Went into the shop this morning and found that one of the compressor hoses
had "ballooned" during the night. Didn't burst but it was close. This was
one of those miserable poly hoses that never coil up right.
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the valve at the compressor
open so the system (6 outlets/connections in copper) is always pressurized.
Do you folks de-pressurize your hoses at the end of the day? I'm definitely
not going to leave a cheap hose under pressure (or even use them again) but
I'm thinking that at the end of the day it would be easy to close the tank
valve and bleed off the air in the rest of the system. Probably a smart
thing too. Just curious what your practices are?

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA

Patrick Fischer wrote:
Went into the shop this morning and found that one of the compressor hoses
had "ballooned" during the night. Didn't burst but it was close. This was
one of those miserable poly hoses that never coil up right.
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the valve at the compressor
open so the system (6 outlets/connections in copper) is always pressurized.
Do you folks de-pressurize your hoses at the end of the day? I'm definitely
not going to leave a cheap hose under pressure (or even use them again) but
I'm thinking that at the end of the day it would be easy to close the tank
valve and bleed off the air in the rest of the system. Probably a smart
thing too. Just curious what your practices are?


I leave the tank pressurized and the hose depressurized. I'm looking at what I
consider the weakest link and removing it from the equation when it's not in
use.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

Patrick Fischer wrote:

Went into the shop this morning and found that one of the compressor hoses
had "ballooned" during the night. Didn't burst but it was close. This was
one of those miserable poly hoses that never coil up right.
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the valve at the compressor
open so the system (6 outlets/connections in copper) is always pressurized.
Do you folks de-pressurize your hoses at the end of the day? I'm definitely
not going to leave a cheap hose under pressure (or even use them again) but
I'm thinking that at the end of the day it would be easy to close the tank
valve and bleed off the air in the rest of the system. Probably a smart
thing too. Just curious what your practices are?


Don't you have a single valve at the compressor outlet? I cut it off
there at night routinely out of habit.

I usually leave the tank pressurized, or do an occasional draincock blow-out
in the evening. However, you absolutely want to depressurize the hose and
turn the compressor off at night. This is a good air compressor habit.

I grew up around a service station. We had one of those old high-capacity
pumpers that served the garage and the pump lanes. One evening a hose in
the garage area burst just inside of the quick-release fitting; but the
metal fitting hung on. Before we figured out where the noise was coming
from the flailing hose, with air fitting, had broken a window, shattered
bottles and cleaned some small tools off of a bench. That big compressor
would have kept that going forever. My dad was in the habit of shutting the
compressor down at night; but if this had happend when we were gone it would
have done some real damage.

RonB

RonB wrote:
I grew up around a service station. We had one of those old high-capacity
pumpers that served the garage and the pump lanes. One evening a hose in
the garage area burst just inside of the quick-release fitting; but the
metal fitting hung on. Before we figured out where the noise was coming
from the flailing hose, with air fitting, had broken a window, shattered
bottles and cleaned some small tools off of a bench. That big compressor
would have kept that going forever. My dad was in the habit of shutting the
compressor down at night; but if this had happend when we were gone it would
have done some real damage.


No, it would have run until it used up its oil and/or it overheated. Then you
would have seen the *real* damage.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

No, it would have run until it used up its oil and/or it overheated. Then
you would have seen the *real* damage.

Absolutely right. That is the other bad thing that can happen.

"Patrick Fischer" wrote in message
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the valve at the
compressor
open so the system (6 outlets/connections in copper) is always
pressurized.

My compressor is only 1hp with a 3 gallon hotdog tank, but I depressurize
the tank every time I'm finished using it. Only takes 30 seconds. My theory
is that pressure causes heat and forces moisture out of the air within the
tank, which ends up sitting at the bottom of the take until it's drained. No
pressure, less heat, less moisture, at least less moisture than I'd have
otherwise.

Like most of the others, I leave the tank pressurized
but dial down the pressure in the hose; gives 'em a
longer life, too unless it's a rough area.
IF the kids're around, I'll sometimes leave it at 20
lbs or a little less, for their footballs & pool toy
blowups et al, but I still dial it all the way down
after dinner.
Keeping unused hose/s reeled (if you have one) is
also a good idea. It shortens the flailing end just a
bit, for a short period at least, giving you time to
get out if you need to. Assuming you hear it go g.
I didn't.
Never figured that one out; fittings were fine, but
separated anyway. Near's I could tell it must've
gotten oil on the connecting surfaces or something;
never happened again. Didn't flail though; it was
inside the reel so possibly reel pressure pulled it
apart - I had had the tank empty just before that & was
running 90+ at the time.

Just seems to make sense to drop the pressure when it's
not being used; not much of a job to reset the pressure
when I need it.

Pop

"Patrick Fischer" wrote in
message ...
Went into the shop this morning and found that one of
the compressor hoses had "ballooned" during the
night. Didn't burst but it was close. This was one of
those miserable poly hoses that never coil up right.
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the
valve at the compressor open so the system (6
outlets/connections in copper) is always
pressurized. Do you folks de-pressurize your hoses at
the end of the day? I'm definitely not going to leave
a cheap hose under pressure (or even use them again)
but I'm thinking that at the end of the day it would
be easy to close the tank valve and bleed off the air
in the rest of the system. Probably a smart thing
too. Just curious what your practices are?

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA

Upscale wrote:

My compressor is only 1hp with a 3 gallon hotdog tank, but I depressurize
the tank every time I'm finished using it. Only takes 30 seconds. My theory
is that pressure causes heat and forces moisture out of the air within the
tank, which ends up sitting at the bottom of the take until it's drained. No
pressure, less heat, less moisture, at least less moisture than I'd have
otherwise.


Pressure and heat are directly related but pressure does not cause moisture to
form out of the air. Actually, releasing the pressure will cause the
temperature to drop, which causes the condensation of whatever water is present
out of the compressed air. Open up a scuba tank full blast on a humid day and
you'll end up with a block of ice where the valve used to be.

You want less moisture in your compressed air? Compress drier air to begin
with. Scuba compressors get dry air with a more complicated scheme, through the
use of intercoolers between the stages of compression (most shop compressors
don't even have stages of compression) followed by filtration usually through
activated alumina, along with frequent short purges of moisture during the
compression cycle. But we don't have these features on our home copmpressors.

So if I'm working outside in humid air, I'll purge the entire tank later when
I'm done working. If I'm working inside with dry air conditioned air, then I
keep the tank pressurized and just purge the tank for a quick moment or two
every now and then.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message

So if I'm working outside in humid air, I'll purge the entire tank later
when
I'm done working. If I'm working inside with dry air conditioned air,
then I
keep the tank pressurized and just purge the tank for a quick moment or
two
every now and then.

Well, it's inside with relatively humid, non air conditioned air. Following
your explanation, it sounds like I should be purging when I'm finished. The
compressor is only used a couple of times a week at most so either way, I
guess it's not a big concern.

Play safe and depressurise the whole system. The amount of energy held in
the tank and hoses means you have a potential bomb. Nobody, especially
children can get hurt if there is no pressure.

It's too late after the accident has happened.

Oldun
"Patrick Fischer" wrote in message
...
Went into the shop this morning and found that one of the compressor hoses
had "ballooned" during the night. Didn't burst but it was close. This was
one of those miserable poly hoses that never coil up right.
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the valve at the compressor
open so the system (6 outlets/connections in copper) is always pressurized.
Do you folks de-pressurize your hoses at the end of the day? I'm definitely
not going to leave a cheap hose under pressure (or even use them again) but
I'm thinking that at the end of the day it would be easy to close the tank
valve and bleed off the air in the rest of the system. Probably a smart
thing too. Just curious what your practices are?

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 22:15:53 +0100, the opaque "Oldun"
clearly wrote:

Play safe and depressurise the whole system. The amount of energy held in
the tank and hoses means you have a potential bomb. Nobody, especially
children can get hurt if there is no pressure.

It's too late after the accident has happened.

"Oh, no!" they screamed, terrified.

Do you feel that your cherished government should outlaw these "bombs"
as they have your guns and the way-too-dangerous dado spindles on your
table saws? Crikey!


--------------------------------------------------------------------
The more we gripe, * http://www.diversify.com/stees.html
the longer God makes us live. * Graphic Design - Humorous T-shirts

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message

"Oh, no!" they screamed, terrified.

Do you feel that your cherished government should outlaw these "bombs"
as they have your guns and the way-too-dangerous dado spindles on your
table saws? Crikey!

Grow up!

I've spent more than 40 years around service stations/auto service centers.
The Standard Operating Procedure is to turn off the power to the compressor
when the place closes (when no one's around). It is also SOP to drain the
water out of the tank periodically. If you're Florida, the drain interval
should probably be daily. If you're in Arizona, maybe a week is
appropriate. If you get more than a cup of water out of the tank, your
drain interval is too long. If you have flexible hoses attached to your air
system, you should install a gas valve (lever type) somewhere in the line
before your flex hoses and turn it off when you turn off the power to the
compressor (if they're close to each other, it makes it easy to do both at
the same time). Leaving the compressor pressurized is fine--that's what
they're designed for. None of this is rocket science. This is all just
common sense.

BruceT


"Patrick Fischer" wrote in message
...
Went into the shop this morning and found that one of the compressor hoses
had "ballooned" during the night. Didn't burst but it was close. This was
one of those miserable poly hoses that never coil up right.
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the valve at the
compressor open so the system (6 outlets/connections in copper) is always
pressurized. Do you folks de-pressurize your hoses at the end of the day?
I'm definitely not going to leave a cheap hose under pressure (or even use
them again) but I'm thinking that at the end of the day it would be easy
to close the tank valve and bleed off the air in the rest of the system.
Probably a smart thing too. Just curious what your practices are?

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA

Why not play safe and depressurize the system permanently? That way nobody
(especially CHILDREN) could EVER get hurt!!!!!


"Oldun" wrote in message
...
Play safe and depressurise the whole system. The amount of energy held in
the tank and hoses means you have a potential bomb. Nobody, especially
children can get hurt if there is no pressure.

It's too late after the accident has happened.

Oldun
"Patrick Fischer" wrote in message
...
Went into the shop this morning and found that one of the compressor hoses
had "ballooned" during the night. Didn't burst but it was close. This was
one of those miserable poly hoses that never coil up right.
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the valve at the
compressor
open so the system (6 outlets/connections in copper) is always
pressurized.
Do you folks de-pressurize your hoses at the end of the day? I'm
definitely
not going to leave a cheap hose under pressure (or even use them again)
but
I'm thinking that at the end of the day it would be easy to close the tank
valve and bleed off the air in the rest of the system. Probably a smart
thing too. Just curious what your practices are?

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA

Do you feel that your cherished government should outlaw these "bombs"
as they have your guns and the way-too-dangerous dado spindles on your
table saws? Crikey!

This has gone a little OT, but Oldun makes a damned good point. An air
compressor or an air bubble can do a very good imitation of a bomb.

When I was in high school, many years ago, a classmate's father had a bubble
filled at an area farm equipment dealer. On leaving the shop he turned
around to say goodbye to the proprietor and apparently bumped the nipple
against the door frame. The bottle exploded cutting him in two at about
chest level. The proprietor was also badly injured. Government or not, I
can tell you that air bubbles have come a long way since those days
(1960's). This is also the reason that most reputable compressor shops
won't even talk about welding a tank fitting.

If you think your air compressor is the most benign piece of equipment in
your shop, think again.

RonB

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message


No, it would have run until it used up its oil and/or it overheated. Then
you would have seen the *real* damage.


I saw that happen in the building where I work. A 15 hp compressor blew a
line and it just ran and ran. I got tired of listening to it and walked
over to that part of the building to see a haze lingering in the air that
had a burn oil smell. I was able to find a breaker and shut it down.

Some compressors are built to run 24/7, but most home shop units are not.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

"RonB" wrote in message

This has gone a little OT, but Oldun makes a damned good point. An air
compressor or an air bubble can do a very good imitation of a bomb.


Our (commercial) tanks must be inspected every two years. They used to peek
inside, tap on the wall and say "OK". No more. Now they use ultrasound to
check. The good thing is that we don't even have to shut down to do it.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 18:42:21 -0400, the opaque "Upscale"
clearly wrote:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message

"Oh, no!" they screamed, terrified.

Do you feel that your cherished government should outlaw these "bombs"
as they have your guns and the way-too-dangerous dado spindles on your
table saws? Crikey!

Grow up!

Bite me. (If I'm thought of as a kid, I might as well play the part.)


--------------------------------------------------------------------
The more we gripe, * http://www.diversify.com/stees.html
the longer God makes us live. * Graphic Design - Humorous T-shirts

I ran pipe from the drain hole out and put a globe valve for easy
draining. Unplug and drain at end of use every time now. Previous
tank developed a small hole in the bottom and the stain where it
****ed on the concrete is still there.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 16:54:52 -0400, "Upscale"
wrote:

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message

So if I'm working outside in humid air, I'll purge the entire tank later
when
I'm done working. If I'm working inside with dry air conditioned air,
then I
keep the tank pressurized and just purge the tank for a quick moment or
two
every now and then.

Well, it's inside with relatively humid, non air conditioned air. Following
your explanation, it sounds like I should be purging when I'm finished. The
compressor is only used a couple of times a week at most so either way, I
guess it's not a big concern.

"Bruce T" wrote in message
...
I've spent more than 40 years around service stations/auto service
centers. The Standard Operating Procedure is to turn off the power to the
compressor when the place closes (when no one's around). It is also SOP
to drain the water out of the tank periodically. If you're Florida, the
drain interval should probably be daily. If you're in Arizona, maybe a
week is appropriate. If you get more than a cup of water out of the tank,
your drain interval is too long. If you have flexible hoses attached to
your air system, you should install a gas valve (lever type) somewhere in
the line before your flex hoses and turn it off when you turn off the
power to the compressor (if they're close to each other, it makes it easy
to do both at the same time). Leaving the compressor pressurized is
fine--that's what they're designed for. None of this is rocket science.
This is all just common sense.

BruceT


"Patrick Fischer" wrote in message
...
Went into the shop this morning and found that one of the compressor
hoses had "ballooned" during the night. Didn't burst but it was close.
This was one of those miserable poly hoses that never coil up right.
Got me to thinking: I leave my compressor on and the valve at the
compressor open so the system (6 outlets/connections in copper) is
always pressurized. Do you folks de-pressurize your hoses at the end of
the day? I'm definitely not going to leave a cheap hose under pressure
(or even use them again) but I'm thinking that at the end of the day it
would be easy to close the tank valve and bleed off the air in the rest
of the system. Probably a smart thing too. Just curious what your
practices are?

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA




Thanks to all for the input. I have a shutoff valve right at the tank. With
that shut, the system (copper and flex hoses) bleeds off in a minute or two.
This is now standard practice in my shop along with a power off at night.
The tank is 60 gallons so I don't think I'll depressurize that daily. I
usually bleed off some air/water about once a week, usually about 1-2
ounces. Again thanks for the input. No question it's all common sense but
sometimes we miss that which is obvious until something happens. Luckily my
wake up was nothing more than a balloon in a hose.

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA

On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 10:03:02 -0700, "Patrick Fischer"
wrote:

ounces. Again thanks for the input. No question it's all common sense but
sometimes we miss that which is obvious until something happens. Luckily my
wake up was nothing more than a balloon in a hose.

A good indicator that it may be time for new hoses.

Mike O.