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Champion Compressor Oil – Choosing Oil, How Much To Use & Changing Oil

Published Categorized as Air Compressor Oil Guides, Champion 1 Comment on Champion Compressor Oil – Choosing Oil, How Much To Use & Changing Oil

It can be quite a daunting task trying to figure out how to change your Champion compressor oil, how much to use, and what is the correct Champion oil to use, right? Well, fear no more, I will answer all these questions in relation to Champion compressor oil for you.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Oil Goes in a Champion Compressor?

It is extremely important to refer to your compressor manual before purchasing Champion oil for your Champion compressor. We have numerous Champion compressor manuals available on our brand page so please visit here first!

The manual will tell you what Champion oil is compatible with your air compressor, if you cannot locate your manual, please contact Champion directly or visit their website to download a manual for your compressor.

Champion Compressor Oils Available on Amazon

Champion has two mineral oil maintenance kits available on Amazon suitable for their reciprocating compressors. They come with 2 quartz of Champion synthetic lubricant oil and 1 filter element. The first one is suitable for use with R10, R15, RV10, and RV15 compressor pumps.

The second is suitable for R30 & RV30 compressor pumps and contains 4 quartz of Champion lubricant along with 2 filter elements.

Alternative Compressor Oils Available on Amazon

A few alternatives to the Champion advised compressor oils are produced by Mobil. Again, it is very important to ensure the oil is compatible with your air compressor before putting it into the system, so please check first!

The first is the Mobil 101016 Rarus, which is suitable for reciprocating air compressors, whether they’re single or multistage. This oil lubricant boasts excellent water separability, protection against rust and corrosion, long life for extended oil drain and provides your compressor with very clean air valves.

The second is the Mobil 100870, boasting similar benefits as the previous oil but potential to work with reciprocating, rotary screw and rotary vane compressors.

How Much Champion Oil to Use in a Champion Compressor?

Determining how much Champion oil a specific model of compressor pump requires can be difficult without having the actual manual at hand.

You should contact Champion directly or search the internet for the specifications of your Champion compressor and its model to find the manual if you don’t have it.

I will now provide you with tips on how to check the Champion oil amount inside your Champion compressor before providing you with a step-by-step guide on how to change it.

Champion Oil Sight Glass

Below is an image of a sight glass which you should find on your Champion compressor pump. It will allow you to check the oil level inside the pump, where it should be approximately half way up the red dot like in the image.

Air Compressor Oil Sight Glass
Air Compressor Oil Sight Glass

Champion Oil Dipstick

It may be possible that the Champion compressor pump does not have a sight glass, so you will need to check the Champion oil level with the dipstick.

Take the dipstick out of the sump and give it a wipe clean. Push the dipstick back into the sump and then check the markings on it when you pull it out to gauge the Champion oil level.

Typical oil fill dipstick for an Air Compressor
Typical oil fill dipstick

Alternative Method for Checking Champion Oil

Another method if you don’t have a sight glass or dip-stick on your Champion compressor is to drain the Champion oil from the tank into a reservoir and use this to depict the amount.

How to Drain Champion Oil from the Sump

Start by locating your Champion oil plug drain and unscrew it. This will allow you to drain the Champion oil out from the sump and into a reservoir, gauging how much Champion oil was in your pump.

Tip: A useful tip may be laying something out on the floor below the compressor like dust sheets to avoid getting any spillages when draining the champion oil.

How to Change Champion Compressor Oil

Of course, changing the Champion oil on Champion compressors can vary depending on the model. Before starting, check the Champion compressor model manual or contact Champion directly to find out whether your compressor is definitely oil lubricated.

Changing Champion Compressor Oil Process

Follow the steps described for draining the Champion oil from the compressor into a reservoir and then securely tighten the plug back into the bottom of the sump upon doing so.

Now add the replacement Champion oil you have at hand into the intake port at the top of the compressor sump. It is hard to be any more specific than this due to the process potentially varying depending on the model of your Champion compressor.

You should aim to add roughly the same amount of Champion oil that you’ve removed, or gauge it using the sight glass or dipstick if you have either.

Note: when filling the compressor with Champion oil, ensure you do not fill the air intake on the pump or overfill the sump and this can lead to internal damage.

Summary

The above methodology is simplified for ease into the following steps:

  1. Check the Champion compressor oil level
  2. Locate sump plug on Champion compressor
  3. Drain the Champion oil from the sump
  4. Securely tighten sump plug
  5. Locate the Champion compressor oil intake port
  6. Replenish the compressor with the same amount of Champion oil as removed or gauge it using the sight glass or dipstick (do not overfill)

Without having access to every air compressor model manual and assuming that the manual tells the reader what the Champion oil volume is, there is no way to be anything but vague when providing advice about changing Champion compressor oil and the amount you should add.

Champion Oil Troubleshooting, Solutions & Fixes

I Have A VR5-8 Champion. Low Oil Switch Keeps Tripping

Question:

I recently moved and relocated the compressor. Upon restart , after replacing 2 quarts of correct oil, it ran for about 40 seconds before shutting off. I found the low oil switch had tripped. press reset and goes for 3-4 seconds then shuts off.

Vr5 8 Champion Air Compressor
Vr5 8 Champion Air Compressor

Does the low oil unit have anything that could be clogged or air bound? Did laying it down to move effect anything? ( I drained the oil before I laid it down )

Any help would be appreciated, by Tom from New Hampshire.

Response:

Presuming you actually have the correct oil and level of oil, does it run longer after it sits awhile?

I’d guess after a while, it will get whatever it’s looking for, and stop tripping.

Meanwhile, and again if you’re certain the oil level is correct, bypass the oil switch until starts working and un-bypass or replace it if you decide it’s broken (possibly in transit, maybe just died.) Good luck, Doug from s.d. ca.

Question:

Yes 2 quarts per the specs. It also shows halfway on the site glass.
yes it does run longer if you wait a while, Tom.

Response:

Well, I’m standing by my original idea of bypassing it.

It’s what others have done, and as long as it doesn’t run for extended periods unattended, it’ll be OK as long as you keep the oil up.

I don’t really understand how it works, and worse, there are old and new versions of it – and they are expensive at 160 to over 200 bucks.

Let us know if it starts working after a time, or you just give up on it, or you find out anything more about it, Doug.

Response:

Well, if you take the air line off the back of the switch and spin the cap off, there is an aluminum plunger with two o rings on it.

You need to ether replace the o rings or the completed assembly.

I had one but just used it on a job and am looking for a new one, that’s how I ended up here but anyway that is the fix.

I would urge you not to bypass the low oil switch, by Zemmit

Response:

Based on the symptom in the original post, this isn’t an issue with the o-rings. (Air leaking out of the little bleed hole on top of the housing would be a symptom that o-rings could fix).

I’ve attached a picture of the schematics for this sensor/switch.

Champion air compressor schematic

If the symptom is that it switches off after a few seconds of running, then the problem is that the rod on the float (#2 in the diagram) is not stopping the piston (#10) from pushing on the electrical switch (#16) when head pressure builds up. There could be a number of reasons for this, but all of them should be fairly simple.

First, the bowl fills with oil through cross-drilled holes in a small pipe. Are those holes plugged with sludge? If so, the bowl will never fill and the float cant be lifted.

If the bowl can fill with oil, does the float actually float? It could have been cracked and will no longer float.
If it floats, then it might simply have something blocking it from rising up into the machined housing. Make sure there isn’t any debris in there so that the float can rise all the way to the top. This will stop that piston from moving far enough to trip the switch, and your problem is fixed!

This should be a fairly easy problem to fix. Good luck!

I guess I should add one more possible reason this could be failing… if the piston spring (#13 in the diagram) is broken or missing, the piston/plunger will never fully retract. If it can’t retract, then the float CAN’T rise with the oil level, and it will trip like this indefinitely. I’ve seen a broken spring in these before, and it can cause this issue.

Jason Scott


If you have any questions about Champion compressor oil, changing it, which to use and how to use it then please leave a comment below with photos if applicable to help others respond to you!

By Bill Wade

About Air Compressors has been helping folks with their Air Compressor Problems since 2002 online. We're a community of DIY and Compressed Air professionals who are keen to support everyone across the globe with their air compressor issues and troubleshooting. Whether you're trying to identify an old air compressor, or troubleshoot an error code on a sophisticated new industrial air compressor - the community at About-Air-Compressors.com is here to help you

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