First time sweating / soldering copper pipe - Air compressor purchase and cooling line

[Tom Kitta]

One of my cheapo regulators for $20 died a week ago or so - it is now leaking air. Not sure what exactly happened - it survived for around a year. I set the air line for like 75 and kept it there forever so its not like it got used a lot. Cheap China strikes again.

 

[Jwest7788]

One of my cheapo regulators for $20 died a week ago or so - it is now leaking air. Not sure what exactly happened - it survived for around a year. I set the air line for like 75 and kept it there forever so its not like it got used a lot. Cheap China strikes again.

Thats the worst!

I do have One leak in my system I haven't taken the time to track down. When the pressure in the lines gets low enough, all of my filters open up all at the same time. A few times now it's scared the crap out of me, particularly when working very late.

 

[Janger]

How much water comes out when you open the valve? Litres?

 

[Jwest7788]

probably not liters, and the drain tube is only ~1/8"-1/4" ID, but a good amount after a day of usage for sure. I imagine if we lived on the coast, then yeah, liters, lol.

Edit: Here's a guy that never drained his compressor:

 

[Tom Kitta]

Wow. Feels like I need to drain mine today

BTW on recent auction I saw two 15hp compressors with 3 80Gal tanks connected go for just $600 CAD + fees... Wish I had space with 80CFM it would be hard to run out of air.

 

[Jwest7788]

BTW on recent auction I saw two 15hp compressors with 3 80Gal tanks connected go for just $600 CAD + fees... Wish I had space with 80CFM it would be hard to run out of air.

Very cool, another auction on Tuesday if I recall, maybe someone will get lucky and have some new equipment to show off.

Wow. Feels like I need to drain mine today

Yeah, remember to drain your tanks guys, the danger of a poorly maintained tank is pretty extreme. There's alot of stored energy in 60 gallons of 130PSI air.

And pressure test your tank if it's older then a couple decades... That old 80 gallon for example, I didn't trust it until it was tested. (Professional test is always recommended, but the below adds enough peace of mind for me)

Process: Fill with water and seal with everything blocked off except a single grease nipple. Grease gun easily pushes far beyond 400PSI, and if it's full to the brim with water it only takes a couple squeezes to hit a test pressure --> Hold it there overnight
If the tank fails, then it only oozes some water. If it fails under pressure...
See 1:28 -

- Also see: https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanforensics/cause-of-explosion-of-air-compressor-tanks

 

[Dogpounder]

Great advice, I'm headed to the forge right now to drain the old girl in there!