Air compressors are great machines that can help increase your worker's productivity because they are able to use power tools instead of working manually with their hands.
However, with so many choices of compressors in the market, it is hard to choose a right one.
The best ones usually are cost-effective and easy to operate.
If you are new to the structure of an air compressor, I will be discussing about all the main parts on a compressor.
After reading this article, you will be able to easily identify and operate an air compressor.
The air compressor mainly consists of a tank, tank pressure gauge, on-off lever, regulator, regulator pressure gauge, pump oil dipstick, coupler, pressure relieve valve and drain valve.
Let's start with the tank.
The tank is takes up the majority of the air compressor's space.
Its function is to store the compressed air.
The tank pressure gauge is a meter that indicates the pressure of the compressed air within the tank.
Action should be taken when the gauge shows a higher than usual pressure reading.
And, a low pressure reading indicates a leak somewhere in the compressor.
The next compressor part we are going to talk about is the regulator.
The regulator, as its name suggests, regulates the pressure within the tank.
All power tools require different amounts of air pressure to operate and you can adjust the pressure using the regulator.
The regulator pressure gauge shows how much pressure you have adjusted.
The on-off lever is just a basic part that controls the whole operation.
When turned on initially, the compressor will charge the air and make loud noises.
Once the pressure is reached, it will stop charging even when the lever is in the "on" position.
The "on" position only allows the compressor to charge whenever it needs to.
Two most important valves on the device are the drain valve and pressure relieve valve.
The pressure relieve valve is a part where you release all the pressure contained within the tank.
The drain valve is used to drain out the dirt, debris, oil and moisture trapped inside the tank.
Condensation happens inside the compressor when used.
If the moisture isn't drained, rust will form inside the tank and weaken the whole structure.
Now that you have learned the important air compressor parts, you will be able to operate one with ease.