Do you keep your compressor pressurized when not in use?

[fnieto]

All lines pressurized, tank pressurized. End of day, main ball valve off and power off.
auto drains when in use.

 

[ricepudding]

I always drain my compressor after use. Its tank is only 8 gallons, so it only takes 1 min yo recharge. Also water builds up quickly during heavy use, so I like to drain that out every day.

 

[dnschmidt]

I always leave it pressurized. Now I live in Arizona where humidity is non-existent and there is little need for draining, which I do once in a while and get maybe two ounces out of an 80 gallon tank, but it's always pressurized. Why would you waste air?

 

[bcradio]

I only use and drain mine about once a week. I Always shut it off when I'm done using it, but pretty much always leave air in it. I don't have fancy shop lines, just a 25' hose on a 21 gallon upright. Its nice not having to run it at all if I just need to top off tires or use the air nozzle for a second.

Funny story. At some point I forgot to turn it off after working. Our back bedroom wall is a garage wall, and at 3 or 4am one time we hear this noise. After about 30 seconds of analyzing the noise I figured out that it was the compressor cycling. Whoops!

I don't really consider shop lines to be all that fancy. They are really pretty useless in most standard size shops. Just as easy to run a 25' or 50' hose to where you need it. And then you can put it away when you are done. Where they do shine is in large warehouse size shops where you can't run hoses easily, or where many users will be running air tools simultaneously.

I keep my tank pressurized and the power off on mine.

 

[binder man]

Must be the oddball...I close the ball valve on the tank, leave it pressurized and powered up.

 

[devoncoolman]

I shut my compressor off because everytime i go out my neighbors call me complaining about the wild partys it throws while im gone. All his wild air tool buddies show up making all kinds of racket drinking cheap air tool oil and such. So always remember shut the power off.

 

[rapid robert]

I leave mine pressurized, but turn the power off.

 

[espyking83]

Any context regarding "Hell no"? Just curious...

My Dad told me to always drain it, haha. But other than that, No.

 

[tdkkart]

Pressurized, and technically the power is disconnected.

Due to problems in the past with runaway compressors, when I wired this shop I set up relay box with a contactor in the power feed to the compressor. The coil on the contactor is fed through the compressor's pressure switch, and receives it's power from one of my lighting circuits.

The compressor only gets power when the lights are on in the shop, which means it's shut down if I'm not in the shop.

 

[ripperd]

Pressurized, and technically the power is disconnected.

Due to problems in the past with runaway compressors, when I wired this shop I set up relay box with a contactor in the power feed to the compressor. The coil on the contactor is fed through the compressor's pressure switch, and receives it's power from one of my lighting circuits.

The compressor only gets power when the lights are on in the shop, which means it's shut down if I'm not in the shop.

That's a great idea. Although the other morning before sunrise I groggily opened the garage door to grab something and almost blinded myself because I left the lights on. So still not fooproof lol.

 

[BLACK DEATH]

I keep mine pressurized all the time and turn off the main valve & power off when not in use.
It sux having to wait for pressure to build when you need air.
An 80 gallon is going to take a little bit to fill up or have useable power.

 

[bluebolt]

I shut off the ball valve to the main system, shut of the power switch and open the ball valve for the drain for a few seconds.

 

[22george]

I have an auto drain. Shut main ball valve and power when not in use but leave pressure in tank

 

[stikman56]

All I do is unplug the hose when I leave the shop, saves on the wear. Takes a while to fill an empty tank.

 

[itguy08]

Weekend warrior here. I shut it off when done, open the drain valve and let it sit like that until the next time I need it. I figure it not only gets rid of any condensation but lets the tank vent.

 

[wild cowboy]

I drain off any water a couple of times/day at the bottom, but never drain out the air pressure unless I was replacing the the quick connect at the tank, or physically moving it to another location.