Leaving Air Compressor Full

[Swingman]

Say no more ... some would argue that's justification for another 'plonk' right there! :)

[Robatoy]

In his case, it would likely be a glass of vinegar. It would be better if it was bourbon or something, maybe he'd lighten- the-f*ck-up.

but alas... I said too much.

[Doug Miller]

Of course not. Vapor condenses as a result of being compressed, or cooled, or both -- but never as a result of being heated. Warm humid air surrounding a glass of ice water produces condensation on the side of the glass because the temperature of the surface of the glass is below the dew point. The water vapor condenses because it is cooled.

[Doug Miller]

I guess you're not familiar with the concept of a "sig" ?

[Doug Miller]

You just can't *stand* it when I point out a mistake you made, can you?

Grow up, why dontcha?

[Larry W]

Dew point, condensation, partial pressures, humidity; come on guys. To roughly quote a former ng participant, "lets stick to stuff we know something about, like lektricity."

[Too_Many_Tools]

On a related question... why are air dryers placed after the compressor and not before it?

Thanks

TMT

[Dave Balderstone]

To protect the tools instead of the tank.

[Leon]

Well, good point, but through the years we have learned a lot about water in the tank also. ;~)

[Andy Dingley]

A compressor is a pressure vessel, i.e. it's potentially dangerous if left pressurised. The risk is small, the convenience and energy saving of leaving it full outweighs this if we're going to come back to it later and use that stored pressure.

However if we've got a leak, or we're leaving it for a long time such that we're _not_ going to benefit from that stored energy, then good practice is to not leave it lying around. You don't know what it's going to do, but it ain't going to bake you a cake. There's also the risk of leaving the compressor powered up (and leaking), which is just a sizable waste of energy.

[B A R R Y]

Sounds pretty anal to me.

Agreed on that one.

What if it takes my compressor a week or two to drain down, so there's a sizable change I might use the energy? If I have half left, I use half as much enegery refilling the tank.

[Tom Veatch]

Leave the tank pressurized and shut power off to the motor.

The normal failure mode of a tank pressurized within specifications is to develop a pinhole leak, not to explode catastrophically. So there is very little risk in leaving it pressurized. Understand that is not the case if the failure is due to overpressurization. In that case, the failure can be catastrophic so make sure the pressure relief valve is properly set and functioning.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

But does it take more energy to fill the second half than the first half?

[Robatoy]

[B A R R Y]

I do.

[B A R R Y]

I'll never know, because I leave it full and switch it on when I need it. Sometimes the motor starts, other times it doesn't.

I sleep well, too!

[Jason S. Dolan]