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air compressor oil

26K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  JohnnyK81 
#1 ·
I have a 6 hp 60 gallon CH oil air compressor is their anything a can use besides the air compressor oil like motor oil or brake fluid any thing other thin air compressor oil
 
#2 ·
Myself and friends have always used a straight 30 Wt motor oil in ours, one buddy's is 17 years old now. It gets yearly oil change, compressor gets used 2 days a week. Regular air filter changes also, they get blown out a couple times and then replaced.

My Quincy pump instructions also say 30 wt motor oil.
 
#3 ·
SAE 30wt at our shop. IR (ingersoll rand said put SAE 30 in every piston pump style comp). My 2HP Pancake say 5/50 Full synthetic. I used 5-40 Castrol Syn.

I used SAE 30 in my small one and it wouldn't turn over fast for a few minutes cause the oil was to think.


As a side note, the IR guy said change it every 3 months and it will last 100yrs. New Filter and oil. some comp. he services are 25yrs old. Used daily.
 
#4 ·
rotary screw

WE had a couple of 25 HP Kaeser rotary compressors at work. and they took special oil. we use to get a little bit of oil in the condensate collector on the refrigerated dryer. It was a light grade of oil. Compressor oil for a piston pump is not that expensive. about the same price as oil we buy for the diesel tractor and truck.
 
#8 ·
do not over fill. This will cause oil from breather. Use 30W non detergent motor oil. I repaired compressors for a living and one of our destributors did a oil test and cheep 30 ND worked just as well as the expensive stuff. Just change it every 100 hours of opperation.
 
#10 ·
cold weather

My shop gets very cold. I bought the strip heaters used to keep water pipes from freezing. The one I use has a led indicator light to see that it's on. I wrap it around the compressor pump and keep it pluged in in the winter. A few years ago I had pump bearing trouble because one of my kids turned on the compressor to air up some inner tubes to go snow sliding. I think it got down to 10 degrees the night before and the pump did not get enough lube. I had to replace the rods and polish the crank. It runs a little noiser now.
 
#12 ·
mafiacustomz said:
I have a 6 hp 60 gallon CH oil air compressor is their anything a can use besides the air compressor oil like motor oil or brake fluid any thing other thin air compressor oil


You apparently have the very common single stage CH compressor sold by TSC, Northern, Sears, etc. From the "6 HP" (actually 3 HP, only 15 AMP@220Volts) 60 gallon description you probably are not asking about a new compressor since they have not used that mis-leading "peak HP" rating for several years now. As far as what oil to use just use 30wt non-detergent or go to Wal-Mart, TSC, etc and buy compressor oil, is there a reason you don't want to use compressor oil? If you use 30 WT make darn SURE it is non-detergent or you could very well have oil frothing from the splash oiling system. Detergent type oils such as 10W30 can be used just fine in a compressor that has an oil pump but the splash system of those little single stage outfits will foam the oil with detergent type oils causing poor lubrication and possible leaking from the vent. Since you also have that vent leak problem are you already using a detergent type oil? Is the oil level too high? Too much oil in the crankcase will cause problems such as you have described but unfortunately so will a worn out pump.


BTW, not sure where you got that Brake fluid idea but someone must be joking with you, Brake fluid would DESTROY that pump PDQ! :nono:
 
#14 ·
matt167 said:
Walmart sells Accell brand 30wt non detergent. it's blue in color. Also Briggs And Stratton 30wt is non detergent


They also sell CH compressor oil but it is on the shelf where they keep the air compressor gadgets, like you said they also have 30 wt non-detergent oil and that will work just fine as will the Briggs oil or a couple of other air cooled engine oils at TSC, Northern, etc.
 
#16 ·
mafiacustomz said:
their is no level on the dip stick if thats what you want to call it i put compressor oil in it and it spit it out till their was only alittle in it i put 10w30 in the compressor and it work same and still spits out the dipstick i dont know why


First how far up on the dipstick does the oil come? There should be a flat knurled area about 1/2" or so at the end of the dipstick and the oil should be about halfway up on that, if the oil level is an inch or so up on the dipstick then that is your problem.


Next, If the oil level is correct then with the pump running pull the dipstick out and hold your thumb over the hole (BE CAREFUL DOING THIS!!!! :pain: ), does it have ANY amount of air trying to blow back out that hole? If there is any noticeable amount of pressure on that dipstick hole then your pump will likely need repair/replacement, have there been any kind of repairs or modifications made already to ANY of the lines/fittings/regulator, etc? Does your unloader valve on the regulator work properly? By that I mean is there a momentary "Hiss" for about a second or so when the pump shuts down? Is there by any chance a continuous hissing or air leak anywhere around the pump or regulator when the pump shuts down? What I am trying to determine is whether or not your back-flow valve in the tank is working properly because this can also cause back-pressure in these little single stage pumps, theoretically a leaky valve there should not cause crankcase pressure but I have seen it happen a couple of times on worn but otherwise still serviceable compressors.
 
#17 ·
Well, the crankcase ventilation might BE the hole on the oil fill cap! I know it is on a few of my compressors, so I'm not sure your method of testing crankcase pressure is all that good. As for spitting out.. I'm assuming you're overfilling.. Drain it out, find the manual, and fill it up with the recommended amount.


Brake fluid!??!
 
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