The air that comes out of my 58 year old compressor is definitely unsuitable for breathing. This compressor may not be representative, for obvious reasons.
In any case, I would try to put at least two filters in the air line to be on the safe side. If the air does not smell after filteriing, I would use it. as there are many cheap sources of breathing air, there is no sense to use anything substandard.
** Sent from my Google phone ** I apologize for any typos ** i
Why would anybody screw around with breathing air? Look at the junk that gets drained out of compressor tanks. Not what I want to breathe, unless it's been through a big Bullard filter, and they cost a bit more than most of us are willing to spring for.
Those are not necessarily expensive.
I had a 5 HP Bullard breathing air pump once that I could not sell for even $50. That was a very lucky circumstance, as I quickly realized that I could use its 5 HP single phase motor on my old Curtis compressor.
I think that a HVLP turbine should be acceptable for breathing air and is a nice inexpensive package. Same with a very cheap vacuum cleaner switched to blowing, as long as you did not use it for collecting dust.
Again, I would not hesitate to use a compressor, if after filtering its air does not smell of anything (and this is a big if).
i
Nearly all SCUBA/SCBA HP compressors are oil lubricated, pretty much the only breathing air compressors that are oilless are the little portable airline units for surface use. The two important points with the oil lubed units are proper filtration and proper maintenance of the compressor so it's running within spec. Poor maint can lead to excessive operating temps in the HP stages, combustion of the oil and resulting carbon monoxide in the output air.
5 hp would supply a lot of breathing air! The Bullard filter I was referring to can be used with a regular tow-behind compressor, in conjunction with CO monitoring. The setup is fairly expensive.
As an alternative to all the other posturing, here's a thought.
Specifically relating to oil contamination of the air. If the air's clean enough to use in a paint spray gun, it's clean enough to breath.
This does not account for carbon monoxide from the gas engine driving the compressor or re-circulated isocyanate fumes from the paint booth :-)
Mark Rand(been spray painting today) RTFM
Nor does it account for the carbon monoxide sometimes produced from the lubricating oil getting past the rings and getting hot. And the problem with CO is that it binds to hemoglobin much better than O2 so even a tiny amount over a long period of time can poison you.
ERS
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