D-ILTCOA light...

[moe1942]

Get in the habit of turning the breaker off.

[Mooney1el]

I was forever forgetting to turn my compressor off too. Since I am usually only at my shop during the day, I put the compressor on a timer. The timer controls a digital contactor which shuts off the compressor and activates an ASCO solenoid in the main line. I also have red and green LEDs that indicate status at a glance. While in the on state, I have an automatic drain that opens for about 2 seconds every hour. Each of my down legs has a ball valve to easily drain any collected water.

[imagineer]

What are the odds…I got the compressor remote start/warning light system together this weekend and turns out the contactor was crap.

Because I’m the nervous type, I opted to check the contactor before hitting the start button. With the coil not energized, I was getting full 120v on the load side of 2 of the 3 lugs.

Not knowing how quickly I could get a replacement contactor, I bypassed the new remote start/warning light system, only to have the pressure switch short out.

[Shade Tree Welder]

Originally Posted by imagineer

What are the odds…I got the compressor remote start/warning light system together this weekend and turns out the contactor was crap.

Because I’m the nervous type, I opted to check the contactor before hitting the start button. With the coil not energized, I was getting full 120v on the load side of 2 of the 3 lugs.

Not knowing how quickly I could get a replacement contactor, I bypassed the new remote start/warning light system, only to have the pressure switch short out.

You're getting my luck... sorry.

[Ironman]

Originally Posted by mccutter

I've had hoses burst on a smaller compressor that was left on with air valve on. A neighbor "did me a favor" and turned off the breaker to my shop. Luckily had no food in the fridge... It was obvious the compressor had been running for a while as it was covered in oil vapor.

That is exactly the best reason to turn the compressor off when not it use. I have had the chuck end come off a hose 3 time in my life and every time I was absent. The last time the compressor pumped out the oil and seized, and the belt burned off. No fire but that was lucky.

[dubby]

Yep. I had an air hose blow while I stepped over to the house one day during lunch. Best I could figure, it ran for about 30 minutes. It was already a hot West Texas day, the doors were all closed with little airflow. When I walked in the shop door I noticed the heat before I realized what was going on. The closer to the compressor, the hotter it got. Had it run unnoticed for too much longer the results could have been bad.

I'm intrigued by the light idea but have been thinking about it from a different direction. I don't like electrical work so much, so I wonder if there's any type of ball valve setup that has some sorta contacts in it that could indicate when it was open/closed in a similar fashion. My routine is to hit the cutoff valve and the breaker switch at the same time as they're closely situated near one another.