I'm sure it's not an original idea but after messing around with the crappy little screwdown bleed valve on my Craftsman compressor I rigged up this little setup so I can blow the sucker down with just a quarter turn.

What is not shown is the 10ft of 1/4 " tubing that is now attached to the barbed end. Now I just reach under, pull the tubing out to the street and open the valve. No more wheeling it out to the street to blow out the condensation.

Total cost for fittings and tubing was around $15.

 

Wow,have not drained mine in a long time!

 

Great idea. Those bleeder valves suck plus you end up with a bunch of rusty water all over the floor. I need to do that to mine.

 

One very important facet of "bleeding" your air tank... the faster you let the air out... the more condensation that builds up in the tank. The rapid air flow cools the inside of the tank below the outside temperature and actually builds additional condensation inside the tank You now have to wait 'til the inside and outside of the tank are the same temperature and the extra condensation has time to dry or your just wasting time by draining the tank in the first place. I think it states on most tanks to bleed them slowly... now you know page 2.................

 

How did you ever crawl under there to install that valve?

 

It's on wheels...he just tipped it up.

 

Quite right. I leave the petcock on my compressors cracked open a little all the time, even when they are running.

 

I have a Craftsman compressor with the screw down bleeder valve on the bottom and I always drain my compressor every time after I use it. I leave the valve open when it's not in use. No rust spots and no problems in the 15 years or so of owning it.

 

Very nice.

 

Exactly. Why would anyone bleed the tank right before using it?

That's why I drain it AFTER I'm done using the compressor.

I roll the tube out to the street instead of having to roll out the whole compressor, relieve most of the pressure via the relief valve on top then open the 1/4 turn valve. The air and any moisture bleeds out and I leave the valve open until the next time I need compressed air.

Usually a week between uses. Plenty of time for the inside and outside temps to equalize.

Whole purpose was to eliminate that screwy little valve that was a pain to get at as well as having to roll the compressor out of the garage to blow it down.