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Air Compressor Oil Sight Glass – Oil Level Sight Glass Guide, Replacing & Reading

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Air compressor oil sight glasses are crucial components to allow you to check the oil level inside of an air compressor. This article will provide you with all the relevant information about them, as well as provide you with products readily available on Amazon.

Table of Contents

What is an Air Compressor Oil Sight Glass?

Most air compressors will have an oil sight glass similar to the one in the image below which makes it very easy to check the oil level inside the compressor.

The oil sight glass for air compressor tends to be made of stainless steel or aluminium alloy that screws into the base of the pump or on the compressor sump tank, with a glass window to allow you to see inside it.

How to Use an Oil Sight Glass

The compressor oil level sight glass window will contain a circular mark in the middle (usually red) which will help you depict the level as it has upper (upper edge of circular mark) and lower limits (lower edge of circular mark).

Air Compressor Oil Sight Glass
Air Compressor Oil Sight Glass

You should always aim for the oil to sit roughly halfway up the red dot or fall halfway between its upper and lower markings.

It’s possible that the sight glass doesn’t have a circular mark in the center. If this is the case, you should ensure that the oil level is between 1/3 and 2/3 of the vertical height of the sight glass.

My Compressor Doesn’t Have an Oil Sight Glass?

It’s possible that your air compressor doesn’t have a sight glass, not all oiled air compressors do. In this case, you would look to use the dipstick to check the oil level.

However, it’s also possible that your air compressor doesn’t have an oil sight glass or a dipstick – but this doesn’t mean it is an oilless compressor!

You would just have to check the oil in a different manner, by draining it into a reservoir and gauging the level that way!

Oil Sight Glasses Readily Available on Amazon

I have found the 5 following oil sight glasses that are readily available on Amazon and all boast great reviews.

Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

How much oil do I put in an air compressor without sight glass?

If your air compressor does not have a sight glass then you should judge the amount of oil being put into the air compressor by using the dipstick. This will have markings on it which will allow you to control the level to the desired amount.

Where is the oil sight glass on an air compressor?

Oil sight glasses can be located on the base of the compressor pump or on the compressor sump tank. Depending on the make and manufacturer of the compressor, this will vary!

Additional oil reading:

If you have any questions regarding the air compressor oil sight glass then please leave a comment below with a photo if applicable so that someone can help you!

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By Aidan Weeks

A passionate Mechanical Engineer with endless enthusiasm for fluid power - building off the back of over 18 years of high quality contribution and discussion stimulated by Bill Wade here at About Air Compressors. With both practical and theoretical experience in pneumatics and hydraulics, I'm putting my knowledge to work - and working my grey-matter through my research, assistance and publishing work here at About Air Compressors. Feel free to reach out any time! P.S. A HUGE shout out to Doug who really offers such great value to all visitors to About Air Compressors - once again, feeling like I'm standing on the shoulders of GIANTS by getting to work alongside such a great community

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