More idle curiosity than urgent but I wonder what practice is used by those who have compressors with reservoir tanks. I routinely depressurize my tank after every daily or when ever session and turn it off until next use. I also open the drain valve about once a week to remove any moisture. Just wonder what practice others use: leave it on all the time, depressurize periodically, drain everyday, leave it pressurized. or just don’t worry about it. My practice is more habit than based on knowledge and, thinking about it, wondered if there was a ‘better/correct’ way so thought I’d ask.
I turn off, depressurize, and bleed (drain valve) the tank after every use in the summer months (very humid air here). In winter months, sometime it stays on for days or weeks. Only when I actually turn it off will I depressurize and bleed it. My compressor is for general use not just the hobby. It gets heavy use.
I have no idea if any of this makes a difference but that is what I do. Been doing it for years with every compressor I’ve owned.
I depressurize mine at the end of every shift via the tank drain plug & leave the drain plug open until next session.
Corrosion is the enemy & leaving the tank with air & water in it certainly won’t give any benefits in the long run - if you’re depressurizing the tank anyway, it’s as easy to do it through the drain plug & if you do this frequently the amount of water will be minimal, so there won’t been much to collect / clean up. Tipping the compressor back to front slightly a couple of times after you can hear that most of the water has been expelled Will help get rid of any remnants of water that likes where it’s currently at.
Depressurizing can also tip you off. My shop compressor’s drain valve clogged or something, so even though I’d depressurize, it wasn’t letting all the water (and eventually none of the water) out. When we went to move last fall, the thing was sloshing with probably a good gallon of water in it.
It was a deep brown/black when I removed the drain valve completely and it all came gushing out.
That compressor is no longer used for airbrushing.
I bleed the left over air and drain everytime I use it. I leave the drain open as per the CH instructions. This compressor is a good 10 years old and is like new.