New Polar Air 120 gal compressor problem

[rust buster]

I bought a new Polar Air 120 Gal 10Hp single phase piston air compressor late last Sept. They are the same as Eaton and I ordered it direct from Eaton This was replacing an older Husky 80 gallon that served me well, but had problems keeping up when sandblasting. I got as far as getting it into my shop, but I haven't had a chance to fire it up with work and family obligations, until this past weekend. There is a pretty substantial leak where the large reducer bushing/nut threads into the tank at the very top. The picture is a little hard to make out, but it's ******* real good from two sides below that nut, entering the tank. It looks to be fully seated, so I am guessing it is a thread/thread sealant issue. I am having a hell of a time getting any response from the company (emails and VMs). The unit has a 1-year warranty. It "looks" like I would have to remove the motor and pump frame to get access. The nut/reducer bushing is probably 2' or 2-1/2" and there is not much room to get a wrench in there. Would you wait and force Eaton to fix or would you try to fix yourself and not deal with the hassle?

 

[gizardlizard]

The bungs are usually pipe thread. (Tapered) On tough to seal stuff, I tape and paste. Loctite 567 is awesome stuff. Wrap it with a few turns of blue monster thread tape and then distribute a nice layer of the thread sealant (loctite 567) on the tape. Your bushing looks bottomed out. Not good.

 

[gizardlizard]

The good stuff

 

[rust buster]

I finally got ahold of someone at Eaton. Turns out that is not NPT and it is sealed at the bottom with a large O-ring. He said it may have gotten two hot when they powder coated the tank or when they threaded it in. They are sending me a new O-ring, and said I should be able to get a wrench in there pretty easy. I will give it a shot and see how the O-ring looks.

 

[gizardlizard]

Fair enough. Put a little lube on the O-ring before you install it. I’ve plumbed more compressors than I can remember. Never seen one with straight thread.

 

[rust buster]

Update. I removed the reducer and shockingly, there was no O-ring at all, and it was caked with thread sealant. The tech rep called me back and asked me to send pictures of it as well as the serial number tag so he could figure out who did the QA sign-off. The "inspector" block on the tag was blank, which may explain a lot. I had an O-ring that fit, so I out it on and now everything is working great. Much easier fix than I anticipated and they are still sending me the correct O-ring.

 

[Honch]

I had the same exact problem last October. I thought it was an NPT plug and tried thread sealer, this slowed the leak but didn't fix it. I contacted Eaton and they explained it was a bad O-ring, I told them there was no O-ring. They insisted on sending a Tech to fix it, I was fine with them just sending a 0-ring. The Tech drove from Eaton, 200+ miles and spent 10 minutes installing the O-ring. I asked him how something like this happens and he explained that the company powder coating the tanks didn't remove the bung and it cooked it. It was the red powder you probably saw when you removed the bung. He further stated that he had installed dozens of them over the last few months. I asked him how it would have passed the final testing, because it was a massive leak, I was able to remove mine by hand. He pretty much dodged that question and had no real answer.

I'm surprised that a company that size would outsource the powder coating, but I do know that when I ordered my compressor last year, they warned me it would be at least 3-4 months before it would be built because of a back log on the tanks.

 

[rust buster]

I had the same exact problem last October. I thought it was an NPT plug and tried thread sealer, this slowed the leak but didn't fix it. I contacted Eaton and they explained it was a bad O-ring, I told them there was no O-ring. They insisted on sending a Tech to fix it, I was fine with them just sending a 0-ring. The Tech drove from Eaton, 200+ miles and spent 10 minutes installing the O-ring. I asked him how something like this happens and he explained that the company powder coating the tanks didn't remove the bung and it cooked it. It was the red powder you probably saw when you removed the bung. He further stated that he had installed dozens of them over the last few months. I asked him how it would have passed the final testing, because it was a massive leak, I was able to remove mine by hand. He pretty much dodged that question and had no real answer.

I'm surprised that a company that size would outsource the powder coating, but I do know that when I ordered my compressor last year, they warned me it would be at least 3-4 months before it would be built because of a back log on the tanks.

Wow, small world! I ordered mine late last spring and and got it in September. I bet ours were from the same batch. Here's a pic of mine. Did you not have that check valve?

 

[Honch]

Wow, small world! I ordered mine late last spring and and got it in September. I bet ours were from the same batch. Here's a pic of mine. Did you not have that check valve?

I just noticed you said yours was on the top of the tank, mine was the bung on the bottom of the tank.

Different bungs, same problem.

It doesn't make me regret buying the compressor, I still think it's the best option for the money.

 

[The Cobbler]

nice easy fix. the company should send you a few $$$ for inconveniences, but those days are long gone ...

 

[CudaChick1968]

If Eaton is outsourcing the finishing, one would be inclined to think it would be to people who know wtf they're doing.

Not plugging fittings/openings and curing o-rings are rookie mistakes. It does not sound like a professional outfit by any means.

 

[Azzkker]

The company has been great to deal with on my 10hp emax when it had a tank valve failure out of warranty. They were quick in sending out the part free of charge. I had ordered a oil and filter service kit at the same time and had it all to my door in 1 day.

I will buy another unit to replace an older unit at my second location when it finally dies.

The Eaton compressors are the best bang for the buck out there while still being a quality product. Mine get used all day 5 days a week. No complaints.