Problem found in compressed air plumbing system!

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  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    Problem found in compressed air plumbing system!

    As you may know if you are following along, I have been putting up a compressed air plumbing system based on rubber air hoses, 2 compressors, a regulator / filter and an overhead air hose reel...

    I came across a popped open drain valve on the filter yesterday afternoon (good thing I turned the compressors off!).

    Come to find out, the pressure rating of my Central Pnuematic 3/8" inline air filter / water separator / regulator with the 160 PSI gauge, that goes into the warning range at 150 PSI, is actually rated to only 100 PSI!

    Ugh... And I thought I read the specs and the manual online before I paid for the dumb thing...

    So for now, I throttle back the regulators at the compressors so that we are just a shave under 100 PSI. No biggie really. All of my air tools require 90 PSI or below.

    As is typical, my in depth writeup is on my blog page at http://daves-workshop.blogspot.com/2...lem-found.html
    Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.
  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    #2
    Not sure about the popped drain valve, but I stopped the weird noise coming from the check valve. I managed to have a thread leak even with teflon tape... It was metal / air escaping moaning, sort of like a baloon groan but not as high pitched, or of course... flexible...

    Got the fittings sealed now, mostly. Have a hose end female fitting by the reel that leaks that I need more thread sealant for... Going to buy the compound though, not tape... I kind of caused that leak tonight though. While I was waiting on progress indicators and had things locked up over the VPN I got the light dropped a bit and a passthrough made for the hose. So hose routing is now complete. The story and photos are on my Blog page.

    Physically looked at my regulator, which IS the same item # as the ones on sale now, and it is clearly marked right behind the gauge, MAX PRESSURE 145 PSI. So my 125 PSI into it was no problem...

    I fiddled around with the drain valve and got it to stop blowing as well. Filled / drained the tanks on both compressors twice. It would appear we have no shortage of humidity here... That is a LOT of water to squeeze out of the air!

    Tomorrow night is going to be spent in Houston I suspect, working on my truck with my BILs again... Might as well... Gotta get it done so I can pull the Saturn down and swap out the AC clutch, Water Pump, PS pump, Idler, and Tensioner pullies. Yeah everything that spins on the front of the engine aside from the alternator. I swapped that out last year...
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    • capncarl
      Veteran Member
      • Jan 2007
      • 3564
      • Leesburg Georgia USA
      • SawStop CTS

      #3
      It sounds like you are expecting more out of your compressors than they can do. Air tools don't require that much pressure but do require a lot of volume (cfm), a really lot of volume. While you can explain mathematically that higher pressure equates to volume there is no real substitute to a big air tank holding about 90psi. My 3hp Ingersol Rand 11.3 ACFM compressor has a 60 gallon tank. It seems to like to keep 90 psi on the tank gauge most anytime I look. With it I can about use up a box of finishing nails before it cycles on whereas the little Porter Cable pancake compressor that came with the nail guns will cycle on after just several nails.

      I have found out from experience that with the cheap inferior grade of imported brass and steel fittings that the more you tighten them the more they leak. The paste teflon sealant is hands down the way to go. The teflon and silicone sealants also act as a thread lubricant and will also let you tighten the fitting too tight and actually split it.

      Comment

      • dbhost
        Slow and steady
        • Apr 2008
        • 9209
        • League City, Texas
        • Ryobi BT3100

        #4
        Actually not really looking toward pressure to drive the tools beyond their rated pressures. I kept the regulators on the compressors at 125 PSI for the 8 gallon and ~ 124 PSI for the 29 gallon. I do this to trip the 29 gallon compressor first so it takes most of the load.

        I will say that the impact wrench seems to like slightly over 90 PSI, say like 95, and it wakes up. But other than that, none of my other tools seem to much care about the pressure as long as I am getting 90 PSI at the tool, spray guns excluded of course, they get less pressure...

        I reviewed the ratings from the manuals yesterday, not just what HF has on the website. The 29 gallon is rated at 5.9 CFM @ 90 PSI, and it appears that the 8 gallon is actually rated at 5 CFM @ 90 PSI...

        Assuming, a 10% loss through the lines, that still puts me at just about 9.9 CFM @ 90 PSI combined.

        I regulate both down to just a shave over 90 PSI at the filter / regulator. According to a cheapie inline gauge, that gives me just at 90 PSI at the hose end / tool.

        Spray guns are a different story, those get regulated down further...

        I checked the drain valve on the filter this morning, still holding fine. I have no clue what caused it to release.

        Right now, I only have the one fitting that is leaking, I will toss some teflon thread sealant into my shopping basket next time I am at Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware or wherever...

        I am concerned about that drain valve issue. If it is a one off kind of thing, no big deal, but if it keeps up, I may have to replace the regulator / filter. Might just drop by Harbor Freight sometime this weekend just to check out the ones on the store shelves. Need to see if the 100 PSI rating is a typo on the website, or if that is a real problem...
        Last edited by dbhost; 04-10-2014, 08:41 AM.
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        Comment

        • dbhost
          Slow and steady
          • Apr 2008
          • 9209
          • League City, Texas
          • Ryobi BT3100

          #5
          I've got the problem sorted, mostly...

          This appears to be a repeating case of teflon tape failure. Literally every single joint has leaked. I mean every one. I still have to fix the male end toward the 8 gallon compressor, the fittings on that compressor including the regulator, and drain valves. It will bleed down after 2 days. I bubble tested it and every one of those joints is leaking.

          I pulled the other joints apart, stripped ALL of the teflon tape out, and treated the male threads with teflon pipe thread compound.



          The inline filter / water separator / regulator I see as listed as 100 PSI maximum on the website, but on my unit, it is clearly labelled at 145 PSI, and the units in store are marked the same... So I was not over pressuring them at 125 PSI.

          With the teflon pipe thread compound in place NONE of the remaining joints leak..

          I did have to fiddle with the drain valve on the filter, but it appears to be working fine now.
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          Comment

          • capncarl
            Veteran Member
            • Jan 2007
            • 3564
            • Leesburg Georgia USA
            • SawStop CTS

            #6
            I keep a small toothpaste tube size container of GE type silicone handy for most all of my piping work. It seems that all of the under the sink pvc fittings have to have it on all connections, not just the threaded ones. Nothing goes together without a leak like it use to. I also use it on stainless steel, carbon steel and brass threaded fittings rather than the white pipe thread compound. Just preferance I suppose, but the silicone allows the parts go together better and to be removed easily for whatever reason. It doesn't seem to mess up everything I touch like the white stuff does. When momma is happy everybody is happy.

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