Compressor Auto Drain

[Matt Meiser]

Any recommendations? It seems like there are a lot of options. I was all set to purchase one from Eaton Compressor in west-central Ohio until they quoted me $22 bucks to ship it less than 200 miles and they don't offer a 220V one. I'd like to have it on the same disconnect switch as my compressor--could rewire that to a 4-wire circuit easy enough but 220 would be a bit better. Or a decent mechanical one would be fine too.

I currently have one of the Harbor Freight mechanical ones installed. I had one that lasted a number of years and started leaking so I bought another and it started leaking almost right away. Maybe I just got a bad one?

[Jim Foster]

How is it leaking? Usually when I have a leak in stubborn threaded connections, I use a combination of white tape and teflon putty, and I can usually get the seal air tight. My plumber told me that was his method for tough to fix leaks. I also have some copper tubing laying around to replace the cheap plastic tubing that comes with the HF model.

I'd also be interested in a non-HF mechanical drain.



Any recommendations? It seems like there are a lot of options. I was all set to purchase one from Eaton Compressor in west-central Ohio until they quoted me $22 bucks to ship it less than 200 miles and they don't offer a 220V one. I'd like to have it on the same disconnect switch as my compressor--could rewire that to a 4-wire circuit easy enough but 220 would be a bit better. Or a decent mechanical one would be fine too.

I currently have one of the Harbor Freight mechanical ones installed. I had one that lasted a number of years and started leaking so I bought another and it started leaking almost right away. Maybe I just got a bad one?

[Matt Meiser]

The actual valve leaks. All the fittings are secure. I ran a copper line from the unloader from the start. And I did disassemble both and try cleaning in case it was debris but no luck.

[Jim Foster]

Nuts. Hopefully mine will be OK. Also, is there any chance a bit of rust or some other deposit is clogging it up. My manual drain had that problem last time I drained my compressor. After I closed the drain it had a small leak, cleaned it and it was OK.

[Michael Mayo]

Well I was thinking about getting that HF auto drain kit as i saw it the last time i was there. Maybe I won't waste the $9.00 now.

[Jim Foster]

On a blog somewhere guys posted that once they replaced the black plastic tubing, they got years of service from it.


Well I was thinking about getting that HF auto drain kit as i saw it the last time i was there. Maybe I won't waste the $9.00 now.

[Matt Meiser]

I did from my first one, but not the second. For $9, maybe I should just pick up another and try again.

[Larry Browning]

How do those things work? All I have is a small ball valve that I open ever now and then. What triggers them to open and close?

I did a little googleing and found this: http://www.paragoncode.com/shop/compressor/ I think it explains how HF value works as well as how to install it properly. This may go on my short list of projects. According to this guys article, about the only thing you should use from the kit is the valve itself.

[Jim Foster]

Not exactly sure of the terminology, but when the compressor calls for more air, there is an air line that goes to the electric on and shut off mechanism that gives a reading to the shutoff telling it when to turn on and off to adjust the pressure in the tank. When the desired pressure is achieved, the compressor shuts off. T oinstall the mechanical drain, this line is cut and the ball valve at the drain has a line that goes to this shut off line. When the compressor is running the air pressure in the shut off line opens the ball valve until the compressor is full again. Something like this anyhow :)




How do those things work? All I have is a small ball valve that I open ever now and then. What triggers them to open and close?

I did a little googleing and found this: http://www.paragoncode.com/shop/compressor/ I think it explains this very well and how the one from HF.

[Scott T Smith]

Matt, the model that HF sells is basically a clone of a unit made by Wilkerson. McMaster sells it for 80 bucks and it is pneumatically operated based upon changes in pressure in the tank. I've had one installed for several years w/o any problems.

Here is the McMaster PN:




4919K13 (http://www.mcmaster.com/#4919K13)

[Joe Jensen]

I have an Ingersol Rand or Wilkerson that uses pressure differential. Works great until the moist air it lets out rusts the ball that seals the valve. I had one replaced by Grainger. 6 months later the replacement started to leak. I ended up ordering a replacement ball that is stainless steel. 6 months or so and no leaks. (The seat is brass)

[Jim Finn]

I know that when I manually drain my compressor the last bit of water in the tank will not drain until all the air pressure is gone from the tank . The air rushing out the drain pushes aside the water. This is true in draining air conditioners also so we install a trap in the drain line to overcome this. I wonder how this is overcome with the pressure still in the tank. I do not see a reservoir of any kind in this automatic system. Am I missing something?

[Jim Becker]

I use one from IR and have been very pleased with it. It's been working for years now!

[David G Baker]

The drain valves I used emptied every time the compressor cycled on. They were not electric but pressure driven. The drain valves that I had at the point of use were float valves that emptied the moisture when the glass globe reached a certain level. They never failed and worked at least 7 hours a day 5 days a week for just under 10 years in the motion picture film processing lab I managed.

[Carroll Courtney]

At work some of the schools has air compressors that I have installed auto drains from Grainger http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/SPEEDAIRE-Electronic-Operation-Type-6Z948?Pid=search which is alittle on the pricey side but seem to last forever.Only problem w/auto drains they pick up water off the bottom of the tank plus trash such as rust which will stop up auto drains.This one from Grainger comes w/strainer that can be blowed down,but at times it will have to be removed to be cleaned.----Carroll

[Matt Meiser]

There's a screen on the inlet of the Harbor Freight one too. I picked up another and installed it yesterday. If this one doesn't hold up, I'm either buying a small solenoid valve wiring up a timer so it fires for a second whenever the compressor runs or just buying one of the commercial ones.

[Todd Burch]

I have the auto tank drain on my compressor that cycles, via air pressure, when the compressor shuts off. However, down here in south east Texas, the auto tank drain isn't sufficient on humid days. So, I had 4 problems to solve:

1) auto drain was insufficient
2) when the auto drain did cycle, it blew water out into the shop
3) tank drain (gas valve type) was under the middle of the tank and hard to get to, therefore, I didn't drain the tank as much as I should have
4) When I did manually drain the tank, again, water was blown all over my floor

So, what I did was:

1) install a pipe extension on the bottom tank drain to bring the valve closer to the exterior of the tank, thus, easier to reach, thus, I'm more apt to use it
2) bought some PEX tubing and shark connectors, drilled a hole through my shop wall to the outside, and plumbed the PEX line from the auto-drain tube to blow outside.
3) connected the PEX tubing from my tank drain and drilled a second hole through the wall, so when I manually drain the tank, the blow-out goes outside.

Works great, and takes about 5 seconds to blow the bottom of the tank out now. Before, it was a 15-20 minute affair to manually drain it and clean up the mess.

My auto-drain came with my compressor and has worked flawlessly since 2001.

Todd

[ray hampton]

So, what I did was:

1) install a pipe extension on the bottom tank drain to bring the valve closer to the exterior of the tank, thus, easier to reach, thus, I'm more apt to use it

Works great, and takes about 5 seconds to blow the bottom of the tank out now. Before, it was a 15-20 minute affair to manually drain it and clean up the mess.

My auto-drain came with my compressor and has worked flawlessly since 2001.

Todd

I did the same to my tank except I install a off-on valve out far enough so that I can open the valve with a modified pipe while I am standing up , I cut a notch in the pipe end the fit over the valve handle