Do You Leave Your Air Compressor On?

[George Clark]

Attached are photos of a failure of a combination regulator, filter and water trap in my shop air system. Fortunately, I was in the shop when it failed. It sounded like a shotgun blast when it let go. This was an ARO unit that I installed new. The line pressure had never exceeded the rated pressure of the unit. All four of the locking lugs on the regulator body failed.

The point of my post is not to degrade ARO, parts fail, but to encourage you shut your compressors off when you leave the shop. Had I been away from the shop with the compressor on it would have run continuously until the compressor seized (bad) or things got so hot that the shop caught on fire (really bad).

I had a similar failure about 20 years ago when an air hose fitting failed on my relatively new compressor. I was at home but away from the shop. My wife mentioned that the compressor had been running for a long time. When I went to investigate the compressor was still running but extremly hot. When things cooled the pump was seized and required a complete overhaul at a cost that almost exceeded the cost new. Lesson learned.

George

[Rob Damon]

Not sure if it is the same, but I recieved a recall notice of one that looks similar to that a few months back due to failure. I-R sent me a replacement one free of charge, even though it was several years old and beyond warranty.

I always turn my air compressor off and close the ball valve at the tank and relieve the pressure in the hose. I have not piped the shop yet.

With an 80 gallon tank at 155 psi, I can normally go for days without having to run it, so it does not make sense to leave it on unless I know I will be using it continuously and the pressure has dropped to under 90 psi on the tank.

Considering it can pump out 27 scfm, the idea of a hose busting and blowing out that much air continuously, doesn't seem like a pleasent experience.

Rob

[Gordon Eyre]

Never leave it on but do leave it under pressure (about 120).

[Chris Padilla]

My compressor is on a 24-hour mechanical timer...it is basically on 12 hours and off for the other 12. I hate it when it kicks on at 2 am and I have to change undies....

[Curt Harms]

If you had a fire and had copper or plastic lines. Sweated joints could melt, separate and what was a fire is now an inferno. I don't know if that could happen but I sure wouldn't want to find out, either.

[Bruce Page]

Never leave it on but do leave it under pressure (about 120).

Like Gordon, I shut my off - most of the time...

[Perry Holbrook]

I installed a contactor on my compressor. The coil is wired thru the light switch for the shop. Compressor can't run unless I'm working in the shop with the lights on.

Perry

[Thomas Bank]

Never leave it on but do leave it under pressure (about 120).

Same here. Shut off compressor and close the ball valve to the air piping. I've heard too many stories similar to this about something springing a leak and the compressor running until it didn't...

[Rod Sheridan]

Like Perry, mine has a lighted switch in two locations (garage and basement shop) so I only run it when I'm using it.

I also drain it after using it.

Regards, Rod.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Always plugged in and on, but all air lines are disconnected. When I need air, I need air. Seldom does a metal part fail, but rubber / plastic has been known to do so. My built in regulator, if set below it's maximum, leaks air. Always has and most likely always will, so I leave it at the max. Compressor has been plugged in since it arrived in 1986. Drain moisture regularly though.

[Chip Lindley]

I leave the compressor breaker on, but the ball valve turned off, and the pressure switch off until I need air. The ball valve is between tank and regulator, so, that leaves only the tank to spring a leak and deplete it's air supply if the worst happens. I disconnect the hose to relieve pressure, and so it will coil up in a decent manner. Air hoses under pressure are "alive!" and have a mind of their own!

[Van Huskey]

Not since I saw the thread 3-4 moths ago about the compressor that caught on fire.

[David Hostetler]

Nope. My compressor stays off until I need it. I can wait a couple of minutes for the thing to charge up...

EVEN IF I had the electrical to spare to dedicate a circuit to it, I would still unplug it when I left the shop. I am sort of paranoid about compressors...

[Callan Campbell]

Commerical settings WILL leave their units unattended, and the power on, and it's just the little FRL's like the one you showed, that can wipe out a nice unit in not much time all. We almost lost 2 compressors at work for this very reason, we came back in after a weekend, and don't know how long they were running[super hot in the room they're located in, and we won't even mention the heat of the pumps]. We lost the plastic bowl of a filter unit at an oil pump that's mounted for bulk oil pumping.
I try to never leave the throw switch "on" for my 2 stage unit unless I'm actually there using it. Just one less thing to worry about

[Luther Oswalt]

I have a large vertical tank compressor which I leave on all the time ... But, I always shut the air off at the tank so there is no pressure in the feed lines. I have done this for about 20 or so years without any problems what so ever. To my knowledge there are no plastic parts that could fail ... however, since I cannot spend the time in the shop I once did, I think I will change my methods and start killing the power to compressor motor! This means that I will be pulling the disconect to shut it off. Funny ... this unit was wired per the Compressor Mfg. and the codes at the time ... maybe me and thousands more were just Lucky, Hmmmmm!
Leo