cold environment for compressor

[NetPro]

Now that I've read the Oxygen Hacker's Companion, I've got visions of building my own home fill station. I found a source for some cascade tanks and have an O2 supplier. The Analyzer, Nitrox Stick and Tank Tumbler are built. A section of the garage (far away from wife's car) is now "reserved" and I'm looking for a "cheap" compressor.

What type of environmental issues will I have, if any, with keeping and running a compressor in an unheated space? I don't anticipate a lot of fills in the winter but the temperature in upstate NY can easily be in the teens at night and twenties during the day. It may go a couple of weeks never getting above freezing. Do I have to be concerned with storage or operation? Are there any specific models that I should stay away from? Are there heaters that are required to get the compressor up to temperature before use?

NetPro
wannabe mixer

 

[boydski]

Is your garage attached to your house? I insulated my attached garage and it rarely actually gets below 32° due to the heat radiating from the house into the garage.

The fastest way to warm up the garage is actually to turn on the compressor. It puts out a lot of heat.

I do have a shop heater that I will turn on if I'm working out in the garage. It helps to keep the fingers from getting too numb. My RIX compressor does not have an oil lubrication system, so it seems fine starting and running cold. If I were to use an oil lubed compressor and the shop was actually 20°, I would consider pre-warming it just a bit with a heater or heat lamp.

Once running, she'll be plenty warm. Good Luck!

 

[rjack321]

Most manufacturers recommend their oil lubed compressors be around 40F for starting. Its pretty viscous below this temp. You need warm it up a bit without risk of CO, so electric radient heaters are best.

Running in the cold is fine but you'll discover that the condensate drain lines will freeze. Make sure they are free draining and otherwise the compressor will generate enough heat internally to run fine.

 

[rcontrera]

Running in the cold is fine but you'll discover that the condensate drain lines will freeze.

It doesn't happen here very often (Puget Sound area), but a couple of years ago we had over two weeks of temps in the 20s or below and I had a couple of compressor owners that hadn't blown down their systems before shutting down. They had condensate collected in the inter cooler tubing causing expansion and cracking.

In 20 years I had never had stainless steel tubing go bad on a compressor and in one serious winter freeze I get several. It is amazing what ice can do!

Just my $.02

 

[NetPro]

Yes it is attached but no unfortunately my garage isn't insulated. The previous owner did a great job of finishing it with drywall but never insulated it. Did you ever want to grab someone and ask WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!

I can imagine what a little ice could do to a small tube. I didn't get all the water out of my pool heater a few years ago and ended up with a broken manifold ($300). Everything gets drained and blown out well by the 1st of November!

Anybody use low wattage tank heaters stuck on the compressor body? The kind that look like a sheet of orange rubber. That seems like a good solution to warm up the oil or keep things warm overnight.

As always - thanks for the input

Netpro

 

[BoltSnap]

The folks from Poseidon Compressor once told me that all I needed was to keep a 100W light bulb on in the compressor room to keep it warm enough.

 

[frogman62]

In the garage I actually lay a 100Watt bulb on the top of the compressor between the stages and it keeps is warm enough to start when it is zero outside.
Frogman62

 

[oxyhacker]

This is an important point that often gets overlooked as people tend to fixate on just the oil. Since expansion of a gas causes cooling, you can get a freezeup of a drain line or the relief valve even if the temperature is above freezing. Or the valve may work perfectly, then a few minutes later freeze up solid. I've had a relief valves freeze up and fail to open for this reason, and once blew the top off clear off a relief valve when ice clogged the exit and the pressure got too high.

Some compressor manufacturers even say their compressors should not even be stored at below-freezing temperatures due to the danger of damage from moisture inside freezing up, though just about everyone I know in cold climates does it. Mako says you can take a compressor outside that has been stored in a warm (that is to say, above freezing) place, and use it down to 15 degrees F intake as long as it is run often enough to keep the compressor temp above freezing. Mako also recommends doing an extra-thorough blow out of the stacks and lines when shutting down. Bauer says their compressor are good down to 5 C/41F which seems more reasonable to me than freezing. Both Bauer and Mako suggest a block heater or preheating device for compressors that will be operated at lower temperatures.

I don't think a 100W bulb is enough unless the compressor is in a small tight room, or an enclosure. Since running too cold can cause increased wear even if the compressor seems to be running fine, I'd rather heat it a little more than absolutely necessary, rather than a little less.

Oh, I would be careful using a bulb with a gas powered compressor - I know people what have incinerated cars and airplanes that way.

Running in the cold is fine but you'll discover that the condensate drain lines will freeze. Make sure they are free draining and otherwise the compressor will generate enough heat internally to run fine.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Vance is right on the money, listen to him. I went to a freinds house one time to fix his compressor that was kept in an unheated shead and it was winter in Canada. I fired it up, it ran for a little while as I looked and listened as I felt around, the 2nd stage the cylinder blew right off at the base. The lines had frozen up and the safety valve for that stage was located on the water trap. Wet my pants alittle that time.

Years later I got a call to look at a K-18 at an oil refinery that wasn't producing. It was kept in a trailer and it was winter in Canada. This time they told me that the unit was slowing down, I knew better this time to heat the unit up first, and low and behold the fault wasn't there.

Get a good heater and do your best not to burn down the house.
ZDD