air compressor regulator handedness...

May 11, 2010 2 Replies

Hmm, got hold of a Coleman compressor for (more or less) beer money last year that had a failed regulator on it.



I finally got around to taking it apart, and the nut which presses down on the spring inside had come off the end of the threaded shaft and then the threads on the nut had got all chewed up (the shaft's OK)



Potentially* I could fix it... except that it's a left-hand thread, so I probably don't have anything suitable in the junk pile. Is that common for compressors - and if so, is there a good reason why? I've used a few compressors in the past, but really don't recall which way the regulator needed to be turned - but I don't think I naturally expect it to go one way or the other.


  • I might still be able to do something with a bit of RH threaded rod, nut with RH threads, and a different handle. That's assuming I can't just buy a replacement regulator (none of the ones in the local sheds are suitable, but I've not tried online yet)

cheers



Jules


On all regulators I've tinkered with, increased compression of the spring = higher operating pressure.

Bob

It happens that Jules Richardson formulated :

Turning the regulator clockwise, you would expect it to increase the working pressure - would that fit in with it having a LH thread?

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