Sorry, another compressor question!

[Essex Barn Workshop]

I've finally become the proud owner of a 24L Hyundai silent compressor, and I love it. Does everything I want, is super quiet and the tools you lot suggested all work well and fit.
In addition, I bought a retractable airline for ease of use, as I can leave the compressor within 1m of a plug and pull out airline as needed.
Few questions though. If I turn it on when I get to my workshop first thing to do some stapling, is it safe to leave it on all day?
When changing tools with the tank under pressure, there is a loud escape of air as i take the old tool off. Is that expected?
The book of words that comes with it says to undo the bottom valve daily to allow water out. Is this really necessary if it hasn't done much?
At the end of the working day, I have been emptying the tank by attaching a blow gun and just blowing until the tank is empty. Again, is this necessary?
Many thanks all. This is one of my most visited sites on the web!

 

[Gary]

Compressing air creates water which builds up in the tank. It’s fine ti leave on all day but no point in emptying the air if you’re not draining the tank.

Water causes rust on the inside of that tank shortening the life of the compressor.

 

[alan895]

1. Assuming there is no air leak somewhere between the tank, fittings, hose and air tool which would mean it refills over and over it should be okay.
2. Yes - perfectly normal.
3. So long as you don't go extended periods without draining the tank its unlikely to do much harm but its a good habit to get into.
4. I'd say its worth draining air out of the tank once you're done for the day - either by blow gun or tank valve as per #3 above.

 

[Daniel2]

I empty the water out approximately once every fifteen years. HTH.

 

[MarkAW]

I had all the same questions when I first got my compressor. Though I also had "are they supposed to be this loud!!?"
Don't forget to oil your tools. Some need it more than others.

Avoiding the rust is good. You don't want something holding all that pressure to be structurally compromised (that'll probably take many years) I'd certainly empty it more often than 15 years!

 

[h-magic]

I've finally become the proud owner of a 24L Hyundai silent compressor, and I love it. Does everything I want, is super quiet and the tools you lot suggested all work well and fit.
In addition, I bought a retractable airline for ease of use, as I can leave the compressor within 1m of a plug and pull out airline as needed.
Few questions though. If I turn it on when I get to my workshop first thing to do some stapling, is it safe to leave it on all day?
When changing tools with the tank under pressure, there is a loud escape of air as i take the old tool off. Is that expected?
The book of words that comes with it says to undo the bottom valve daily to allow water out. Is this really necessary if it hasn't done much?
At the end of the working day, I have been emptying the tank by attaching a blow gun and just blowing until the tank is empty. Again, is this necessary?
Many thanks all. This is one of my most visited sites on the web!

Yes it’s safe to leave it on all day, they’re meant to be used all day.

The loud hissing is normal and you will get used to it.
The quicker you remove the tool the less hissing you will here, you get faster as you use it.

You should be emptying it at the bottom of the tank as that’s where the water builds up and it condensate, using a blow gun will do no good as the water remains in the tank.

I normally empty at the end of the week but will be getting one of these in the future so I don’t have to worry about it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/38441888...e967ZEUSty&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Air tanks can hold pressure for a long time with no issues.

 

[Daniel2]

I had all the same questions when I first got my compressor. Though I also had "are they supposed to be this loud!!?"
Don't forget to oil your tools. Some need it more than others.

Avoiding the rust is good. You don't want something holding all that pressure to be structurally compromised (that'll probably take many years) I'd certainly empty it more often than 15 years!

I'm not advocating my maintenance schedule to others, though ...

 

[ChaiLatte]

Few questions though.

You can only leave the compressor within 1m of a plug if the lead on it is shorter than 1m. It is slightly easier to leave it within 1m of a socket.

There are different styles of quick disconnect. Some are better than others with regard to hissing at tool changeovers.

The water drain is not like emptying a waterbutt where you turn the tap on and walk away for a a cup of tea. A two second blast through it will drive any accumulated water out.

If the tap is difficult to access (most are, necessarily being on the bottom of the tank), as suggested above by h-magic, you can install a simple solenoid valve there controlled by a momentary switch so you just press a button for 2 seconds once every so often. As he shows, it is also possible to set it up on a timer so that it is fully automatic. The difficulty with the timer is that you forget about it and when it activates it makes you jump out of your skin. The one above is 1/2", so check the actual thread on the compressor drain and buy a smaller one (3/8" or 1/4" if necessary).

You are wasting electricity by emptying the tank overnight. Unless it leaks like a sieve, there will be some residual pressure in it the next morning so just top it up. The air does not have a use by date on it.

 

[TomGW]

Would this type of compressor be adequate for a first fix nailer, Paslode or similar?

 

[Sideways]

If it isn't already, the water from the tank drain will soon become bright orange. That's active rust. Empty it daily.
In industry, compressors are more expensive, tanks have thicker steel but should be regularly safety checked by e.g. ultrasound to monitor the thinning of the tank as corrosion eats away at it even though many will have automatic drain valves.
I moved a compressor once and the tank was 1/3 full of water. Some people just don't think and don't care.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

The water drain is not like emptying a waterbutt where you turn the tap on and walk away for a a cup of tea. A two second blast through it will drive any accumulated water out.

This is very dependent on the compressor air tank and position it is in. My air tank is far more the turn on the drain, slowly, and it will get most of the water out quickly but will continue for at least as long as a cup of tea giving an air/water mist spray.

When changing tools with the tank under pressure, there is a loud escape of air as i take the old tool off. Is that expected?

yes

The book of words that comes with it says to undo the bottom valve daily to allow water out. Is this really necessary if it hasn't done much?

idea yes, mine gets this occasionally,

At the end of the working day, I have been emptying the tank by attaching a blow gun and just blowing until the tank is empty. Again, is this necessary?

Absolutely not.
My tank may get drained of air once a year or three, but it is incidental not intentional, it may get drained if I leave an air hose connected and turned on and the power turned off.

Would this type of compressor be adequate for a first fix nailer, Paslode or similar?

virtually any compressor will be OK as nailers don’t use much air. Just confirm that the tank pressure is higher than the nailer requirements. If you are doing framing (hundreds or thousands per hour) then you will need a big tank so the compressor isn’t running too much

While compressed air stores quit a bit of energy the low pressure in a compressor air tank doesn’t have that much, relatively speaking, if you routinely empty the tank you are wasting the energy required to pressurise the tank. Just think of the millions of compressed gas tanks that go for years without being emptied, compressor tanks do have humid air in them so require more maintenance

 

[TRITON]

I was looking at the Hyundai myself. Initially the 8lt, then the 24
I see on B&Q's website they have the 50lt for £275. On the Hyundai site itself they have the 50lt priced at £330.
Im thinking the 50l is a bit big, but you only buy one of these the once and it's better for some jobs, and a saving of 55 quid is a good saving.

 

[ChaiLatte]

Would this type of compressor be adequate for a first fix nailer, Paslode or similar?

It depends on what you mean by 'adequate'. The compressor will drive the nailer very well but maybe the nature of the nailing task should drive the selection of the compressor.

With a nailer, it might be important to consider where you are using it and how often that place changes. If you are in a workshop, doing all your nailing on a bench, the compressor would be good. If you have to lug it up and down stairs or onto scaffolding a few times a day, and in and out of a van at the start and end of the day, you might soon tire of it.

As outlined in the post above, with a 24l tank, you would have to be nailing like a machine gunner to exceed its capacity, so a smaller, lighter model might suit the work better.

I would call them semi-portable. They are tall and narrow and top heavy (on land, the opposite is true on water) so you can wheel them about but you have to do so carefully and slowly. They have similar turning physics to a Reliant Robin.

 

[WoodYewToo]

Your Reliant Robin analogy gets the point across perfectly! Haha.

 

[Oscar43634]

This thread reminded me to empty my compressor think it's been a year; there was about 200ml of rusty water .
Going to order the automatic drain valve that @h-magic suggested. Guess damage is already done though.

 

[TRITON]

This thread reminded me to empty my compressor think it's been a year; there was about 200ml of rusty water .
Going to order the automatic drain valve that @h-magic suggested. Guess damage is already done though.

I'd actually dump it and get a new one.
Rust inside weakens the pressure vessel and eventually thats going to spectacularly fail. Just make sure you aren't standing next to it when it does.