I’m in the final stages of a mini project that extends my ethos of going over biked for every occasion. Namely refurbing an old air compressor which will be used, amongst other things, for seating tyres.

Naturally, I’ll be using a 160l compressor with a 2.2kw motor.

Anyways, It was given to me in bits and I’ve got it running and moving air, so the final piece of the puzzle is getting fittings.

Do the standard bayonet type fittings seal off when you remove them? I’d like some sort of quick disconnect thing that will shut off the supply when I remove the tool, without having to depressurise the tank.

So, hive mind, could anyone tell me what I need?

Right. I’ve just read a description. And it turns out that female fittings have a valve in them. So basically this thread is pointless.

Thaaaaaanks. But sorry you’ll never get that time back.

There is a a step that I hope you have or plan to perform which is the basic safety checks for the tank and valves,

There is plenty online but off the top of my head:

– Safety valve – find it and check it – usually there is a manual check to open it – ensure it is in good condition not corroded – they are very cheap to replace ./

– The electrical pressure switch – the one that switches off the motor at a preset pressure – that is in place and you can verify it cuts the motor at the right level according to a guage.

– Kind of optional but good to have – a regulator to set the output level..

Compressed air scares the shit out of me, it is probably one of the most dangerous mediums in regular use, if I were you I would take the advice on the pressure switch and the relief valve and if you have any young kids make sure its fully disabled and drained down after use.

ps you a real submariner ??

Both very good points, thank you! As you can probably tell, I’ve used air tools, but never really looked at the finer points. I’m lucky enough to have a very nice neighbour who, amongst other things, runs a company that works with industrial compressors and creates test rigs. He said similar to the above.

So yup, new safety valve ordered, and I’m going to start off with the tank reg pressure set very low, then slowly build up, and ensure its empty when not in use (and regularly drained down)

I’ve got an in line regulator/oiler on the way as well

I’m also going to try and get hold of a USB boroscope to check inside the tank before using, as that’s a lot of stored energy in there!

So yup, new safety valve ordered, and I’m going to start off with the tank reg pressure set very low, then slowly build up,

Doesn’t really help if if blows up at n+1 psi, it’s still at n+1 psi!

If you want to test it, fill the tank with water and just leave a few litres of airspace, then pressurise it to whatever it’s rated at (i,e. should be quite a bit more than the safety valve and pressure switch). That way if it goes pop all that happens is you end up with a bit of a wet garage, not shrapnell everywhere. Compressed air has a lot of stored energy, water under pressure has effectively none.

How old is this compressor? They are not actually that expensive to buy. A 150L with a 3KW motor would only be a few hundred quid from Machine Mart.

I think you might be worrying about nothing, you are only looking at 150psi tops.

If it was an old dive cylinder with 3000psi it might be more of an issue.

Sounds like you have it covered ,  rusty tanks tend to pin hole and leak , the nasty things happen when pressure switch and safety valve get bodged , a lot of older heavy tanks are very overbuilt, some of the newer cheap light tanks do not inspire confidence – definitely light duty and age limited.

I am lucky and have a silent Bambi 50L that I repaired one of the compressor motors on , and it has the big plusof having a variable timer auto drain, so not only does it keep the neighbours happy being silent – I dont have to grovel on the floor to drain it.