Replacing drain valve on compressor…..
I have one of those small Porter Cable pancake type compressors (model 2600) that needs to have the drain valve replaced. Given that the valve has been a pain in the neck from the beginning – awkward to get at/use – and the end has now stripped, I would really like to replace it with something that can be used without having to lift the machine up in order to get a container under it.The machine sits on a shelf in the back of my shop; I’d like to be able to drain it without moving it. Searching around on the ‘net hasn’t come up with anything except a straight replacement part. My thought is that I could screw a bit of pipe into the opening, use an elbow to turn it (or not) and put some type of easier to use valve on the end. I was wondering if anyone has done this and if so, what type of valve you used. Thanks.
Replies
Drain valve
Remove the old drain valve. You should find that it has a standard 1/8" NPT thread. This means you can get any combination of pipe lengths, fittings, ball valves, etc and plumb it any way you want. How about a straight drop so the pipe extends slightly below the shelf, a ball-valve and an adapter to a length of hose. The hose can be curled up out of the way when not needed. The beauty is that you're working with standard lengths of standard threaded pipe. All you need is a wrap of that teflon tape to make sure everything seals properly. I would use all brass pipes and fittings to totally eliminate any chance of rust.
SawdustSteve Long Island, NY (E of NYC)
Drain valve
Thanks for the info. I'll work up something like you suggested (exactly what I had in mind, but wasn't sure about the valve).
PeterAM Westchester, NY (N of NYC and raining like hell)
porter cable compressor drain valve
I am attempting to replace the drain valve on my porter cable pancake compressor but it appears that the valve housing is welded into the compressor housing. Has you seen this before? Any recommendations?
Mike, Tempe, AZ
For most applications, a ball valve is the way to go, but not neccessarily here.
Ball valves go from closed to open in a quarter turn which is not what you want in this application. You want to be able to smoothly crack open the valve just enough to get the water draining, you don't want to have a huge blast of air. A small globe valve, or any type of valve which takes several turns to open would be a better choice. If the piping is 1/8 inch you may have a problem finding any valve in that size, 1/4 inch is the smallest size typically available, so you may have to use a reducer, in this case it would be an increaser I suppose, to go from the tank fitting to the valve.
Try not to have a long length of small diameter pipe hanging off of the compressor, the vibration of the pipe can lead to fatigue cracks in the pipe which could cause a sudden failure.
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