Help with HF automatic compressor drain kit

[srozhon]

I recently bought the automatic compressor drain kit that Harbor Freight sells. It consists of a petcock that gets inserted into the bottom of the compressor; some sort of chunky fitting that goes into other end of the petcock; a good bit of small diameter hose; and a small T-fitting.

The directions are typical of HF products. They don't explain what things are for or whether they are optional or not.

I have installed the petcock, the chunky fitting, and a small portion of the hose (it's laying on the floor of the garage). The directions say that the hose is supposed to go up to the air-intake where the T-fitting comes into play.

My question is: will this product work without that loop up to the air intake? I bought this item because I didn't want to have to tip the compressor over every time I needed to drain it. I'd much prefer that it did the draining on it's own.

Any tips?

Sandy

[Leon]

IIRC that length of hose that goes to your smaller "pressure release" line is what signals the drain to open and close automatically when the compressor cycles on and off.

[Jim Wilson]

[Frank K.]

I bought and installed the kit recently. It was as easy as could be on my compressor. I don't have an unloader on my compressor. I have a ball valve in the outlet pipe of the compressor. I turn it off when I don't need the shop pipes pressurized. I put a tee in the line after the valve and connected the small line that goes to the drain valve to it. When I open the ball valve, the drain valve opens for a second and drains the condensation. When pressure in the shop pipes drops, the drain valve opens again for a second. It works like a charm.

Hope this helps.

Frank

[srozhon]

Fantastic! Thank you so much! Just what I needed.

Sandy