Water and Oil when draining air tank of 20A Compressor

[Melbee]

I drained the air tank of my 20A oil-filled compressor yesturday and there was about as much oil in the tank as there was water, around 30ml (1oz) total liquid. I've not had this before.
Should I be concerned about this?
Will oil have gone into the Regulator water trap?
I can't really tell without taking the water trap off and that's not easy for me to do because it is on very tight.
Could there be damage?
I was worried I'd over filled the oil when I topped it up last time, would this be a possible cause?
The oil level is fine now because I can see the top level in the little window when the compressor is off.

Also I have never had any oil come throught the air hose to my airbrush, it would have to go through a 2nd inline Air Tank with it's own Regulator and and inline water trap by my airbrush. So I think I'm well protected for that. I'm just wondering if oil has gone into the wrong places in my compressor.
Is there something I should do?
Any help appreciated,
Cheers Mel

 

[haasje dutchairbrush]

I hope it's normal as with my compressor (same type as a 20A) there normaly comes more oil out of it than water (been going for 5 years now though, so if it would make it explode I gues that would have happened by now )

 

[Melbee]

I hope it's normal as with my compressor (same type as a 20A) there normaly comes more oil out of it than water (been going for 5 years now though, so if it would make it explode I gues that would have happened by now )

Really happy to hear that Haasje
I'd still be interested to know why it happens and if it's normal for oil-filled compressors to do this :glasses: Anyone?

 

[haasje dutchairbrush]

I occasionaly watch after the local airbrush supply store and the compressors they have there in the practice/hobby room also do this so I wouldn't worry about it. If you hadn't posted this question I'd never have given it a 2nd thought.

 

[Melbee]

I occasionaly watch after the local airbrush supply store and the compressors they have there in the practice/hobby room also do this so I wouldn't worry about it. If you hadn't posted this question I'd never have given it a 2nd thought.

Good to know Haasje I won't worry about it then.

This week I had to fix my inline 3ltr air tank and replace it's Regulator so I was checking over my compressor at the same time to make sure the whole rig is working properly. That's when I noticed the oil after I drained the compressors 1.5ltr air tank. I don't want my compressor to breakdown now I've just spent €40 fixing the inline air tank! €12 for the Epoxy Primer/Rust Converter for inside the air tank, €26 for the new Regulator and €2 for a Fitting/Connector.

Do you have a bigger version of this compressor? Which one?

 

[haasje dutchairbrush]

Do you have a bigger version of this compressor? Which one?

It's the same as the 20A i think only has a different collor. They all come from the same factory in Italy depending on where you buy it from they'll have a different color cover and indication

 

[Melbee]

It's the same as the 20A i think only has a different collor. They all come from the same factory in Italy depending on where you buy it from they'll have a different color cover and indication

Yeah I have seen them in loads of colours and with different names which is why I always say 20A and not the name that is on the sticker. Out of interest, do you notice a slight air pressure surge when the motor switches on while your painting?

 

[haasje dutchairbrush]

Out of interest, do you notice a slight air pressure surge when the motor switches on while your painting?

No, that shouldn't happen.

 

[Melbee]

No, that shouldn't happen.

OK, it's hard to tell really, it's something I thought was happening but maybe I imagined it. I was having a hard time with my CM-SB not spraying well so who knows. I hadn't airbrushed straight from the compressor for a long time because of my inline air tank and now the tanks back on again so I can't check it out. I just wondered about it. Next time I take the inline tank off-line I'll pay more attention.

 

[Immortal Concepts]

The oil should stop at the water trap. Just replace it a couple times and see of the oil stops. If oil ever comes out of your hose, you will have to scrap it as you will never get it clean.

 

[Immortal Concepts]

The oil shouldn't be in the tank. 2 things will cause that, not ever draining your tank (s) or not changing your compressor oil enough. There are rings in the compressor you have to worry about. Oil gets low and it burns them up over time and seeps into the tank. If there is more than a few drops of oil, may be time for am overhaul. When it starts burning oil it will surge and not kick off when the switch tells it it. I've seen them keep running and burn a belt right off.

 

[basepaint]

When was the last time you drained the water from the tank? and about how much of the OZ was oil and not water?If its been a few month's and you have some oil(small amount's) that will happen as the oil is splashed on the walls of the cyl. and the piston rings that go around the piston to both keep it centered and run over the oil on the cyl as a lube to reduce friction,will have small amounts get by them and get compressed along with the air and go to the tank that's one of the reasons to drain the tank after use so it won't add up enough to get into the hose,but as I.C. said the water trap should stop it before it get's to the airbrush.BTW did you use the right type of oil for the compresser,using the wrong type will make the oil foam up

 

[Melbee]

@Immortal Concepts and @basepaint Thanks for the info guys.
I bought the compressor brand new less than 2 years ago and I filled it with the compressor oil provided so the oil has only been in for less than 2 years. I also don't use my compressor every day, sometimes not for weeks or months. The supplier said I only need to change the oil every 3 to 5 years depending on useage. I was planning on changing the oil when the level gets down to half again and I have a new bottle of compressor oil ready.

I have never let the oil get lower than just under half full so I can't imagine that the rings will have burnt. I admit I've only drained the air tank a handful of times but I always let all the air out of both air tanks at the end of each session.

I am beginning to think it could be because I over filled the oil by mistake last time I topped it up. basepaint says that the oil does splash on the walls of the cylinder so if I overfilled it then presumably it will splash more. There was about 1 oz (30ml) of total liquid in the air tank which is not much but it was half water and half oil.

On the other hand I mentioned the slight air surge when the motor switches on during painting and Immortal says that happens when it starts burning oil. Would I not smell it if it was burning oil?
Also you said it will "not kick off when the switch tells it to". Do you mean that the motor will not auto start up properly during spraying? I have not experienced that.

Now the oil level is visible in the little oil monitoring window, I will see how much oil comes out when I drain the air tank next time. If it's back to a few drops I will put this excess down to me over filling it. I feel the compressor is just too new and under used for it to be needing an over haul yet and I have always been very careful to maintain the oil level so I can't see that it is burning the rings or the oil.
Fingers crossed it was me making a Bimbo mistake and over filling the oil and nothing too serious.

 

[Melbee]

The oil should stop at the water trap. Just replace it a couple times and see of the oil stops. If oil ever comes out of your hose, you will have to scrap it as you will never get it clean.

When you say "Just replace it a couple times and see of the oil stops." replace what exactly?

 

[basepaint]

I would say he mean's drain the water trap a few times melbee, And yes overfilling will also cause it

 

[Madbrush]

I don't know if this helps Mel, but I know that when you move house or buy new fridge or basically move a fridge for any other reason you shouldn't switch it on for twenty four hours to allow the oil in the compressor to settle back into it and avoid it mixing with the refrigerant thereby possibly damaging the fridge, since these compressors have a refrigerator motor I would assume that it would or should be handled in the same way, if that is the case then it's possible that the amount of handling your compressor has had due to your recent repairs may be the cause of your problem.

If you have oil in your hoses this will obviously continue to travel towards your trap or further, I doubt you'd be able to clean the hoses out so that they are completely oil free so you may have to replace them, I have no idea how you should check that the comp still has enough oil but you should find out and refill it if necessary and then as I said let the whole thing settle for 24 hours before you continue to use it, it is pretty much the same as you wouldn't check the oil in your car straight after a very long journey.

 

[Immortal Concepts]

When you say "Just replace it a couple times and see of the oil stops." replace what exactly?

Replace the water trap is what I mean. If oil builds up in it, you just asking for problems down the road

 

[Melbee]

I would say he mean's drain the water trap a few times melbee, And yes overfilling will also cause it

Oh that is good to know @basepaint Well not good if you know what I mean?! But it's better it was my over filling mistake than an actually compressor parts failure If there is much less oil in the next air tank drain I'll know for sure. Thanks

@Madbrush Always good to know Malkie. I am sure that's where I went wrong and over filled the oil when I topped it up. I didn't leave it long enough to settle and there was only a bit of oil left in the bottle so I bunged it in. Dum, dum, dum

@Immortal Concepts Here are some photo's of my Water Trap parts and they look ok to me. There was a very tiny amount of dirt and what could be oil particles as you can see from the Cotton Bud I used to swab it.
What do you guys think? After taking this photograph I washed the clear bowl with soap and water. I think I should be ok, right?

Next picture is looking down inside. Before I washed it, so straight from the compressor.

And this is the White Filter which looks clean to me and didn't feel oily. Am I supposed to take that off and clean it?

 

[Madbrush]

Your trap as it now is looks good, it will do what it is supposed to do, but it's impossible to clean the inside of your hoses, so you might want replace them or use others if you have them, if it was me myself I would find out how much oil the compressor can hold, you should be able to find a spec sheet about that, I would then drain the oil completely and put in the amount that the spec sheet says minus 5%, if you did this and let it settle you should be good to go, obviously by over filling the oil is going places where it shouldn't instead of just lubricating the moving parts of the compressor it's self, excess has to go somewhere and it will naturally go with the flow of your air

A little tip for you, for removing oil, house hold washing up liquid is best, it is non toxic and bio-degradable therefore very safe for yourself and your equipment, as long as you don't throw all your equipment in the dishwasher machine,

 

[Melbee]

@Madbrush Good tip, thanks, I was wondering what to use for cleaning up the oil residue. I'll also check the compressor manual for any oil specs, if not I'll just be more careful when looking through the Oil Level Window and wait longer before adding more.

I'll also have a look at my air hose and I'll order another one anyway, better to be safe than sorry eh?