Home Appliances Long Live Your Air Compressor: The Importance of Doing Preventative Maintenance

Long Live Your Air Compressor: The Importance of Doing Preventative Maintenance

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There is no question that the the versatility of a good air compressor can be a huge asset to a number of different blue-collar professions.

This handy industrial tool can be taken out to a jobsite quite easily since it doesn’t require a power source to operate.

The air compressor has been known to supply power to drills, nail guns, wrenches, spray guns and a whole host of other power tools. Air compressors can often be found at a variety of locations, including manufacturing plants, gas stations, construction sites and handyman offices throughout the country. Even carpenters have been known to use them.

Naturally, what with all of this popularity it is important to keep them fully maintained so they will last for a long time. The cheapest air compressor on the market today will usually run you about $70; the more expensive ones will be hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars.

Since it is bad business to be constantly replacing an air compressor, it is definitely a good idea to keep them maintained well. You wouldn’t let your home go without maintenance, so don’t let your air compressor go without it either. Here are some steps you should take to keep your air compressor running like a top:

Familiarise yourself with the owner’s manual

The first thing you want to do is to study the owner’s manual that came with your air compressor from cover to cover. Make sure you are aware of everything that it covers, because the more knowledgeable you are about the specific parts associated with your air compressor the better off you will be. Simply put, the owner’s manual provides you with the background knowledge to assist you if something goes wrong with the air compressor, making it more likely that you will be able to fix it yourself. It might seem old-fashioned, but reading the owner’s manual will save you time and money. If you can repair it yourself, that means it doesn’t have to go to a repairman.

Perform visual and audio inspections often

People do visual inspections on all kinds of things, including their vehicles, appliances, garage door openers and many other things. It’s a no-brainer that you should do inspections on your air compressor as well. At a glance, you can check it for various potential red flags. You could look for such things as oil leaks or filters that appear to be dirty. Moreover, when your air compressor is turned on you should occasionally pause and just listen to it for a few seconds. If something sounds off on it, then you probably should consider a more thorough inspection of it.

Check the oil and keep the cooler of the air compressor clean.

The phrase “a well-oiled machine” definitely rings true. You should check the oil often on your air compressor, and if it is low you should immediately replace it. An air compressor with low oil will  often it cause it to seize and fail when you attempt to start it. Moreover, if you attempt to run an air compressor for too long, the damage to various parts can be catastrophic. The best way to summarise it up would be that the air compressor needs oil to keep all of the parts running smoothly. Luckily, on most air compressor brands there is a window that will help you determine just how high the oil level actually is. Additionally, keeping the air compressor’s cooler clean is every bit as important because a dirty air compressor cooler simply will not cool the air effectively, which could lead to overheating. A good rule of thumb would be to wash the cooler of your air compressor just before summer starts, because that is usually when you will use your air compressor the most.

Buy a well-built air compressor in the first place

If your air compressor is giving you a lot of headaches, one way to avoid the issue could be to just purchase a more well-built air compressor the next time around. There are plenty of air compressor reviews for 2019 that you can peruse to get a better example. One resource for the top air compressor designs of 2019 would be All The Stuff, and they include such possibilities as the DeWALT DWFP55126, which is good for portable use; the Senco PC1010, which is good for small jobs; the Makita MAC700 that is great for construction tasks; and the California Air Tools 5510SE, which is good for jobs that are short in duration.

Whichever type of air compressor you go with, as long as you follow these and other preventative maintenance tips it should be able to give you service for a long time.

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