Help me fix my compressor (or pick out a new one :) )

[Rob Price]

Okay, I have one of those little pancake Porter Cable compressors that I bought about 5 years ago as a combo kit. Now it's leaking, and I think it's somewhere up in the compressor head. Normally, the compressor kicks on, charges up to 135 and when it shuts off there's a little hissing sound for a few seconds and it's done. Now, when it charges up, it shuts off, but keeps hissing. The pressure will very slowly drop all the way down to zero if I let it. It's not a huge rush of air, I can barely feel air coming out of the plastic housing up top. It's not the hose between the compressor and tank, it's not the pop-off pressure relief valve (that was my first thought) and it's not the gage/coupling/hose.

I'm hoping there's a valve somewhere stuck open or that needs to be replaced. I'm happy to take it apart and see if I can do it, or take it somewhere. But I don't want to spend a whole lot on the compressor at a shop, if paying someone is more than $75 I'd rather put that towards a newer, bigger compressor.

[Jesse Tutterrow]

Take the housing off and then spray some liquid dish soap on it. You will see the bubbles where it is leaking.

[Chris Jackson]

Rob...Based on the description of your symptoms the most likely cause is a leaking tank check valve. Refer to your owners manual or download an exploded diagram online from Porter Cable and identify the part number. Removal typically requires disassembly of the feed line from the compressor head and the sensing line to the pressure regulator. Always ensure that you fully depressurize the tank prior to removal. I recently did a check valve replacement on my Craftsman compressor...the part cost approximately $15 and the job took about 30 minutes.

Hope that helps...

[Mark A Johnson]

I was at a similar point with my Bostitch compressor. It was only a couple of years old with little use time, and it broke a reed valve. What few parts it needed exceeded the cost of the unit new.

Since it was a second compressor used mostly in the basement for blowing off parts, I bought a single tank Senco. It's great has a very short cycle time.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Somewhere I remember reading about this same problem. If memory serves me correct, the rubbber hose between compressor and tank is either loose, or has a hole in it.

[Joe Bradshaw]

Rob, I have one of those P-C compressors and had the same problem. I found that the metal pipe from the compressor to the tank was leaking where it went into the head of the compressor. After I took the shrould off, I wiggled the pipe and re-seated the O-ring and solved my problem.

[John Coloccia]

As you can see, there are lots of places for leaks to occur. Another popular place is the fitting you plug your hose into. You can go to any welding shop (gas supplier, maybe even harbor freight and the BORG) and buy a little bottle of stuff designed to find leaks. You dap it on and it will bubble. You can use soap and water, but this stuff is better.

[Rob Price]

Rob, I have one of those P-C compressors and had the same problem. I found that the metal pipe from the compressor to the tank was leaking where it went into the head of the compressor. After I took the shrould off, I wiggled the pipe and re-seated the O-ring and solved my problem.

This seems to be the solution for me, thanks for the replies. Worked like a champ.