I have the same situation as you, not quite as cold and I do use mine more often. First I made sure there was zero air leaks so it never has to start running from lost air. As for the drain on the bottom, if it is froze, it's not coming through my lines so I'm happy, and I drain the compreser in the spring when it's warmer. As for the lines, I have a long pipe going down straigt off the outlet to catch any water before it goes up into my air line. Once a month or so I will use a hair dryer and heat the drain pipe and drain it. Had it this was for several years with no problems.

 

[sberry]

The block heater is a good idea. It normally doesnt stay that cold, but does get there. Generally stays between 0 and -20 for a couple months.

Thanks for the suggestions. My biggest concern was water in the tank. Think ill leave the valve open when not in use.

If I was going to start it from none would more simply turn it off, shut the valve in and use the air down some if practical. You can cherry pick warmer days, if it doesn't leak leave it pumped up. It wont start.
With a factory petcock it could have several gallons of water froze it and not hurt. The auto and sump drains are for heated buildings. Older horizontal units had a hose laying on the bottom and up to a drain valve. Once the unit was above freezing it could be drained and water froze in the bottom was never in a sump.
The unit I use now sat in a froze building 10 yrs, wrong oil in it half the time and sucking humid air, rarely drained.
The blue 5 hp is my backup/demand unit and the main is a 3 hp that pumps all 200 gallons of tanks 24/7. I am on rural service, the 3 hp doesn't ding my lights when it starts. Even though the comp is a pinch smaller I am really done with most things before supply is an issue. It has longer runs but half the starts or less as a bigger unit.
As an operator and timing it I can sand near continuous after a bit and keep the motor running steady. I should have some big gage so it could be seen and might if I was sanding a lot.
When I smoked I would sand till the comp came on, have a cig and get a new paper, move ladder etc and just before the shut off resume sanding and with large tanks could work as fast as a guy wanted for 20 or 30 minutes or more. Could sandblast at 100 for 10 mins at near 40 with comp makes 30

 

[grizz_660]

So, is the general consensus that I do not need to drain the tank after each use? My thoughts are that if I leave the drain open when not using it, moisture will not be able to build up inside the tank. When I want to use it, I will close the valve and start it up.

Why should I not extend the drain? I wanted to do this so I did not have to crawl on the floor and reach under the tank.

If there is water frozen in the tank, is it ok to operate it?

 

[bobcatdan]

A block heater would be a good idea. When I had my 80 gallon IR, it ate belts in the winter and finally cooked the motor before we got smart about a block heater. We put it on a programmable timer. Two hours on, four off. Blocker heaters have a real short life if left on all the time. Oil is cheap so it's changed every fall.

 

[redmondjp]

So, is the general consensus that I do not need to drain the tank after each use? My thoughts are that if I leave the drain open when not using it, moisture will not be able to build up inside the tank. When I want to use it, I will close the valve and start it up.

Why should I not extend the drain? I wanted to do this so I did not have to crawl on the floor and reach under the tank.

If there is water frozen in the tank, is it ok to operate it?

The problem with your leaving the drain valve open idea is this: you are wasting a tremendous amount of energy every time you have to pump up from zero psi. And in cold temps, this is going to be even harder on the pump (but on the flip side, it will get the pump and the oil heated up).

I'm with the others - you want to valve off your tank output when not using the compressor and leave it fully charged.

And as stated above, adding a pipe and valve to drain the tank works, but this line can then freeze and split open. With the factory petcock, the water stays inside the tank, and if it freezes there, will do no damage - yes, you can operate the unit with frozen water in the tank. The key thing is getting the compressor oil thin enough or warm enough so it can successfully start and be lubricated in low ambient temperatures.

 

[dirtydogintex]

A block heater would be a good idea. When I had my 80 gallon IR, it ate belts in the winter and finally cooked the motor before we got smart about a block heater. We put it on a programmable timer. Two hours on, four off. Blocker heaters have a real short life if left on all the time. Oil is cheap so it's changed every fall.

did you try a lower viscosity synthetic compressor oil?
I understand that's the ticket on oil lubed pan cake and hot ********* air compressors in colder climates

 

[mjoekingz28]

I dont know about leaving the drain open. I doubt it will help since it needs pressure to force out the water- I think it does. I dont think you will get any free flowing water out from an open valve.

However, I cannot think of what bad occurences could come about from leaving it open either. Maybe you forget the next time you use it and it runs for awhile?

 

[GasNSteering]

Most compressors call for 30w non detergent oil. What are the synthetic alternatives? Can't afford to SO synthetic.......

 

[rlitman]

Most compressors call for 30w non detergent oil. What are the synthetic alternatives? Can't afford to SO synthetic.......

Mobil 1 5w30.

 

[jallyn]

I like the idea of using a thin synthetic oil to help during cold starts. And a crankcase heater for extremely cold starts.

I also think it is fine to leave the tank empty and the drain valve open so that it drains completely when not in use. You can run your drain pipe wherever you like as it will never have standing water in it.

It won't cost you much extra to fill your tank every time from zero PSI. I ran the numbers and worst case if it takes 10 minutes to fill up you will pay $0.13 in electricity.

 

[mjoekingz28]

I dont like the idea of a bomb just sitting there. Reminds me of Hooper yelling at Chiefy. But I have like a 12 gal.

 

[grizz_660]

I dont know about leaving the drain open. I doubt it will help since it needs pressure to force out the water- I think it does. I dont think you will get any free flowing water out from an open valve.

However, I cannot think of what bad occurences could come about from leaving it open either. Maybe you forget the next time you use it and it runs for awhile?

I dont like the idea of a bomb just sitting there. Reminds me of Hooper yelling at Chiefy. But I have like a 12 gal.

This is what I am concerned of as well, which is why I wanted to leave it open. Im not using it daily, maybe weekly.

I dont mind letting it fill from 0. If I only needed it for something quick, i can start it up until I have what I need. I figure if I leave the drain open, then no moisture can build up. However, if the tank is left full, should be similar results, right? But I dont like the idea of 60gallons of compressed air just sitting there either

 

[CNGsaves]

This is what I am concerned of as well, which is why I wanted to leave it open. Im not using it daily, maybe weekly.

I dont mind letting it fill from 0. If I only needed it for something quick, i can start it up until I have what I need. I figure if I leave the drain open, then no moisture can build up. However, if the tank is left full, should be similar results, right? But I dont like the idea of 60gallons of compressed air just sitting there either

^ ^ ^ You'll change your mind that one morning that PoCo has problem . .
. . so your electricity is OUT . . . . . . . AND . . . . you've got a flat tire !!!

Really, no harm in leaving your 60 gal of compressed air. Just add ball valve so you can shut off air to the rest of airline system.

1) Drain any moisture DAILY before you leave the shop.
2) Close ball valve to save that compressed air you paid for.
3) Shut off lights and leave garage . . . . . . simple !!

 

[sberry]

The internet has exaggerated the worry over moisture to the 10th degree, almost insane compulsive worry. So much so that fuggin with the design before we even have it installed causes more problems than it solves. I believe most of the synth comp oils are in the 10W range anyway and again this whole deal is different for a part timer than a daily driver.
Best thing a guy can do for it is not to turn it on in extreme weather if he can help it. You really got to start body work at -40?
I wouldn't even drain it till it was above freezing, why mess with a frozen valve, wouldn't touch a thing on it except to turn off a service valve.

 

[bobcatdan]

did you try a lower viscosity synthetic compressor oil?
I understand that's the ticket on oil lubed pan cake and hot ********* air compressors in colder climates

I forget the actual weight or even the name, but I went with a highly recommend synthetic compressor oil from a local oil supply company after explaing the issue, that alone didn't solve the problem.

 

[kelpaso1]

This is what I am concerned of as well, which is why I wanted to leave it open. Im not using it daily, maybe weekly.

I dont mind letting it fill from 0. If I only needed it for something quick, i can start it up until I have what I need. I figure if I leave the drain open, then no moisture can build up. However, if the tank is left full, should be similar results, right? But I dont like the idea of 60gallons of compressed air just sitting there either

Moisture doesn't just build up inside the tank from just sitting there. It's a closed system. Moisture builds up when the compressor is pumping, not when it's off. As others have said, it's wasteful to completely drain all the air out, plus more wear and tear on the pump and motor.

 

[mjoekingz28]

^ ^ ^ You'll change your mind that one morning that PoCo has problem . .
. . so your electricity is OUT . . . . . . . AND . . . . you've got a flat tire !!!

Really, no harm in leaving your 60 gal of compressed air. Just add ball valve so you can shut off air to the rest of airline system.

1) Drain any moisture DAILY before you leave the shop.
2) Close ball valve to save that compressed air you paid for.
3) Shut off lights and leave garage . . . . . . simple !!

Talk about Haley's comet.

 

[grizz_660]

Perfect. Thanks for all the help.

 

[dwall174]

I am also replacing the drain with a small chunk of pipe to a ball valve that comes out from under the tank to make draining easier.

I have mine like that & have never had a problem with it freezing! I just open the ball valve about 1/16th of a turn for about 30 seconds & let any moisture blow out before I leave the garage for the night.

Does your compressor have a auto unloading valve on it?
Most good compressors will have a auto unloading valve built into the pressure switch that removes any trapped pressure between the heads & the pressure switch when it shuts off.

I added a "T" fitting & a ball valve to the tanks inlet/check valve. With the auto unloader, This lets me open the ball valve & allows the compressor to run freely with no head pressure to let the pumps oil warm up first. After a few minutes I close the ball valve & the compressor runs normally.

Doug

 

[dwall174]

Do you not heat the shop or is compressor outdoors?

I was wondering that also?

Generally I let the garage heat up for about an hour or so before I run any of my power equipment!

On really cold days, Or when I don't heat the garage I will use a small magnetic heater to warm up the compressors pump for an hour or so first.

I usually keep my tank filled to 125 psi, But I always drain off any moisture before I close up the garage for the night if it's expected to go below freezing.
I also don't leave any hoses connected when not using the compressor.

Doug