Do I need an oiler/filter/regulator?

My compressor has this piece:

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It was included in the sale. Please forgive my extreme ignorance in asking this question, but I am not sure what it does. It seems to be a pressure regulator and perhaps air cleaner. Has an opening in the bottom for a drain valve (I put in a ball valve there). Looks like it is most suited for spray painting, which I won't do a lot of.

What appears to me, is that this piece seems to be better suited for painting, and what I need is a filter/oiler/pressure regulator. Is that right?

If so, which one would you recommend? I would like to buy something nice.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus10062
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It's a filter/regulator. You don't really need an oiler unless you plan to run air tools nonstop and don't want to bother oiling them manually. I'd just use what you have.

No, this isn't "just suited for pa> My compressor has this piece:

Reply to
Grant Erwin

Hm, thanks. I am a little confused, I have an HF sander and its manual says to use an oiler. It does not seem to have an oiling port of any sort. I guess that I will look harder.

i

Reply to
Ignoramus10062

Just put a few drops of air tool oil in via the air hose connection.

Joe..

Reply to
JB

You need a regulator, a filter perhaps, but you do not need an oiler! If you get heavy into air tools a drop or two of oil in the air fitting of the tool is all you need. Why inject oil into your whole system? You may want to paint someday but you air lines may be spitting out oil! Not good for painting!! Get a regulator and set it at 100 PSI, plenty pressure for general work. Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Thank you for your opinion. I like what you say. If I buy an oiler, it will be a cheap inline oiler installed close to the tool.

I *think* that I already have a regulator:

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i

Reply to
Ignoramus10062

My $12 die grinder instruction sheet recommends two drops of oil in the inlet daily rather than use an oiler Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Reply to
Gerald Miller

For air tools without an inline oiler installed, you follow the tool instructions (Wow, what a concept!) ;-0 to disconnect the air hose at the tool and put 3 - 4 - 5 drops (whatever they call for) of air tool oil in the air inlet QD fitting once a day, twice if you're working it hard. Then reconnect the air line and go to work.

If you hook up a filter/regulator/lubricator in line with an air outlet, it meters a bit of oil into the airflow past that point, you adjust it for a drop every 1 - 2 minutes while the tool is running. (Per the instructions.)

One HUGE problem - now all your hoses used past that lubrication point now have a film of air tool oil inside them. If you ever try using those hoses or that air source for blow-gun cleaning something critical, or spray painting, the oil will carry through (doesn't take much) and you just made a big fish-eyed mess of that paint.

If you are fastidious about having one set of hoses for air tools with oil in them, and another set of hoses (a different color) for painting and blow-guns without oil, that can work. But as a practical matter it'll never work, because someone who either isn't clued in about your system or just doesn't care (Pointy-Haired Boss, employees, interns, SWMBO, kids, parents, neighbors) is going to screw it up.

Myself, I can put a few drops of oil in the tools by hand just as easily. If I ever install a lubricator at home, it'll either be for a piece of stationary equipment, or that air outlet and any oiled hoses will be LOCKED UP between uses.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

a good idea is to either:

  1. permanently affix a length of hose to each air tool, so it can get oily inside and not matter, or
  2. use different connectors (quick disconnect) for oil-air and dry clean air hoses

Reply to
william_b_noble

Ignoramus10062 wrote in news:cvtmmu $3ua$ snipped-for-privacy@pita.alt.net:

Yes, that appears to be a filter for painting. I strongly suggest you purchase a Parker 070 series FRL (Filter/Regulator/Lubricator) if you will be using this with air tools. This Parker unit will be modularized, the oiler can be filled safely without shutting off the compressed air, and the full kit comes with a lock-out type shut off/pressure dump valve. Mounts are sold separately, but are not expensive. You should be able to get the whole set-up for

Reply to
Anthony

Thanks Bruce, taht eases my mind a little.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus2026

You can put an oiler at the tool itself:

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Just remember to fill it every 3 m> >

Reply to
Tim Killian

This is the sort I use, I have a male quick connect coupler on one end and a female on the other. My air tools all have short whip hoses, all the instructions say not to directly connect fittings right to the tool. This way I can use the same hose for air tools as for spray painting with no oil contamination. If I need a little more flexibility, I can just add oil directly to the tool whip and skip attaching the oiler. You have to be careful with what oilers you do buy, some of the sort that HF carries leak, badly. Other brands that look identical, don't.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

Where do you buy those whip hoses?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus12015

I've seen 'em at Sears and WalMart. I have one of those in-line plastic oilers like the link above lying around but never liked it--put out way too much oil for continuous use. So, I had an old QC that the balls fell out of (abused badly) and I mounted the overactive oiler to the wall, stuck on that QC, and when I needed to oil an air tool I just held the trigger and pushed it into the broken QC for a couple of seconds. The rush of oily air lubed everything and blew through any crud that might have gotten in there. Worked very well. If you do that, mount the QC either horizontally or even pointed down a bit so dust doesn't collect in it.

Reply to
B.B.

thanks...

i
Reply to
Ignoramus17955

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