Free air?

[Bird]

I'd love to have air plumbed inside the house for the same uses, although in my current home, it's 12 ft. out the back door and across the patio/breezeway into the shop/recreation room. And I, too, keep that 30 gallon compressor charged up all the time and I step out there to blow out my electric razor every time I shave.

 

[Gary Fowler]

That is very innovative ideas for new house. I don't know that I would have done it in the closets even if I had thought about it, but having it in the garage would have been great. I have to go to the shop to blow out the HEPA vacuum filters and the little small hand vac filters now and then and having air at the house would sure beat walking thru the rain and cold to the shop 200 feet away.
I too keep my compressor plugged in and charged up all the time. Its much more convenient when using it for small tasks the just pick up the hose and have pressure there rather than wait for it to charge up.
The one thing I have been meaning to do for a long time is install a 90 ell and 1/4 turn valve on the bottom for draining the water. I just cant remember to pick up the parts needed to do it. Mine is so low to the floor that I have to tilt the compressor back in order to get pliers on the petcock to loosen it up, finger tight stops it but I always need pliers to loosen it up. Not as strong as I used to be in the grip.

 

[Gary Fowler]

As for free air, I haven't seen that in my area since early 70s when most of the mom and pop stores folded up as Walmart came to town. Full service stations went at about the same time. Now it is hard to even find the quarter operated ones at most places and then like has been said they are stuck in a corner somewhere and no way to get to a trailer tire and even a car might have to be turned around to get to the opposite side if checking all 4 tires. I got my first compressor in 1974 and was one of the first purchases to go in the garage of my new house. I have had one ever since and now have 2. I recently bought a dual tank Puma for portable use if needed as the 30 gallon one is a bit hard to load up. Now with a small genset and small compressor, nothing is outside the radius of working with the right tools no matter where the breakdown occurs.

 

[jinman]

I try to kill two birds (not Birds ) with one stone. I buy a booster/jumper battery pack with a built-in compressor. That way, I have a booster battery and compressor for emergencies. I also have a small 2-gal compressor in my well-house that is perfect for mower, auto, and even tractor tires. It does very well even for filling rear tractor tires. Of course, if the rears are liquid filled, they don't require as much air to top off.

I noticed many places that used to have air that quit after repeated vandalism of their air station. I've seen slashed hoses, stolen hoses, and even damage to hard lines from vandals. Many stations used to have a pit with a locking cover where their air hoses attached. Most of the old stations had self-retracting hose reels when full service was common. My place I go for oil changes always checks and tops off the air pressure in all my tires and also tops up washer fluid in the reservoir. So, every two to three months, all my tires get checked and topped up.

 

[Bird]

The one thing I have been meaning to do for a long time is install a 90 ell and 1/4 turn valve on the bottom for draining the water.

I did that a long time ago. Since it's so quick and easy, I pop that valve open at least 4 or 5 days a week.

Unfortunately, the drain was so low to the floor that even a little 90 el was against the floor, but since I never move the compressor anyway, I put some blocks under the wheels, as you can see.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I did that a long time ago. Since it's so quick and easy, I pop that valve open at least 4 or 5 days a week.

Unfortunately, the drain was so low to the floor that even a little 90 el was against the floor, but since I never move the compressor anyway, I put some blocks under the wheels, as you can see.
View attachment 360024

I had to go into town today to get my eye glasses fixed so I stopped by Lowes and picked up a 1/4" valve, 90 street ell and a 3" nipple. I had to get everything in brass which is ok for the lack of corrosion but much more expensive than galvanized. Lowes didn't have anything in 1/4" other than brass. I hope the $5.88 3" nipple is long enough because they wanted $12.88 for a 4.5" long one. I also hope it is 1/4" NPT size that I need as I didn't think to measure it prior to getting the parts. Now, I just have to install it. Sure hope I can make it work without the blocks like Bird, as I do move my compressor around the shop at times rather than roll out 50 feet of hose, I just move the compressor.

 

[Bird]

rather than roll out 50 feet of hose, I just move the compressor.

That can sometimes work better, but I haven't moved a compressor around instead of more hose since we were full time RVers and carried a little 2 gallon compressor.:laughing: In other words, not since the first of 1995. I leave one 50' hose hooked up all the time, and have two more of them hanging on the wall. Of course, all my air accessories have quick couplers.

 

[grsthegreat]

for portable jobs, i use my twin tank emglow compressor. that unit if over 20 years old and still works great. getting kind of cranky starting up in 5F days...but then again so am I

 

[grsthegreat]

one thing i did do a few years ago was to add a shut off valve and male hose end to my underground sprinkler control box next to my shop. For years, i kept taking off sprinkler ends and blowing out the water come winter. then a few years ago i had a brain fart.....why not just add a hose adapter. Now i just roll out my 50 foot hose from shop, plug it in and open valve. All i have to do is manually open all 24 zones and blow them out. what used to take hours and hours of labor now takes maybe 20 minutes. and all i have to do is turn the valves on manually from the control box. Did i tell you i LOVE my shop compressor.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I did that a long time ago. Since it's so quick and easy, I pop that valve open at least 4 or 5 days a week.

Unfortunately, the drain was so low to the floor that even a little 90 el was against the floor, but since I never move the compressor anyway, I put some blocks under the wheels, as you can see.
View attachment 360024

As I stated earlier, I was determined to put in a quick valve to drain the water, so while in town at Lowes I picked up all the fittings I need in brass which was all Lowes had in 1/4" size- 1 street ell ($5.20) one 2.5"long nipple ($5.29) and a 1/4 turn ball valve ($6.49). It all fit like a glove and by using the street ell, it keeps everything up off the floor by at least an inch and the 2.5" nipple puts the valve out far enough so the curvature of the tank bottle allows for the valve handle to be facing up so it is easier to reach. I just need to take a picture of it to prove that I actually did install it.