Keep water out of air compressor tank

[Andy]

Is there anything to keep water out of an air compressor tank?

It's a real pain to drain it everytime.

Thanks, Andy

[Snag]

Sure , don't use it . Have you considered an automatic drain ? They make 2 types I think , one uses a float to lift a needle valve , the other is a timed device that just blows off at a set time .

[Ralph Mowery]

Nothing that is reasonable. The water comes from the moisture in the air and when it is compressed the water comes out. You will get more on the humid days. You could move to the areas of the country where the air is dry .

[TimR]

when I worked in a factory we installed an air dryer upstream of the air compressors.

Pneumatic cylinders don't really like water, but pneumatic controls fail immediately.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Sure, chill the air to get the water out of it. You can build a box and use a large room air conditioner. Can probably do it for less than $1000 and a setup about the size of a refrigerator. Oh, on cool days you will have to heat the air first, then cool it.

Get a proper drain setup on the compressor. There are automatic valves available.

[Andy]

I looked at my Rigid air compr.

It has 2 air outputs but no inputs where you could attach something to remove moisture before it goes into the tank.

Andy

[Andy]

You must be joking.

I could pay someone far less that what you are proposing.

[Andy]

Thanks for a good solution but ...

I looked at the automatic drains. Rather expensive.

Andy

[Andy]

What do you think about this?

It's light enuf to be easily carried around. Should drain water quickly?

I only want to use for airing up my bike and as an air blower.

Andy

[Andy]

How hard would it be for a manufacture to make the inside of the tank rust proof?

Surely the cost would not be that much more.

I guess their aim is to shorten a products life. :-)

Andy

[Ed Pawlowski]

No, I'm not joking. You really have to do some work to remove the moisture from air that is going to be compressed. That is why air tanks have drain valves. Much easier.

Can't change the laws of physics.

[Andy]

I agree it would take a lot of work.

[trader_4]

You don't have to drain it everytime, just occasionally. I'm not sure that draining it every time buys you anything at all. When the air gets compressed moisture, water is going to wind up in the tank. Even if you drain it after every use, the inside will be still be wet, won't dry out and that leads to rust, which eventually causes it to fail. The good thing is the eventually is a very long time. I have an old Sears one that started to rust out, it's from the 60s. Maybe new ones rust out faster, IDK. But from all that I see and know, I don't think draining it every time is going to make much, if any, difference. I would think the water left from 6 months of using it or the water left after you drain most of it out after each use would probably still rust it out about the same.

[trader_4]

Should have added, the above Sears, I didn't drain it even once a year.

[Ralph Mowery]

It has a lot to do with how much moisture is in the air. I worked at a hospital and they had an autoclave that was large enough to roll a cart in full of instruments. The opening was about 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Doors on each side . When opened, about 5 times a day) lots of steam would come out. Underneath it was a small air compressor that had about a 5 gallon tank. We draied it every day and would get out about cup full of water.

That compressor did not run very much, probably less than 2 minutes each time the doors were opened.

[Andy]

That might be.

But the horror stories of a tank blowing up is hard to purge from my mind. :-)

Andy

[Andy]

I found this.

Looks like the worst that can happen is your tank will start leaking.

And the compressor in the video looks like 20 yrs+.

Andy

[Andy]

That's pretty neat.

[Jim Joyce]

I hate to say it but I drain the water from my compressor every year or two, if I remember. I'm guessing that's less often than what's recommended. My older, smaller, Wally world compressor is nearly 20 years old and hasn't been drained yet. It's probably ready to rust through.