Any way to coat or prevent it from rusting? I drain after each use but still the water in it is rusty red.

 

I've seen "auto" drainers for sale at Harbor freight.

 

I open the valve and drain the water every other day, or every day if I'm using it. Not much you can do but stay on top of it.

 

I haven't done this, but you could:

have a pipe with an elbow screwed into where the drain is, and about 2 ft or so of pipe with a valve of what ever type. The extra pipe length would allow for the storage of water in the pipe rather than the tank, and the valve would probably allow for a lot easier draining.

 

There ya go sparky! That's using the ol' noggin! I think I'll try that myself

D

 

That's a damn good idea. First one to do it post pics.

If you had the extra room, would it be worth it to put a valve right after the first elbow, then a length of large diameter pipe (for a reservoir), then a reducer and another valve. That way you could close the first valve, open the second, and only drain the water without having to empty all the air out of the tank.

 

I've been tempted to buy one of these. I wonder if they work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46960

David

 

Ya, that was the idea that I had in mind and have already done. Just time see if it will work. I was tring to see what others had in mind. Thanks

 

Well, an update. I tried this approach myself, and came up with a 1/4" street elbow to a 1/4" to 1/2" bushing, 1/2" x 8" pipe nipple, 1/2" to 1/4" reducer to the 1/4" drain that came on my compressor.

Anyway, I teflon taped and pipe cemented everything together and then refilled the compressor up to it's max of 150psi. I came back in about 15 minutes and noticed that the pressure had dropped by about 20psi; I had a leak (I could actually hear it hissing.).

I made sure to tighted everything extremely tight to avoid leaks, but apparently didn't tightened a 1/4" x close pipe nipple (it was connecting the 1/4" street elbow to the 1/4" to 1/2" bushing) enough, or so I thought. I leaned the compressor on its side and proceeded to tighten it up with some vice grips. Here's where I screw up. Apparently, my brain didn't think to remind me that I was working upside down, so instead of tightening it I loosened it ever so slightly (like maybe 1/16", if not less) and air starts rushing out like crazy.

I think quick and pull the safety valve on the top of the tank to try and bleed off all the pressure as fast as possible. Once it all calms down, I unscrew the nipple and find that it is now in two pieces, half screwed in the elbow, the other in the bushing. Also a solid piece of ice falls out.

The humidity was high today (rain...) and evidently during just the initial fillup the compressor built up enough condensation to actually fill up my water trap. So when the air began escaping quickly, it cooled down the fitting and actually caused the water to freeze and break the iron pipe nipple. I plan to rebuild something bigger and hope it works better.

I guess all I'm saying is be careful if you guys try something like this and your compressor will be seeing <32* this winter (like in an uninsulated garage). It's crazy to think that water has the power to break iron pipe...

Also, for those of you who are using the Harbor Freight automatic drain valve, could you please explain to me how it works? Does it just sense when enough water's built up and open the valve for a few seconds to drain it? I'm sort of confused...

Thanks

 

They make this stuff for motorcycle gas tanks called 'tank cream'. It is a liquid that you pour in and work around for a bit, then let it sit for a while and dry... It forms a skin or liner on the inside of the tank to keep rust and such out of your fuel system. I have use it before on a fuel tank with excellent results. It worked well and only cost about 7 or 8 bucks and a few hours to do it... It would probably work just as good inside an air compressor tank too. If you really wanted to be slick, before you do the tank liner stuff you could run some Naval Jelly through the tank to help remove all the rust and deposits that are already there... The Naval Jelly eats the heck out of rust, rinses out with water and is cheap. This idea may take a little longer than the others, but will prolong the life of your tank in a big way... Just A Suggestion, FWIW

 

I leave the drain valve slightly "cracked" so that the water is constantly draining into a small cup. I have to pump up the tank every time I use it, but I don't have to crawl under it anymore.

 

I like that idea as well, but I find it easier to just leave my compressor filled up with air all the time and only drain the water every week to two weeks.

 

http://motorcyclecity.com/Parts/tank-repair.htm

good idea !

 

Just an update.

I finally went and bought that auto drain kit at Harbor freight. I don't recommend it to anyone. Its on sale this month for $6.95, but even at that price its not worth it. It keeps popping the hose the is supplied with it. It seems to take longer to fill up as well.

I think I'm going to use the elbox and a pipe extension as mentioned above.

 

If you leave the compressor filled, you should be draining it every day or every other day, not just when the compressor kicks on. Remember that changes in temperature will also cause condensation.

 

if you make an extention pipe, make sure it can handle the pressure

 

My dad's compersor is mounted about 8 ft. off the ground with a black pipe runing down and the drier t'ed into that pipe. The water is alway clean. kinda looks like this.
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