Craftsman Air Compressor Leak

[timelinex]

I've got a tiny leak that I can't find on my new Craftsman 30 gal 175psi air compressor.

It gets up to 175psi, slowly get's down to 165psi over the next 15min and then the last 20 hours or so it went from 165psi to 16psi. So it's not the biggest deal, but it shouldn't be there.

I called support and they said it is likely there is a piece of dust in the valve that is coming from the regulator down the pipe and into the tank. They said to unscrew the pipe, wash it and try again. I attached a picture and circled the part they want me to unscrew and look for the valve.

Does that sound right? How am I supposed to unscrew the pipe without damaging it, considering it is all around and has no flat spots for a wrench? (They didn't have an answer for that other than good luck). I'm handy and have fixed a lot of things, but I've never worked on air compressors or regulators!

 

[Harley-FXDWG]

Soapy water to confirm where the leak is. Save yourself the hassle of tearing things apart you don't have to.

 

[MovingAlong]

I've got a tiny leak that I can't find on my new Craftsman 30 gal 175psi air compressor.

It gets up to 175psi, slowly get's down to 165psi over the next 15min and then the last 20 hours or so it went from 165psi to 16psi. So it's not the biggest deal, but it shouldn't be there.

I called support and they said it is likely there is a piece of dust in the valve that is coming from the regulator down the pipe and into the tank. They said to unscrew the pipe, wash it and try again. I attached a picture and circled the part they want me to unscrew and look for the valve.

Does that sound right? How am I supposed to unscrew the pipe without damaging it, considering it is all around and has no flat spots for a wrench? (They didn't have an answer for that other than good luck). I'm handy and have fixed a lot of things, but I've never worked on air compressors or regulators!

Something I did with my 30 gal when I first got it - replaced all the little steel pipe with brass. Missed one and it rusted, the rust bits then trashed regulator after regulator until I realized what had happened. The steel was nearly closed off inside from rust...

Also, add valves. Air hoses have many leaks that are frustrating to chase.

But yes, @Harley-FXDWG is right. Don't go making changes before knowing where the leak is.

 

[The Cobbler]

I think they gave you an engineers approach to a problem and not a very concise answer at that .
forget what they told you, first check all connections including drain valve and welds on the tank, the pressure switch and gauges . with soapy water . check the quick connect coupler with soapy water . remove the pipe to the check valve & check the check valve for backflow leaks
it's leaking somewhere , soapy water will find it as soon as you hit the right spot .

 

[timelinex]

Soapy water to confirm where the leak is. Save yourself the hassle of tearing things apart you don't have to.

I think they gave you an engineers approach to a problem and not a very concise answer at that .
forget what they told you, first check all connections including drain valve and welds on the tank, the pressure switch and gauges . with soapy water . check the quick connect coupler with soapy water . remove the pipe to the check valve & check the check valve for backflow leaks
it's leaking somewhere , soapy water will find it as soon as you hit the right spot .

It was the first thing I did! I found the 4 bolts that hold the regulator plastic piece (which power wires connect to) to the metal piece underneath were loose, and I tightened those. 2 wouldn't tighten all the way and spun through at the end, but I did my best.

After reading your post, I checked everything again and I found a tiny leak as shown in the first picture (it was out of the way and small so didn't find it first time). The problem is definitely that since the bolt spins through it's leaving some daylight there. So a bit stripped. I found a longer spare bolt and a nut and replaced it (circled 1 in my second picture). I made it tight and there is no more leak there.

It made the leak even slower, but its still there because it goes down to 165psi or so within 10 minutes. I haven't given it enough time to see if it keeps going.

I used soap EVERYWHERE in that area and no leaks. Even though I couldn't detect a leak there, I replaced the lower right bolt as well since it also spun through. Didn't help.

The only place I haven't checked is the welds and drain valve. I will do that later.

 

[RTM]

Did you factor in the hot air cooling from 175 to 165 as part of your pressure drop?

 

[timelinex]

Did you factor in the hot air cooling from 175 to 165 as part of your pressure drop?

No I did not. Is that normal? When I called and talked to support they said it should sit at the psi it left off at.

 

[RTM]

No I did not. Is that normal? When I called and talked to support they said it should sit at the psi it left off at.

If you don't believe in the laws of physics, that might be true.


If you start empty, and run it up, it's probably a much bigger concern than topping it up from 165 that has sat for several hours.

It has been calculated in another thread here, don't recall where.

PV=nRT or some such formula.

 

[timelinex]

If you don't believe in the laws of physics, that might be true.


If you start empty, and run it up, it's probably a much bigger concern than topping it up from 165 that has sat for several hours.

It has been calculated in another thread here, don't recall where.

PV=nRT or some such formula.

Right.... I understand the theory... I just didn't figure it made a big difference in practice, since support said it isn't supposed to go down.

But maybe you're right!

Usually I've been draining to 135 to refill as that is where it auto kicks on. After you said something, I refilled the tank manually from 165 to 175 using the side lever. It went down 2 or 3 psi pretty fast, but in the last 45 minutes it has stayed rock solid at 172. It definitely didn't before.

I'll give it time and see. Hopefully, it will not go down over the next day! If I'm lucky, the long-term leak was fixed by the new bolts, and the short-term change that remained was just a temperature change.

 

[djjsr]

I had a similar problem with mine. It turned out to be a leak in the regulator. Back the regulator off to zero and see if you still lose pressure.