How To Maintain Your Air Compressor
Your air compressor is the workhouse of your toolbox. It powers many of your tools, and now that you have it, you likely can't imagine life without it. The good news is that it doesn't require daily maintenance and it's not hard to take care of. You do have to perform routine maintenance on it, though, to keep it running for years to come. Here are some of the critical maintenance tasks you will need to carry out.
Read Everything
If you're like many people, you likely don't like to read the instructions or ask for directions, but when it comes to tools, you need to always read the manual. This is especially true for the air compressor so that you can learn how it works, how to troubleshoot it, and how to take care of it. Just read it, learn it, and take care of it. So simple.
Clean It
There are a few components on your air compressor that need to be cleaned. The intake vents, the fuel tank, and the heat exchangers are the three parts that should make your routine maintenance list. Cleaning these parts are simple, and you will get more use out of your air compressor if you take the time to occasionally take care of it.
Check, Change, and Tighten
If you aren't cleaning it, you need to be checking it. All nuts, screws, and bolts on your air compressor should be checked routinely because the vibrations of the air compressor can cause them to loosen. Check them and tighten them up as needed.
The air filters on the compressor should be changed periodically and more often when you deal with dirty jobs. Be sure to check them after each use to make sure they aren't getting full of dirt, which will make your compressor run inefficiently.
You also need to check the tanks on your compressor and make sure they aren't getting full of moisture and water. You will need to release the pressure on the tanks and them empty the water as needed.
Finally, inspect your hoses regularly. You want to look for wear and tear or leaks that render the hoses ineffective. When they look worn, change them before they leak. If you notice a leak, you need to change the hose so the compressor doesn't have to work harder to do the job you need it to.
These quick tips are easy to implement and something you can put into a regular routine to make sure that you don't forget to take care of your air compressor properly.
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