Compressor questions and damaged tools.

[Simplespeed]

The boss at the shop i work in is an *******. Nobody likes him and he doesn't like anyone. Nobody likes him because he will not buy shop supplies and basic tools for the lube/tire guys. So, they take our(mechanics) tools behind our backs. So we dont like him because he is cheap and wont listen to anything we have to say. He doesnt like us because he thinks all we do is complain about stupid stuff like shop supplies and shop safety.

Anyway, my main reason for this thread is the amount of water in our shops air lines. Its unbelievable. Lack of maintenance caused the old compressors to die so he purchased 2 new compressors. Well, the dryer has been going bad for some time now and its only getting worse, its 15 years old. A few days ago there was so much water in the lines that we lost all shop air somehow. Im not real familiar with how the whole setup works. Basically he had someone come out and bypass the dryer, which they said was frozen. So now, the water is even worse. Its caused my 3/8 impact to freeze, another mechanics 1/2 impact to freeze and another guys air ratchet. Water is flying out of our air tools like they are super soakers. Its dangerous and very annoying for everything including the floor to always be wet. I bring an extra pair of socks to work every day because its flowing out of my tools enough to soak my feet after doing a brake job. He keeps saying he is going to replace the dryer but hes been putting it off for 2 years now. He told us a week ago that it would be replaced today(wednesday), instead he had the office and showroom floor waxed and buffed. What can we do as mechanics? The shop is part of a corporation and we have complained many times to the higher ups but they say its his deal to take care of. He also says he will not replace or reimburse us for damaged tools because of the moisture in the lines. He says that we should have bought better tools. I try not to complain to much and usually keep to myself but i think this is pretty unreasonable. Iv only been at this shop for 1 year and plan on leaving as soon as i line something else up. But im already out one impact gun.

Here is a picture after using this gun for about 5 minutes and then set the gun in the puddle it had created.

This is after holding the air gun for only 15-20 seconds.

 

[tatra]

are you flat rate or hourly?............and what kind of corporation?........id the boss an employee or owner operator?.........

if hourly, start wrenching by hand and take your sweet time and tell him until the compressor/moisture issue is rectified, you will not be sacrificing amymore of your air tools...........if flat rate, dunno........

if he's the o/o of the shop not much choice other than get out asap....

i know this, if the customers found out wet air was going into their tires, i am sure they wouldn't be pleased, same as the tire manufacturers supplying your shop.........

best thing is gtfo asap..........

 

[Simplespeed]

are you flat rate or hourly?............and what kind of corporation?........id the boss an employee or owner operator?.........

if hourly, start wrenching by hand and take your sweet time and tell him until the compressor/moisture issue is rectified, you will not be sacrificing amymore of your air tools...........if flat rate, dunno........

if he's the o/o of the shop not much choice other than get out asap....

i know this, if the customers found out wet air was going into their tires, i am sure they wouldn't be pleased, same as the tire manufacturers supplying your shop.........

best thing is gtfo asap..........

Im in Texas and the the shop is NTB. He is an area manager and in in charge of 5 stores. He got some pretty good power in the company but there are higher ups. Problem is, theyre his buddies. They all go drinkin together all the time and stuff so he pretty much cuts corners however he wants and bonuses off of not spending.

I get paid a percentage of profit. Not exactly flat rate but it is commission only.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

.... the the shop is NTB. .....

In my opinion, THAT is a big part of your problem and I'd say get out and get another job as soon as you can. Chain places like that are notoriously bad in my experience. I know everyone has to start somewhere and everyone needs a job - but chains shops like that are the last resort / only temporary.
If switching jobs is not an option right now and you're sort of stuck at this place, then I'd highly recommend some electric power tools if the MGR won't fix the air system. Or else rig up you own condesantion trap / drain at your work space and drain it often - few times a day if it's as bad as those pi'cs look.

 

[cheap bastard]

A personal air drier is a good idea. Should that not be practical, go to Harbor Freight and let their warranty relieve you of worry about damage to your good air tools. His greed shouldn't cost you a dime. You're employed there, not in servitude. I know American management often believes those are synonymous, but they are not. You owe your employer work accomplished and no blemish to their reputation, not personal financial sacrifice.

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

There are places that maybe DESERVE a visit from OSHA...there have to be a LOT of things wrong in there beside the dryer.

 

[78Bird]

Good lord, that's obscene. If nothing else, ask a tire supplier how they like filling tires with water... That might get someone with pull on his rear end.

 

[daveblank]

Let me ask a question. When was the last time that you drained the compressor tanks? I ask this because we had the same problem at the last shop that I worked at. Same broken promises. I took it upon myself to start draining the tanks in the mornings. After a few weeks, some of the other tech started to share the task. The sad part is, the 1st few times I did it, I shut off the shops main air supply & drain it during the middle of the day to try & prove my point. All that did was get me yelled at by management.

 

[mrholeshot]

First Go drain the compressor because it's full unless you are pulling air from the rain forest. Next put a drain at the drop where your air line comes down and drain it at least once a day. Install a inline dryer on your cart and plug the shops air line into it and get you a 50 foot goodyear hose. Then start looking for a new job.

I'd sneak in his office and open up with a garden hose. Give him a little taste of what you are going through.

 

[atari]

I new it had to be an NTB! My brother in law worked there, man you want to talk about a half *** deal. I guess its not just the 2 of them I have been into.

 

[Simplespeed]

Thanks for the replies guys. I was working for a very nice Nissan dealership and thing got really slow so they were starving me and giving all the work to the older techs so i had to leave. The store im at now is where it all started for me 6 years ago. Its where i first touched an air tool and got under a car. Back then the manager was awesome and things ran smooth as butter and the store made a lot of money. Not so much anymore. This was meant to be a temp job but its been a year now. I cant wait to get out. Im working on getting a couple ASEs this november so hopefully that will speed things up.

 

[woody 73]

Sorry to hear about work,like the other posts said I would look into tool waarranties,electric tools,put in your own drain tap,and as quiet as a mouse look for another job.
Some people should never be a boss,somehow they get into these positions and just kill it for everyone around them.
If life hands you a lemon the squeeze the living heck out of it and make lemonade!

Best of luck.

Woody.

 

[Underdog]

Simple Drain the tanks, Every Day! Oil your airtools Every Day!

 

[MattT]

Drain the tanks at least daily. You might even be able to get the other techs to go in with you on autodrains.

If you are allowed modify your air drop like this.

Get yourself a 1/2" filter with autodrain.

Duct the compressor inlets into the offices so they'll pull dry, air conditioned, air

 

[joeswamp]

How are the air lines routed? Are the drops tapping out of the top of the main line and then dropping down, or do they come out of the bottom? You should also have drains at the bottom of each drop, below the air fitting.

That compressor has to be totally full, that's crazy. This is not a dryer issue, it's a drain issue. Air dryers are supposed to deal with moisture in the air, not a compressor tank full of water. Someone needs to install an automatic drain.

 

[Skin]

thats crazy. take it upon yourself to drain those tanks daily, they're filled to the brim with water.

Your seized impact will probably come back after being dismantled and given a good oil bath.

your manager is an idiot but you really should be taking it upon yourself to do some minor compressor maintenance. I start flipping out if i even get a drop of water out of an air tool, i dont know what i'd do if my air tool started doubling for a garden hose.

By the way that water will rot the interior of car tires, pretty massive saftey issue.

 

[Simplespeed]

How are the air lines routed? Are the drops tapping out of the top of the main line and then dropping down, or do they come out of the bottom? You should also have drains at the bottom of each drop, below the air fitting.

That compressor has to be totally full, that's crazy. This is not a dryer issue, it's a drain issue. Air dryers are supposed to deal with moisture in the air, not a compressor tank full of water. Someone needs to install an automatic drain.

Im not real sure on how the whole thing works. I will take a closer look at it tomorrow. A tech that has been there for 15 years said that he would drain the tanks every day but the new compressors have some sort of electrical valves that do not allow this. One of the guys that came in to fix it said that the compressors were installed wrong and its what is causing all the water in the lines. He said something about a custom header needing to be build for it? When it rains is when the water is the worse but it still pumps out like a water hose on a dry 95 degree day like today was.

 

[Skin]

when it rains its worse? are the compressors indoors or outside? Are they screw type with an encasement or screw/reciprocating where the tank is visible?

Doesnt make sense that they cant be manually drained unless they had an automatic drain already installed and clearly those wouldnt be functioning. If you take a look at the units and dont know what to do please take a picture of the unit and post here.

The header is simply the primary pipe system that branches off feeding each station its air. The sizing of the header matters to your PSI but i dont see how its an excuse for your air hoses spitting water everywhere.

 

[Simplespeed]

There are two of them. They are inside the shop.

 

[pacmktg]

Your showing us the tops of the compressors. Look on the bottom for the drain. There might not be a valve just a plug. If so screw it out and install a ball valve. Simple job abd simple solution.

 

[JD6619A]

Last place I worked it got to a point where everybody got lazy and one day i decided to drain the compressor, IIRC it was a Gardner Denver, not sure on the specs but the tank was large enough im guessing 120-200 gallon, The water i took out was insane, 3 garbage cans full of rusty brown water, did the oil change and air filter, I swear they havent been changed in like 10 years, after that I pressure washed the compressor after bagging the motor and the electrical stuff. After that it ran like a champ. The real problem was the drain valve was in a place that was hard to get at so I re-routed it with some hose and a ball valve so it could be drained easily . I Felt sorry for that compressor.

 

[sberry]

These threads are good reminders, drained my whole system this morning.

 

[rodm1]

That is a Saylor-Beall 707 pump. The user manual is not much help.

Manual
http://www.saylor-beall.com/userfiles/file/Manuals/700SeriesManual.pdf

 

[rhandwor]

Look at page 14 which shows a picture of a manual drain valve. It even shows both style of tanks. Open and drain daily as suggested.

 

[Skin]

There are two of them. They are inside the shop.

look under the tanks for the drain valve. You may need a pair of pliers as it could be quite rusted from all the water sitting in the tanks. If its not an easily accessable drain valve, e.g. you have to reach all the way under the tank to open it, go to a local hardware store for a 1/4" 90 degree and a length of pipe to bring the valve out far enough, some teflon tape, and a quarter turn ball valve. Remove the existing drain and install the new configuration so you can simply lean over and open the drain without having to reach under the tank.

Let your co-workers know so at least one of you is draining it once a day. Shouldnt be some giant issue keeping those tanks drained.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

Like others have already stated; drain the air tank.

Your next step is to get out of that $hithole.

 

[Simplespeed]

Ok. I just drained the tanks completely. Then let it build pressure and the shop ran for about an hour befor was gushing out of the lines again.

Boss man said he ordered a new dryer but he's said that a few times befor.

 

[Diesel_Crawler]

Let me ask a question. When was the last time that you drained the compressor tanks? I ask this because we had the same problem at the last shop that I worked at. Same broken promises. I took it upon myself to start draining the tanks in the mornings. After a few weeks, some of the other tech started to share the task. The sad part is, the 1st few times I did it, I shut off the shops main air supply & drain it during the middle of the day to try & prove my point. All that did was get me yelled at by management.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[rodm1]

Ok. I just drained the tanks completely. Then let it build pressure and the shop ran for about an hour befor was gushing out of the lines again.

Boss man said he ordered a new dryer but he's said that a few times befor.

Try draining the tank again if it's full and try leaving the drain valve cracked open or all the way open if you can stand it and see if that helps.

 

[Simplespeed]

Update.

I am OUT of there. Starting at Firestone either this Thursday or Friday. I know Firestone has a reputation as well. But, the boss is ex military and likes things clean and done the right way. Sounds like my kind of guy. Hes really nice and all the employees seem to like him and appear happy to be at the shop. They were all very excited to have another mechanic coming to the shop, they even unloaded my boxes for me today. Plus its only about 1 mile from my home vs. 18 miles to the NTB i was at. Ill probably be working the same amount of hours and thats fine with me since they close at 7 rather than 9 like NTB, and ill be saving alot of time on the commute. So, im not expecting the best but i am very excited to start working in this shop full of older techs.

 

[Cummins_Powered]

Sounds like you did the best thing to solve the problem. good luck with the new job!