I’m sure everyone has at least heard that you’re supposed to drain your tanks on your compressors, I think I found out why last night.
I was going to do some painting last night when I discovered my compressor did not work. I did some simple investigating that turned into an hour and a half long compressor “autopsy”. Turns out a piece of the motor broke off and caused some pretty significant damage to other (apparently vital) parts of the motor. Obviously it doesn’t work anymore. It was really cool, however, to see what makes that thing hum.
So, during the methodical destruction, I kept moving the compressor and I noticed a swishing sound coming from the tank. I knew that the tank was supposed to be drained regularly, but I had never been able to do this; the small drain at the bottom of the tank never seemed to work. After I removed the entire drain assembly, I found out why it never worked: there was so much rusty, silt-filled liquid in the tank that it had completely blocked the drain. I don’t know how long it had been this way, but the water looked pretty old. The compressor was 4 years old, and it has been in the garage for at least 2 of those years, never able to be drained.
After I removed the drain, I actually had to push through a layer of muck with a screwdriver, at which point the liquid started pouring out. It was a rust colored water, thicker than plain water because of the silt (or something) mixed in, with a metallic odor to it. I was able to get most of it out, and I’d say about 3-4 ounces total that was removed.
So this ordeal got me thinking that this is a pretty good example of why to drain your tanks. I don’t know how much, if any, damage there was to the tank, but all the rust could not have been good for it. I have a friend with a cutting torch, and I might get him to cut the tank open so I can take a look. If I do that, I’ll post pictures. It was a pretty neat experience, except for having to spend money on a new compressor.
I have often wondered why compressor manufacturers do not coat the inside of the air reservoir with teflon or an epoxy compound. Planned obsolecence?
Many of our canned food tins are coated with teflon. Perhaps neglect would degrade the teflon, but it might be a good start in order to keep the tank from rusting through.
Even food tins have a shelf life. No matter what coating is used for protection, eventually water or air will cause rust, or in the case of food, bacteria growth.
The tanks likely are painted on the inside, or they would start rusting almost immediately through oxidation (oxygen, not water is the bigger culprit). Draining the tank is a simple matter, and should be done at least monthly for hobby compressor tanks. Big garage tanks that get used a LOT should be done weekly. It’s a simple matter, costs nothing but a little time and will extend the life of your tank by years.
Since we’re on the subject, let’s have a show of hands of people who drain their household hot water tank at least once per year (mine is already up in the air!). Why not? Same rules apply for these tanks, though because they’re filled with water they don’t rust as FAST as when they are full of nothing but air. Believe me, when a hot water tank lets go, it lets GO! Nothing like having 40 or 60 gallons of hot water being dumped on your basement floor. Just ask me how I know.
So, go drain your air tanks, and plan on doing the same for your hot water tank!
For one, it lets any rust, dirt, sediment or mineral buildup that got into the tank to drain out, therefore making the tank more efficient, as well as extending its life. Secondly, it alerts you to any problem by showing you just how much rust, dirt, sediment or mineral buildup are already building up in your tank. Some people recommend doing this twice a year.
You don’t have to drain out ALL the water, just enough to flush out sediments, 2-5 gallons would probably suffice.
If any have seen the original “The Incredible Shrinking Man”…when that water heater (NOT HOT water heater…hot water doesn’t need heating!)…lets go…that’s what real life is. Drain the sediments periodically as mentioned…any garden hose is compatible with the drain faucet.
Think of your compressor the same way. Drain it every now and then.
I have a Silentaire compressor and can’t for the life of me see where I am supposed to drain it from. I even went to their website looking for info. Nada. I gave it a few swirls and didn’t hear anything inside so I am assuming there is no water in there yet. Does a moisture trap alleviate this or is it a seperate issue?
Jeff, you did not mention which compressor and how big an air tank you had. For the super silent series, you go to page 15, Figure 7 of the manual for drain instruction.
If you get one of the small Scorpion compressor, only the compressor that has a tank is the FS-MA-TT-2000. Look at the parts list, #305 is the drain plug. Others do not have a tank. A moisture trap at the compressor outlet is always a good idea. Silentaire shows how to drain the trap in their manual too.
When a compressor gets hot and heats up the air it pumps, moisture is created when the air cools down in the tank. It is not much a problem if you get a good airbrush compressor which does no get too hot or with small or no air tank. It is more a problem for owners of the garage type, oilless compressor (which gets very hot) with a large air tank (which give the air plenty of time to cool.
Silentaire does post their manuals on the web site.
Upon further review, apparently it doesn’t have a tank. Just a motor and moisture trap. I have the Silentaire Scorpion I (MA-1000). The moisture trap just unscrews. There was a little moisture and a very tiny amount of what looked liked very fine sugar. No idea what that could be. So I rinsed it out and dryed it. There is a very small opening in the bottom that I believe is there to allow that moisture to drain.
I used a Scorpion I clone for many years, which was called the AirBrush City MA-1000. Nice, quiet little compressor, but does get quite warm in longer sessions of airburshing after about half an hour. The moisture is a necessity and should be drained whenever you see water cummunation inside.
After I bought the Passche DA400 which ran much cooler, I have yet to see water in the moisture trap. I live in St. Louis which is quite humind during summer time.