Hello, I just purchased a Harbor Freight auto drain kit here;
Hey Ted,
this drain kit, is it supposed to drain your tank automatically or do you still have to drain it a bit to release the condensation? It may be a stupid question but if I don't ask then how would I know?
Al
Notice the pressure rating? 100 PSI. I don't know about yours but my compressor charges to 150 PSI. Being under rated and from Harbor Freight means I wouldn't use it.
Hey Ted & Al
I installed this kit about 2 years ago. works great no real trick to installing just make sure you cut the correct line to put the tee in. you need a small tubing cutter and do your self a favor and shitcan the nylon tubing and the tee in the kit and replace with something of higher quality the valve works well and yes Al it automatically opens the drain momentarly? when the compresser starts and stops I also think its a good idea to install a manual drain valve also and open it every now and then, say monthly just to be sure the auto drain is keeping up.
Keith
Just to clarify it's not clear on the website the 100 psi max is for the nylon/plastic line from the drain to the tee it should never get that high. the tee is installed in the dump line which is only under pressure when the compresser starts or stops. other wise the drain would be open the whole time it's running.
Keith
Did you click on the link provided?
Guess I've been slacking keeping up with the wreck lately. Here's my page on it, late though it is...
Jim
According to the web page he did indeed use the Harbor Freight product. No matter - the Harbor Freight sniffers I've seen in the store are exactly like what is pictured in the link below and would install exactly the same way. It sure does look like the HF device to me.
What are you confused about having looked at the site? I looked at it and it's well documented and you should be able to install your HF device just as described on the site.
It was the separate manual drain c*ck that he replaced, not the automatic one from HF.
It was one of them. HF sells two differently numbered kits. I don't know why; I've used both and they are equivalent to each other.
To address another question someone raised in this thread -- I am not absolutely positive -- but I believe the 100 psi spec is for the plastic tubing that connects the unloader line to the valve. It is indeed pretty wimpy and can burst under pressure, especially if it gets too hot. Still, my compressor switches off at 120 psi, and the auto-drainer has been working *almost* flawlessly since 2001.
Once when I had been using a pneumatic sander for a long time, the line popped. The plastic had gotten soft from all the heat and blew a hole. It was an easy fix, but annoying.
To avoid this possibility, you can replace the plastic tubing with standard 1/4" copper line. I did this for the compressor at my friend Rob's gas station. It works very well. We had to cut the nipple off the fitting where the unloader line attaches to the valve, though. We also had to replace the nut and the tee with standard compression fittings. As you can imagine, a gas station compressor gets a lot of use. Rob's has been problem-free for a couple years so far.
Cheers!
Jim
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