Secondary tank wtf

B

Brocksamson7

Guest
So I wanted to add a secondary tank onto my badger compressor. Got this harbor freight compressor on Craigslist and ripped the tank off and switched my regulator/trap onto it and connected the out to the in with a brass pipe and couplers. Air comes out of compressor and into tank. Got it. But it only chargers the tank to 42ish and then never turns off just continuously runs forever. Also. Regulator doesn’t do anything. It also holds at 40. I can turn the dial up and down doesn’t matter. There are no leaks anywhere.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!
 

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I’m an idiot. I had the regulator/trap backwards. Now the tank fills and holds at about 45. Fine with me I spray at 20 and 15. But the compressor turns off. And then pulsates. Like a grunt. On. On. On. On. In short intervals. Any way to fix this. Right now I’ll just turn it off and turn it back on when I lose pressure. But I’d like it to do what in theory it should.
 
I think;
Capacitor is going out, plus possibly a mild leak on the flutter valve, which you dont find because its internal.
Ive had one just like it. Pumps to 50, drops to 45, d d d dd d d d d d d.
Especially if it occassionally doesnt run until the pressure drops way down.
Basically it turns on but the cap cant get it going against 45psi so it stalls and starts over and over real quick.
 
Yikes. Any of this fixable or should I start the hunt for a new comp?
 
Yeah, But maybe not worth it.
You can probably look down the compressor vents and read the stats off of it. Probably a black or silver box with something like 4 or "5 uF+-5% " ....something like that on it.
Id guess you could find one for $10-15 ...not sure really.
 
That stat is microfarads...should have some voltage stats....you could hunt around for similar.
The flutter valve can take a little tinkering sometimes, other times its just moved a little....It sits on top the piston.
Just depends if you like to tinker and what your money/time ratio is like.
 
I do like to tinker. But with the insanely affordable prices these days of compressors it’s hard to justify sometimes. I almost didn’t add the tank cuz those were almost as much as a new compressor with one included!
Craigslist was good to me though.

So quick question. This is my first and only compressor. Turn it on and it builds pressure real quick then turns itself off. Perfect. I brush it turns on. Sweet. But if I leave it be and don’t do anything it’ll kick on for a second or two every 30-45 seconds or so or idle time. Is that normal? Could that be related to what’s happening? I just figured it needs a little recharge but maybe that’s a sign of a slight leak?
 
I’m an idiot. I had the regulator/trap backwards. Now the tank fills and holds at about 45. Fine with me I spray at 20 and 15. But the compressor turns off. And then pulsates. Like a grunt. On. On. On. On. In short intervals. Any way to fix this. Right now I’ll just turn it off and turn it back on when I lose pressure. But I’d like it to do what in theory it should.
Dude, I’ve done that too! It took me a while to realise my regulator had a small arrow on the side that indicates which way the air needs to flow. I also felt like an idiot, so you’re in fine company lol. Glad Robby got you to the bottom of the issue.


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On a side note. The better way to add a secondary tank is to plumb into the first tank. Easiest way is add a tee at the discharge valve and plumb the secondary tank to that. If your main tank was a significantly higher pressure that would not matter so much.
 
I built a similar setup with the same tank as yours, just check all connections for leaks and it helps to have a pressure switch on the tank as well.
 
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