Air compressor tank auto drain

[mreza Salav]

What would be a reasonable approach for someone (like me) that doesn't use the compressor frequently? Currently whenever I want to use the compressor, shut the valve and turn it on, once done for the day open the valve (at the bottom) to drain (both air and water) and leave the valve open until you want to use it next time.

[Jim Becker]

I don't use my compressor "a lot" either, Mreza, and while I turn off power to it when I'm not in the shop, I just let the auto-drain take care of blowing out any moisture. It does drain down the tank eventually, but I know it's dry.

[Bill Dufour]

I have an electric drain powered from the same switched power to the motor. It lets out a puff every time the motor starts. It puffs about every ten minutes of continuous run time. I really should add a push button switch to drain it at the end of use. It takes.a long time for a 60 gallon tank to build pressure. It holds pressure for more then one month before the gauge gets below the low pressure cut in pressure. I had to repalce the check valve into the tank wehn I bought the used tank.
Bill D

[Bruce Page]

I power off the compressor at the end of the day and usually cycle the ADV once or twice. I will cycle it the next morning when I power up the compressor again. As I said above, I live in a dry climate. If I lived in a wetter climate I would likely do things differently.

[Tom Bain]

Is there a an expected life of a compressor tank (like a pancake compressor)? In other words, after some amount of time should one just replace the whole unit (given they aren’t that expensive)?

[Mike Goetzke]

I bought a California Air compressor because of the low sound ratings. I added an auto-drain and it works great but it makes terribly loud noise when it fires.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I bought a California Air compressor because of the low sound ratings. I added an auto-drain and it works great but it makes terribly loud noise when it fires.

If the discharge port is threaded, you can get a sintered bronze muffler/silencer (<$10) that will help.

[Carl Beckett]

Is there any merit after a few years to trying to 'coat' the inside of a compressor tank to help control corrosion?

I would think all tanks corrode. Even with a water relief (given the water comes out brown...).

Hydrostatic testing is one thing but not so practical. Putting some rust prohibitor (like undercoating) I always wondered about.

[Steve Jenkins]

Is there any merit after a few years to trying to 'coat' the inside of a compressor tank to help control corrosion?

I would think all tanks corrode. Even with a water relief (given the water comes out brown...).

Hydrostatic testing is one thing but not so practical. Putting some rust prohibitor (like undercoating) I always wondered about.

I don’t know about compressor tanks but years ago for awhile they were putting an epoxy coating on the inside of steel scuba tanks. They were finding pinholes in the coating and rusting underneath.

[Carl Beckett]

yes... pretty hard to stop rust. I like the 'greasy' type of undercoats (fluid film esk) since they dont have a film to trap moisture underneath. Not sure how the vapors would be in my air line though...

My compressor head is an old one I rebuilt. It works great. But I happened upon a newer tank from a failed compressor which I swapped out just for this reason. Figured a 30/40/50 year old tank is just not worth the risk.

[Jerome Stanek]

I remember a long time ago that our fire department would buy Amway silicone and spray a couple of cans into the tanks to keep it from rusting

[Bill Dufour]

Be careful if pouring oil into a compressor tank. I bought a used tank with a comprssor that pumped oil. Replaced the pump and it's all good. The tank is coated with oil so no rust.
After I was done I realized I almost had a diesel engine explosion. I had considered adding paint thinner to help rinse out some of the oil that was flowing into the air hoses. I could smell burnt oil while using air. If I had added thinner the flash point might have dropped low enough that 125Psi would cause self ignition and blow up the tank. Acetelyne at about 30 psi will explode unless it is dissolved in acetone.
Bill D

[Jim Becker]

Don't even THINK about getting any oil in a compressor tank if one is going to use it for finishing work. Even with an oil filter, it's going to get by and make the system useless for spray finishing.

[George Yetka]

What I dont like about the autodrains is they all seam to be setup for constant run systems. I would like something that drains every 10 min of run time ideally. My home compressor isnt an issue because I can set it to work when compressor works both being 110. My work one is 3ph 208.

[Bill Dufour]

George, I wired mine up so it is powered only when the compressor motor is powered. It puffs at every startup. But, it only puffs every 10 minutes or so of continuous runtime after that. It really only time fires when I am sandblasting and the ac runs all the time to keep up.
I have no idea if they all puff when first energized.
Bill D.