compressor question

larry merlau

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Delton, Michigan
ok main compressor is shutting off at around 125 to 135lbs, but the regulator to my lines is leaking at 120 setting. is it normal for a regulator to let off the excess it doesnt want.. it has just started doing that in the last 6 months.. once it gets down to around 100 to 110lbs it quits leaking by..
any ideas as to what you would do it really doesnt affect the air to my tools but its annoying and doesnt seem right.
 
My compressor goes to 150 psi, and the regulator is set to 100. No leakage. I suspect you might have a ruptured diaphragm in the regulator.
 
+1 odds on Jims suggestion on the diaphragm.

If you're lucky it might possibly just be crud in the regulator preventing it from moving freely. If you can get the regulator apart cleaning it _might_ solve the problem (or might not).

Note: if you replace it and its close to the tank now; moving it a bit away (like on the wall next to the tank) will give time for the air to cool and you'll have less condensation problems - that only makes sense for a stationary compressor obviously.
 
well this regulator is 16ft and a wall thickness away from the main compressor ,, jim i had it set higher on the tank but didnt want it to blow the pressure switch,so set it lower .. it might be crude and i really dont want tear it apart right now so will wait till after i am in between jobs..then i will make another water drop and do the plumbing for it at the same time..
 
are you running all your air tools at 120psi? Sounds pretty high for nailers and sanders?????? I can drive 2 1/2" finish nails in hardwood at 100psi all day. Unless you have long runs to your tools and you have substantial pressure drop.

No, it's not normal for you to lose pressure. You will feel the air release from the valve if it's over pressure and you are backing it down though. I'ts no big deal it just makes your compressor run more often. Your pressure release valve or blow off valve is probably set at 150-160 psi. If you want to raise that i have 170, 175 and 180psi valves that you can have.

I would guess a fitting leak at the regulator or the regulator is getting worn out. Try adjusting the regulator down 5 psi and let it sit awhile to see if you still get a leak. Sometimes just moving the regulator knob fixes it. If not you may need new regulator.

Your main tank pressure makes me curious. Have you fiddled with it? How did you set it so that it only build to 125-135?? The regulators are factory set and you need to know what you are doing to adjust them. One screw adjusts the top end pressure and the other screw adjusts the difference in psi when the compressor turns off and on. It's difficult to get a setting that works for you. I have mine set at 150 psi with a only a 5 pound difference in when the air kicks on and off. Most factory settings are a 20 pound difference. There is also a safety factor built in to your tank. depending if it's asme rated or not the actual burst pressure is 4 to 10 times higher than the rating on your blow off valve.
 
Mine did the same thing about a month ago and as Ryan said there was crud in the regulator. I took it apart, cleaned it, and all is fine now. It was very hard to get it back together, the spring was hard to hold in place.
 
Mine did the same thing about a month ago and as Ryan said there was crud in the regulator. I took it apart, cleaned it, and all is fine now. It was very hard to get it back together, the spring was hard to hold in place.

I think I'll be looking at taking mine apart and cleaning it too, since it didn't used to release air like it does now.

Bob, I have my "main" regulator a few feet away from the compressor, but then have secondary ones at the end of the line by my "air station" by my lathe on the other side of the shop. I keep the main one at about 130 PSI, and use the secondary ones to dial down the pressure for whatever tool I'm using. (Pneumatic sander, spray gun, or air brush.)

Main regulator:

Air%20System%2027%20-%20600.jpg


Air Station:

Air%20System%2013%20-%20600.jpg
 
no i had the regulator set to hold at 100 i think bob,, i dont think i fiddled with it but its been awhile and the compressor came from a large factory used.. i just replaced the motor on it so i could run it on single phaze..
 
Most compressors are preset to automatically run until the factory setting is achieved then shuts off. There should be no regulator to adjust that preset pressure. The only regulator(s) needed are to your line(s)

From what I see Vaughn in your first picture the regulator you show is not needed as your air pressure to your 2 lines is controlled by the 2 regulators. I'm assuming the blue thing on your line is either a water filter or an oiler. If it's an oiler I'd take it off. All it does for the type of work we do is restrict air flow and over oils the tools. If it's a moisture filter it's kind of redundant as it looks looks the 2 regulators have purge valves. It doesn't really restrict your air flow much at all so keeping it on is no problem. The 2 ball valves look really cool but you don't need them as the air is stopped by the fittings.
For what it's worth All I do when I run my compressors is to keep the petcock open just a tick and keep a little cup under it. It continually drains the air from the lines and tank. I just close it when I turn the compressor off.

Nice system though Vaughn. I'm jealous :)
 
...From what I see Vaughn in your first picture the regulator you show is not needed as your air pressure to your 2 lines is controlled by the 2 regulators. I'm assuming the blue thing on your line is either a water filter or an oiler. If it's an oiler I'd take it off. All it does for the type of work we do is restrict air flow and over oils the tools. If it's a moisture filter it's kind of redundant as it looks looks the 2 regulators have purge valves. It doesn't really restrict your air flow much at all so keeping it on is no problem. The 2 ball valves look really cool but you don't need them as the air is stopped by the fittings.
For what it's worth All I do when I run my compressors is to keep the petcock open just a tick and keep a little cup under it. It continually drains the air from the lines and tank. I just close it when I turn the compressor off.

Nice system though Vaughn. I'm jealous :)

The two outlets at the air station aren't the only ones in the system, so the big regulator does have a job. The blue canister is a dessicant dryer, and I think it's more effective than the little water traps on the orange Harbor Freight mini regulators. (I never see water in them, so something upstream must be working.) I went to extra lengths to ensure I get clean dry air...I wanted to be able to use spray guns and air brushes without worrying about water in the lines. The ball valves are there mostly because the cheap HF regs leak a little. Even though they slow things down a bit, I really don't have a problem with lack of pressure or volume. (I have a pretty beefy compressor....19+ cfm @ 100 psi. It can catch up to my Grex pneumatic sander and get ahead of it.)

Here's a thread about the air line system I installed.

And here's a thread about the compressor.

I've had that setup for almost 5 years (although it didn't get much use for the past year) and I'm still very happy with the compressor and the air line setup.
 
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