Maintenance Musts for Portable Air Compressors

The adage holds true: if you take care of your equipment, it’ll take care of you. To help extend the life of your portable air compressors, it’s important to follow a pre-established maintenance routine to help make sure your compressors stay where they belong: working hard on the jobsite.

While there are many factors affecting the routine maintenance schedules of portable air compressors, whether diesel or electric – such as altitude, climate, operating conditions, the specific machine, and engine manufacturer – there are routine maintenance procedures that apply to nearly all compressors.

Consistent and correctly performed maintenance will help ensure the compressor’s performance and extend its operational life. Set frequency maintenance plans can vary based on engine manufacturer, compressor size, climate and day-to-day operating conditions.

As a renter of portable air compressors, some of the maintenance may be your responsibility when the equipment is in your possession. Completing this maintenance will help avoid jobsite work interruptions, frustrating troubleshooting, and additional costs when the equipment is turned in after rental.

Daily maintenance should include:

• Checking all oil and fluid levels in the engine (if equipped) and compressor and adding oil and/or fluids if necessary

• Checking the dust collectors and cleaning if necessary

• Checking and cleaning the coolers if working in dirty environments like media blasting and farming

• For diesel compressors: Filling the fuel tank and draining any water from the fuel/water separator

• For electric compressors: Ensuring there are no obstructions to airflow so electrical components stay cool

• For electric compressors: Inspect electric cabling to ensure no damage or loose cables

In addition to daily checks and maintenance, “break-in maintenance” which is done after the initial 50 hours of operation is important for the machine. This initial maintenance step helps to eliminate contaminants from the system. Please refer to the manufacturer user manuals for proper inspection and maintenance. It is also important to inspect radiators and coolers every 100 hours to ensure the engine (if equipped) and compressors stay at the recommended temperatures. Dirty or clogged up coolers and radiators are the most common reason for a machine to overheat and shut down.

Be sure to also check for compressor oil quality. This is especially important in high humidity conditions and when the compressor has been running on idle for a long period of time under moderate temperatures.

For oil flooded compressors, the compressor oil and separator element should be changed every 1,500 hours. The recommended compressor fluid varies by compressor type. Each Sullair air compressor comes factory-filled with specially formulated lubricants to help optimize compressor performance. It’s crucial for compressor performance to use the OEM recommended fluid for oil changes and topoffs.

• AWF: Formulated for harsh environments and optimum performance in both hot and cold weather.

• HPL 1500: Designed for high pressure compressors

• Genuine Sullube: Helps clean and protect rotors from varnish – the number one cause of premature failure among rotary screw compressors

• SRF DS: Engineered to provide reliable gearbox lubrication for oil free compressors

The most common wear parts in portable air compressors are filters and engine belts. In addition to air and oil filters, change the engine (if equipped) and compressor oil according to manufacturer recommendations, just as you would on your vehicle. One simple standard practice to follow includes always maintaining a ready stock of replacement parts to avoid downtime and allowing you to complete maintenance in a timely manner.

Some manufacturers like Hitachi Global Air Power offer service and maintenance kits at 50, 250, 500 and 1,500-hour intervals to help with maintaining a ready stock of replacement parts and filters necessary for these recommended service intervals. These kits are specifically created with end users in mind to take the guesswork out of maintenance parts.

And finally, on some electric portable compressors, the electric motor has bearings that need to be greased regularly. On newer models, the auto lubrication system needs to be checked once a year.

Set frequency maintenance plans can vary based on engine manufacturer, compressor size and type, altitude, climate and day-to-day operating conditions. Consistent and correctly performed maintenance will ensure the compressor’s performance and extend its operational life.