What's causing oil in the air lines?
by garth
(canada)
Compressor tank and air lines have oil in them.
Bill answers...
Oil in the compressor tank and in the air lines! Where's it coming from?
Hi Garth. Nice to hear from you.
If it were just oil in the air lines, I'd suggest that you are over lubricating with an compressed air lubricator.
But since it's in the compressor tank too, the only place it can be coming from is the lubricating oil in the compressor sump.
At this point, since you don't say, I'm assuming that it is a reciprocating compressor that's oil lubricated...right?
You may have over filled the sump. That's guess number one.
The secondary thought is that oil is bypassing the cylinder piston seals, wicking into the cylinder over the piston, and being moved, along with the compressed air into your tank, and then into your air lines.
You need to get this oil out of your air lines. Air compressor lubricating oil will attack rubber and polycarbonate downstream, and eventually degrade these items to the point of failure.
If the oil isn't a problem other than that, use an in-line filter to try to remove it. The next step is a coalescent filter to try and get the oil out.
Make sure you don't let your compressor run dry of oil. It will seize.
If the above isn't a reasonable course of action for you, you need to get your compressor fixed.
Cheers,
Bill
