My Sears 5 hp ( ok: 2 hp) belt drive compressor has been leaking at the unloader valve whenever the unit is shut of or it turns itself off (for longer than I care to admit). I have been limping along with this problem by manually regulating the pressure via the breaker or using enought air to keep the unit running for extended periods. I finaly replaced the unloader valve last night. New one leaks just as much - after a moment of thought - duh, that is what the unloader valve is supposed to do. Problem is that the unloader valve is unloading the tank along with any residual pressure in the pump. Question is: where is the air leak coming from? The reed valves in the head (I presume there are reed valves, have not opened up a compressor in 30 years) or a check valve between the pump and the tank? Any been there fixed that? Thought I would ask before digging deeper into the compressor. THanks
- posted
12 years ago