Oilless Air Compressor

[Bloc75]

I got an Air Compressor today, it's Oilless. I got it because I'm getting a Brad Nailer delivered this week and I read that this model was perfect for my needs. It's the Makita (obviously) MAC610. The manual is absolutely useless and I don't actually think it is the right one, as I found another online, which is equally useless to be honest.

So before I go to the Father-In-Law with this, what am I doing wrong? Basically I connect the hose and gun to the unit, turn it on, and depressing the gun releases a little bit of air, but not much pressure. The guage itself is at zero, so I suspect its either me, or the thing is defective.

 

[D_W]

Have you turned the regulator knob to see how it affects the pressure indicated on the dial?

 

[Bloc75]

Have you turned the regulator knob to see how it affects the pressure indicated on the dial?

the top black knob being the regulator?

if so, then nothing happens. I presume it needs to be switched on? Which I have done.

 

[Bloc75]

Also when I switch it on I can feel air underneath the unit

 

[MARK.B.]

You may have a drain plug/tap underneath that is not fully closed preventing the pressure build up.

 

[D_W]

close the drain at the bottom, then re-try. turn the regulator just to get used to what it does. It'll probably be wide open or closed with a fairly short range in the middle where it adjusts from nothing to max pressure.

 

[Bloc75]

Bingo. I don't like to mess around with stuff unless I know exactly what it is for. Thanks for your advice, appreciate it.

 

[MARK.B.]

That is the beauty of forums like this happy that it was just a simple fix for you

 

[Bloc75]

Yeah, it's like the missing manual.

 

[Fergie 307]

When you set the pressure make sure to take account of the fact that it will drop when you actually operate the tool. So if you set it to 50psi for example you may find it will only actually deliver a steady 30. And with a little one like that it will need some time to recover pressure between each use, should be ok with something like your small nailer. If you ever choose to upgrade always look at the FAD (free air delivery) figure. This will give you a good idea of what it will actually do. Most manufacturers want to Quote you a CFM ( cubic feet per minute) figure, which is always a lot higher than the FAD, but is pretty much meaningless. So if the tool you want to use has an air consumption figure quoted always make sure the compressor FAD exceeds it.