SOLVED MY COMPRESSED AIR SYSTEM LEAK AFTER 4 YEARS!! YAHOOOO!

[chief38]

When we completely remodeled our home 25 years ago I took that opportunity to run for air lines all over the house, garage, work shop, back yard pool area etc. since the walls were opened anyway. I did so and for 25 years I've enjoyed the convenience of always being close to a compressed air quick disconnect. Since I always seem to use compressed air (on a daily basis) I never shut the compressor off - it's always on for it to cycle on & off for a constant supply of air.

About 4 years ago I noticed the compressor was cycling on way more than normal so I shut the tank valve and the next day when I checked the tank itself lost absolutely nothing - no leaks on the compressor itself. Then I went to every fitting and filter on the 350 feet of lines that I could get to and checked for air leaks with soapy water - could not find anything at all. From time to time I'd recheck the fittings and connections - still could not find any leaks.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when my Son and his wife were here for a week long visit (they live out of town) and I was working in the garage. My son (who has super-duper hearing - unlike mine) said he heard something hissing and it took him all of 30 seconds to point to one of the Coalescent air filters mounted on the wall. I got some soapy water and tested all the pipes and connections - still no leaks! THEN.......... he said to me check the filter's life indicator on top (sort of a glass bulb with an indicator that turns from green to red when the filter needs replacement) and so I did - that was it! I never bothered to check that because it was part of the filter housing and not something I connected. Anyway the next day I called Granger, ordered a new rubber diaphragm and indicator for $6.50 and that was that!!! I'm pissed that it took 4 long years to find but thankful I finally did!

Now I can work in my Shop all day long and unless I am using air, the compressor doesn't cycle on. I feel like I won the Lottery - LOL!!

 

[chief38]

BTW anyone here looking for an extremely high quality, made in the USA heavy duty piston type Compressor owes it to themselves to look into a Jenny Air Compressor. Made in Somerset, PA they can custom make you about any configuration of HP motor, tank size, tank orientation, etc at a reasonable price.

These are not the Harbor Freight, Home Depot, or Lowes cheaply made units but are over engineered for many many years of trouble free usage by professionals and serious hobbyists.

Between my homes and businesses over the years I've had at least 10-12 air compressors and so far the Jenny has been the absolute best - plus, their customer service is superb! PS: I have no association to their Company what-so-ever.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Sometimes finding the air leak(s) can be a pain. All of the Pittsburgh schools & buildings still use pneumatic controls. Some of the buildings are around 100 years old or more. Once in a while, we would take an air line apart and squirt some perfume in the piping the reenergize the line with air. It's worked more than once. I've also shot a couple pounds of refrigerant in the line and used my electronic leak detector. We would just tell the nosey kids that the boiler system had a radiation leak. I messed with them every chance I could!

 

[rwsmith]

We made a huge 2 and 3 story lab building.....

... and piped N2 throughout. There was a leak somewhere in the system that was never found. We had a huge tank that had to be filled about about 2 weeks ahead of time the leak was so bad, but nobody ever found it. We should have hired your son to come listen.

You would wonder why nobody just called the contractor back to just trace the leak, but the whole project was such a PITA that nobody cared about messing with it.

I had always wanted to work on a major project but that cured me.

 

[chief38]

Sometimes finding the air leak(s) can be a pain. All of the Pittsburgh schools & buildings still use pneumatic controls. Some of the buildings are around 100 years old or more. Once in a while, we would take an air line apart and squirt some perfume in the piping the reenergize the line with air. It's worked more than once. I've also shot a couple pounds of refrigerant in the line and used my electronic leak detector. We would just tell the nosey kids that the boiler system had a radiation leak. I messed with them every chance I could!

Excellent suggestion - wish you told me that 4 years ago - LOL!!

 

[chief38]

... and piped N2 throughout. There was a leak somewhere in the system that was never found. We had a huge tank that had to be filled about about 2 weeks ahead of time the leak was so bad, but nobody ever found it. We should have hired your son to come listen.

You would wonder why nobody just called the contractor back to just trace the leak, but the whole project was such a PITA that nobody cared about messing with it.

I had always wanted to work on a major project but that cured me.

And since 78% of air is N2 it makes it even harder! Jefrefrig above made an excellent suggestion - add perfume or a leak detector to the line. I wish I had thought of that!

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

You didn't think to look at the indicator, because it was somebody else's work? I have made it my policy to never trust someone else's work! Even when Management say to not touch it, That's the first place I look! I know the work I did!

Ivan

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

You didn't think to look at the indicator, because it was somebody else's work? I have made it my policy to never trust someone else's work! Even when Management say to not touch it, That's the first place I look! I know the work I did!

Ivan

 

[chief38]

You didn't think to look at the indicator, because it was somebody else's work? I have made it my policy to never trust someone else's work! Even when Management say to not touch it, That's the first place I look! I know the work I did!

Ivan

You are perfectly correct - shame on me, but in my defense I did not study the coalescent filter enough to realize that the indicator was actually fastened on by two 3 tiny screws. At first glance it looks like it is part of the unit. See picture below. That said, yes, you are correct and I was not thorough when inspecting it. My bad!

Speedaire 4ZL31 $176.65 Coalescing Filter, 1/4 In. NPT, 250 psi | Zoro.com

 

[Heymatt]

You didn't think to look at the indicator, because it was somebody else's work? I have made it my policy to never trust someone else's work! Even when Management say to not touch it, That's the first place I look! I know the work I did!

Ivan

That’s one of the first things I tell my techs. Assume everything is wrong! Start at the beginning and follow it to the end. That way you check it all.
One day they’ll listen

 

[Doug M.]

... and piped N2 throughout. There was a leak somewhere in the system that was never found. We had a huge tank that had to be filled about about 2 weeks ahead of time the leak was so bad, but nobody ever found it. We should have hired your son to come listen.

You would wonder why nobody just called the contractor back to just trace the leak, but the whole project was such a PITA that nobody cared about messing with it.

I have to review some contracts at work. We have learned over the years that quality control is vital. We have also learned that some folks would rather grouse than force the contractor to fix the problem.

Me? I like to fight. I come from a criminal prosecution background. Coercive compliance is as much a part of me as breathing, and I do some pretty good hatemail when people don't respond to the nice effort.