Compressor oil

100LL said:
How often should it be changed? I’m at least a year in service on my current oil, with quite light use.
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Hi 100LL,
light use (once or twice a week)- 18 months should be sufficient
oil color will be an good indicator too
a chocolate brown color means it is good to go and still has life
a blackened or darker color or if the oil has odor, it will indicate that it is time for service
 
Ulma Doctor said:
Hi 100LL,
light use (once or twice a week)- 18 months should be sufficient
oil color will be an good indicator too
a chocolate brown color means it is good to go and still has life
a blackened or darker color or if the oil has odor, it will indicate that it is time for service
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A light brown or milky look is moisture.
 
i agree with milky being bad.
it depends on the oil manufacturer i suppose
i have seen from light green, light brown as well as near clear 30 wt ND's right out of the bottle
 
Ulma Doctor said:
i agree with milky being bad.
it depends on the oil manufacturer i suppose
i have seen from light green, light brown as well as near clear 30 wt ND's right out of the bottle
Click to expand...
That's why manufacturers publish a service schedule -- you can't tell sh*t just from looking. Either that or use oil sampling (which isn't practical for a single air compressor).
 
Mine was clear and is now a grayish black, through the sight glass. Has been minimum over a year. I leave it charged, always, it'll run by itself. If I'm not using it, it will run once or twice a week to recharge, to heavy use of running numerous times a day. Lately has been heavy use. Time to change.
 
I use Mobil Rarus 427 as per manufacturer recommendation. I change oil every 75-100 hours. Attach a small piece of tape and write the last service date if you don't have an hour meter.
 
My hope is I can bury this pump in the ground. Then have an excuse for the wife so I can buy a better pump...
 
Get an oil with a low sulphur content. Sometimes the cheap stuff is not as highly refined. Look at the msds/sds. It can be vague as to formula but look for the word highly refined, more of the dirty stuff will have be removed. Not everything will be removed by the coalescing filter and you will be breathing that air.
 
Good advise, thanks. Hadn't thought of that. Actually, I'm not sure if it's a good sign or not, but I get absolutely no oil in my air lines. My seperater never has anything in it. And the tank drain is usually just red (rusty) water, but not oily.
 
I worked in the hvac industry years ago and the controls ran on air with top line compressors. Visable oil was seen as a sign of compressor head wear, the oil that can effect painting is in the microns size of atomization and will pass though the less exacting filters.
 
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