I'm looking to move my compressor out of my workshop and stick it round the back in a purpose built compressor store shed thing. If possible I dont fancy going round the back to drain it down once I'm finished so would like to drain it remotely. I'm thinking I could either extend the drain line back into the workshop with the valve accessible (but that would be noisy) or I could fit a remotely actuated valve. Could someone point me in the direction of a suitable valve?
- Thread starter colinh
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plenty on ebay, around 20-30 quid, almost all chinese... work fine, only thing is timers are a maximum of 45 minutes between cycles, which franly is a bit much. Once a day is plenty for most.. easy solution is to get a wall plug timer and only switch the autodrain on when ever you choose.. bit of a faff, but easy enough..
Just search compresor auto drain on ebay, they are about £20. You will need to know your thread size. You also need to pipe the outlet somewhere safe because they vent at full pressure. They work really well. Whilst they may not need to draining every 30mins you can set the open time to a few seconds so it's not really an issue.
cheb
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Your post reads as if you want to empty the compressor after use rather than occasionally draining any accumulated water.
If I read it correctly then you could use a solenoid valve. I fitted one to my system to provide air to the workshop without the supply pipe being permanently on.
If I read it correctly then you could use a solenoid valve. I fitted one to my system to provide air to the workshop without the supply pipe being permanently on.
Seadog
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The auto-drain that I bought can be used without the timer element. Which is great because the maximum time between operations is only 30 minutes. I intend using it at end of day so will have a momentary switch to allow a quick blast to drain the receiver.
James1979
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That’s useful. Mine is timer or ‘test’. I set it for 10 seconds every 15 minutes as it’s feeding a plasma cutter. Having the ability to dump the compressor without going round there would be handy. The compressor is in its own shed, the switches are in the workshop. All I have to go in there for is maintenance and to drain it each end of day.
I put the auto drain out the wall into the field next door. Annoys the sheep
It is the best upgrade for the money I’ve done on the air and wish I’d done it sooner
Which model is that? Or have you just removed the timer part and just use it as a solenoid?mine is like James's one, test or time. I was thinking about removing the timed part, but my compressor control circuit is 110v and it would be a faff to Add a timer circuit and transformer just to dump air, so I went the easy way and left my valve plugged in to the timer socket so it's on only during the day, 2 seconds every 45 minutes, then off at 6pm
Wildefalcon
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What is the benefit of draining the tank completely?
Personally, I see no benefit in practice.... Mine is left at pressure all the time. the drains we're referring to are to get rid of water build up..
I don't really see what the big issue is if the drain is activated every 15-30-45 mins other than the sound? Obviously if you leave the compressor powered on it will eventually fire up again. If you leave the drain valve powered up it will eventually empty the tank unless the compressor is powered up.
Mine has the timer and a test button. The test button holds the solenoid until you release so you can dump for as long as you like.
When they first power up they dump for as long as the timer is set to so you could just turn it on and turn it off again once it dumps.
Mine has the timer and a test button. The test button holds the solenoid until you release so you can dump for as long as you like.
When they first power up they dump for as long as the timer is set to so you could just turn it on and turn it off again once it dumps.
I've not found those to be very reliable and have gone to the automatic electric ones
Seadog
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Buy one of these, junk the timer and operate it from a momentary switch as and when required.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Automati...nsate-Auto-Drain-Valve-220V-FAST/383529219691
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Automati...nsate-Auto-Drain-Valve-220V-FAST/383529219691
cheb
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I used something like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KLOD-SOL...032647?hash=item3b0a9b7cc7:g:FFQAAOSwfNpbO5n1
Chris Snow
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I wired the auto drain timer into the motor supply and as short duration as you could. 1s I think. Also restricted the flow a bit.
Means you only get a blast when it's already making noise and not going off all the time.
Means you only get a blast when it's already making noise and not going off all the time.
