Compressor Oil???

[roaddog359]

I have a 80 gal 2 stage ingersall rand compressor that I would like to change the oil on. What type of oil do I need to get for it? and where can I get it? and what is the cost? Thanks

 

[fflintstone]

Air compressors work best with old fashioned straight 30W NON detergent motor oil.
They do not have combustion so they do not have corrosive blowby. They do not need all the modern additives in regular oil. They do not need synthetic base stock. They work at low RPM’s low load conditions.
Anything other than cheap 30W non detergent oil is a total waste of money.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of ****.
You can get it at walmart or any auto parts store.

 

[brownbagg]

i agree, people going tell you syntic and all those fancy oils but plain 30 wt.

 

[alan camby]

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159463

 

[Kevin C]

From the IR manual for two stage compressors:

12 months is the warranty for standard lube. It gets upped to 24 months of you run synthetic.

(12) months from the date of placing the Equipment in operation or eighteen (18) months from the date
of shipment, whichever shall occur first. The foregoing warranty period shall apply to all Equipment, except for the following: (A)
Compressors that are operated solely on All Season Select synthetic compressor lubricant will have their bare compressor warranted for
the earlier of twenty-four (24) months from the date of initial operation or thirty (30) months from the date of shipment. (B) Replacement
parts will be warranted for six (6)

2X warranty for running synthetic, guess what I run at work? From what I have read it greatly reduces carbon deposits on the valves. No combustion, but enough heat pressure and temperature to break down oil. At home, less of an issue, my shop compressor does not run that often.

According to IR for a single stage pump you would see a 615°F discharge temp at 150 PSI. For a two stage 365°F at 150 PSI.

Thats more than enough temperature to break oil down.

 

[Gary S]

Air compressors work best with old fashioned straight 30W NON detergent motor oil.
They do not have combustion so they do not have corrosive blowby. They do not need all the modern additives in regular oil. They do not need synthetic base stock. They work at low RPM’s low load conditions.
Anything other than cheap 30W non detergent oil is a total waste of money.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of ****.
You can get it at walmart or any auto parts store.

OK, I'm full of **** then. I use only synthetic oil in my compressors, and refuse to use anything else.
Synthetic oil has an 8000 hour oil change interval, so if I change it once every 10-20 years, it is much cheaper than using 30W oil.

 

[KinzeMech]

I use royal purple synthetic compressor oil. I'm not particular to the brand, that's just what they sell at the local napa. I am particular about preferring synthetic. As already mentioned, single stage pumps get pretty hot on the output. Two stage pumps don't get so hot due to the mid stage intercooler, but two stage pumps are typically used in more demanding circumstances, and are therefore likely to see higher duty cycle. Either of those (high temp, or high duty cycle %) is sufficient reason to me to use better oil.
Maybe it was a waste of money, but if $8 is going to break me, I've got bigger problems...

 

[roaddog359]

I got this at harbor freight. Is this what I need? I am a little concerned that this is not good stuff and will not be good in the compressor. I dont want to damage it.

 

[eriksalo]

Synthetic is the better choice.

If you're like me, you will forget to service your compressor often enough.

Synthetic oil will last much longer than dino oil. The negative is that metallic particles build up in synth oil just as fast as they do in dino oil. That's why you should change your oil regularly regardless of what you put in.

However, synth oil will perform better for longer...

 

[EOC_Jason]

I'm sure that oil will be more than adequate that you bought.

If you have a source of synthetic near you then it's always preferred, but if not regular 30W (non-detergent) that you can find at auto parts stores or specific "Compressor Oil" (same thing) will do just fine.

Usually Lowes and/or Home Depot will carry synthetic or synthetic blend compressor oil. Amsoil makes synthetic for compressors in different weights. Royal Purple does too. Tractory Supply, Northern Tool, and Harbor Freight also usually stock supplies.

Before you change the oil, make sure you run the compressor a bit to warm up the oil (just like you would when changing the oil in your vehicle). I usually just open the drain valve on mine or hold open the pop-off to get it to run continuous for like 5-10 min.

Oh yeah, CHECK YOUR AIR FILTER! If it's not too bad you can just blow out the dust, but if its real nasty you can usually find replacement air filters for IR's at Northern Tool or Lowes.

 

[Big-Foot]

I'm full of **** too I guess.. Nothing but Mobil1 10w30 for many years now and push that compressor hard.. No problems..

 

[mayday0017]

I used Kobalt Synthetic from Lowes, paid way to much for it but I do figure it won't get changed very often and I know I put a good oil in.

 

[aka Larry]

I'm full of **** too I guess.. Nothing but Mobil1 10w30 for many years now and push that compressor hard.. No problems..

I have a Husky 60 gallon unit and the manual recommends M1 10W30 so that is what I have always used in mine. I change the oil often compared to my use time also. Probably change it three times a year, but only use the thing 8 hours in a whole year!

 

[gahrajmahal]

Put me in the **** wagon with the other synthetic folks. My particular reason is synthetic does not absorb moisture like petroleum oil does. Thanks for reminding me to change my oil.

 

[sberry]

I think the synth is better, been using Royal but store changed to Amsoil. I just change my main, used to do it every year or so when using dino, always came out looking crappy, I figure the Royal had been in there 10 yrs, maybe 12, been a long time, used daily, on 24/7, came out beautiful looking and I realize its not an official test but feels super slippery just like new. I am not fussing with it again unless it needs service for some other reason. As I recall as quoted by one of the oil guys, 8 times the service life provided it isnt being contaminated for some other reason.

 

[KinzeMech]

I would never let a compressor run to 8000 hours on an oil change. I don't have an hour meter on mine, but I'll change it anytime I think it's seen more than a few hundred hours (for my personally owned compressors, that service interval represents several years).

I have a hard time believing an oil mfr or pump mfr would recommend an 8000 hr service interval, but I'll stand corrected if someone shows it.

 

[Gary S]

I would never let a compressor run to 8000 hours on an oil change. .

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/sei.aspx

With proper monitoring, this oil is rated up to 8000 hr. My compressors won't run 8000 hr in my lifetime, so one filling of this oil will last longer than I own the compressor.

 

[EOC_Jason]

The air compressor rep I talked to, for a piston compressor he said you should do every 200 hours, or 400 for synthetic... There is no way I would run 8,000 hrs, even if it had an oil filter (for both piston or rotary).... Just like I wouldn't go 10,000 miles between oil changes in my truck....

For a piston compressor you will probably spend... $10-$15 on synthetic oil maybe? Changing the oil is much cheaper than having to tear it apart and replace a crank and pistons and such...

 

[Kevin C]

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/sei.aspx

With proper monitoring, this oil is rated up to 8000 hr. My compressors won't run 8000 hr in my lifetime, so one filling of this oil will last longer than I own the compressor.

That looks like oil for a screw type compressor. Different beast, differant oil. 8000 hours is for the yearly oil change on a system running 24 /7.

 

[sberry]

so one filling of this oil will last longer than I own the compressor.

This is probably true for many people here.

Just like I wouldn't go 10,000 miles between oil changes in my truck....

I will, modern oils are so good that its usually a waste of effort to change earlier. With synthetics could go 25Kand I wouldnt lose any sleep. We have been extending oil changes of late. You could change oil every other weekend and it would probably add about 5 miles to the service life of a modern engine.

I sampled some, from ragged old diesel, at twice the reccomended change it was half worn out. The quality of this oil wasnt even a ********* when they invent this engine.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Air compressors work best with old fashioned straight 30W NON detergent motor oil.
They do not have combustion so they do not have corrosive blowby. They do not need all the modern additives in regular oil. They do not need synthetic base stock. They work at low RPM’s low load conditions.
Anything other than cheap 30W non detergent oil is a total waste of money.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of ****.
You can get it at walmart or any auto parts store.

Which is also ****. Almost all air compressor manufacturers recommend synthetics nowdays, and my Campbell-Hausfeld had a recommended service life of 15,000 hrs on synthetic (they specifically call out Mobil I) while it has a 3,000 hr life when operated on standard mineral oils.

Almost all compressor manufacturers recommend and sell synthetic oils for their compressors to increase the life of them and make them run cooler.

Charles

 

[RECox286]

I say potato, you say potah-to. I say tomato, you say tomah-to...

...Oh, lets call the whole thing off !


Pay yer nickle, choose yer poison.

Uncle Bob

 

[ford33]

I must also be full of ****. I use synthetic oil in my single stage piston compressor. It's located outside in Chicago weather and runs in the winter and summer. The synthetic oil allows extreme cold temperatures starts in winter without blowing the circuit breaker. I wouldn't use regular oil in my compressor.

 

[eriksalo]

It seems that discussion about oil always brings out strong opinions.

Here are some things about oil that I believe to be true:

1) Synthetics last longer. The great thing about synthetic oils are that they don't break down as fast as natural oil. Simply stated, they keep lubricating longer. How long is long enough? I don't know but it's for sure that a synth oil will keep going longer than a regular oil. In a compressor that doesn't get really focused maintenance this strikes me as a good thing.

2) Oil needs to be changed regularly. Even though the new synthetic oils last a very long time, there are still good reasons to change oil. Over time, small metallic particles from the system get in the oil and cause damage to the wear surfaces. Changing the oil is the only way to remove those metal particles from the system.

3) Air Compressors aren't nearly as demanding as a combustion engine. In a combustion engine, there is a pump and the oil is pumped at pressure through small passageways into precision bearings that bear high shock loads from ignition, high speeds, etc. Also, there is carbon generated as a result of the combustion cycle that sometimes gets into the oil system. An air compressor is a comparatively low pressure / low speed system. The demands are much less and therefore the demands on the lubrication are much less.

My advice is to put in synthetic compressor oil and forget about it for a couple of years!

 

[KinzeMech]

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/sei.aspx

With proper monitoring, this oil is rated up to 8000 hr. My compressors won't run 8000 hr in my lifetime, so one filling of this oil will last longer than I own the compressor.

I am not certain, but I believe rotary screw compressors have different lubrication requirements than reciprocating piston compressors.