California Air Tools Compressors

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I love my California Air Tools compressor. I just bought a replacement for mine. The check valve and unloader valve needed to be replaced and the cost of the parts was almost as much as a whole new compressor (on sale). I'm pretty sure my lack of regular maintenance was a significant factor in the failure - since then I am much more religious about purging the condensation from the tank using the dump valve.

Thanks for the tip about Eddie - Dave
 
I also love my CA air compressor. I added an auto drain valve and thinking of removing it. The compressor is fairly quiet but when this drain valve kicks on it makes me jump - loud and unexpected.
 
egnald said:
I love my California Air Tools compressor. I just bought a replacement for mine. The check valve and unloader valve needed to be replaced and the cost of the parts was almost as much as a whole new compressor (on sale). I'm pretty sure my lack of regular maintenance was a significant factor in the failure - since then I am much more religious about purging the condensation from the tank using the dump valve.

Thanks for the tip about Eddie - Dave
Click to expand...
Just curious here, since I recently bought a larger 20 gal air compressor myself (Husky in this case, I looked at California Air Tools and they seemed to be a good deal more than I could afford at the time). I was worried about the longevity of this, as my previous compressor was a small 4 gal Husky. I heard water in that when I was moving it around a few months before, and was surprised at just how much had accumulated in it, in maybe a year. A heck of a lot!!

So with the 20 gal compressor, I bought an automatic drain valve, which opens once an hour for 1 second to release any water built up in the compressor. I am hoping this will keep the air dry and keep the thing from rusting to explosion from the inside out.... But I've wondered what other essential maintenance is really required on these modern compressors. Draining was the main thing I found online...not much else though. I figure with proper care and maintenance, these things could, should last a lifetime?
 
jrista said:
Just curious here, since I recently bought a larger 20 gal air compressor myself (Husky in this case, I looked at California Air Tools and they seemed to be a good deal more than I could afford at the time). I was worried about the longevity of this, as my previous compressor was a small 4 gal Husky. I heard water in that when I was moving it around a few months before, and was surprised at just how much had accumulated in it, in maybe a year. A heck of a lot!!

So with the 20 gal compressor, I bought an automatic drain valve, which opens once an hour for 1 second to release any water built up in the compressor. I am hoping this will keep the air dry and keep the thing from rusting to explosion from the inside out.... But I've wondered what other essential maintenance is really required on these modern compressors. Draining was the main thing I found online...not much else though. I figure with proper care and maintenance, these things could, should last a lifetime?
Click to expand...

Mine has a very small tank and draining is about all that needs to be done. On my new one I put a fitting in the bottom hooked to a short hose with the valve on the end to make access for draining easier for me to get to. Some people on larger tanks put a sacrificial pipe with a drain valve on the bottom so water collects in the pipe rather than sitting in the bottom of the tank. - Dave
 
I have a small CA compressor, 6 gal I think... need to do a purge of the water next time I'm in the shop... I had a couple of problems with it leaking when I first got it... a friend helped me change a valve and gauge that was leaking, then discovered I had a bad weld on the handle that also leaked... JB Weld fixed that.... mine sits under a work bench in my shop, so don't want the water purged in the shop, but it's small enough and light enough I can take it outside to drain it.... it gets a lot of use in my shop and has been a great work tool.
 
I'm a huge fan of my CA air compressor. I've got the small 4 gal version (I think—it's the twin hot dog) but the higher hp pump. Really nice and quiet. I try to drain after every use. I honestly don't know how I got by without compressed air before I bought that thing.
 
TellicoTurning said:
I have a small CA compressor, 6 gal I think... need to do a purge of the water next time I'm in the shop... I had a couple of problems with it leaking when I first got it... a friend helped me change a valve and gauge that was leaking, then discovered I had a bad weld on the handle that also leaked... JB Weld fixed that.... mine sits under a work bench in my shop, so don't want the water purged in the shop, but it's small enough and light enough I can take it outside to drain it.... it gets a lot of use in my shop and has been a great work tool.
Click to expand...
I have a similar situation, mine fits inside an enclosure on casters that usually sits underneath my drill press. I used to have to take the cover off, pull the compressor out, and hoist it up onto a bench so I could get a container under it to catch the water. It was far too much work so I just didn't get it drained often enough - and I am pretty sure that is what led to the check valve and unloader valve failing - they were both filled with rusty gunk when I took them apart.

On my new one I removed the drain valve and replaced it with a "T" fitting. One side of the "T" is just a 3-inch piece of capped pipe to act as a reservoir to hold any condensate rather than letting it sit in the bottom of the tank. The other side of the "T" I have going to a 3-foot length of 1/4-inch poly tubing with the drain valve on the other end of it. I stuck that through a hole in the side of the cabinet so I could get to it without taking everything apart. I also made it long enough so that I could stick the end over a container to catch the water. Now that I purge the thing more often (about once a week vs once every 3 to 6 months) I have been getting very little water, but then the humidity here has been really low this winter. I will be interested in seeing what happens this summer when the humidity skyrockets. - Dave
 
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