Hi all,

I have just brought a second hand compressor that i hope it good enough to run the tools i have! my dads one was not that great.

anyway its actually quite old, from 1989, it has oil lubrication. So seeing as its so old i was thinking of changing the oil

How much oil should there be in a compressor like this? what type of oil do they use? Also what else can i do to service it?

Any maintence tips would be appreciated.

Many thanks

[Edited on 6/4/09 by trogdor]

Put compressor oil in it !
Good luck it's probably worn out that old, the one I bought was

What make is it? there might be a manual on line.

The oil lubricated one I used to own had an oil level/filler plug in the casting. I just used engine oil to top up

my compressor's got a little oil window.

Its a simple pump and old, just use straight car oil and it will be fine.

If the rings are knackered pop down to your local motorbike shop and see what they have off the shelf to fit.

Mine's 1973 and still going, drain the oil should have a small plug at the base of the crankcase, fill with 30 mineral oil to the middle of the window. Think of the compressor as a twostroke engine.

I bought a litre of oil for mine and it used about a third of it. It's impossible to say how much yours needs without knowing what type it is. Some only work on splash from the crank, very basic and they run forever.

I'd use proper compressor oil available from various places including Screwfix and Machinemart. IIRC some B+Qs sell it though annoyingly their website now just shows delivery options which are via Screwfix!!! So basically it's the same as the Screwfix website.....

Typically its 30W non-detergent oil.
You can buy compressor oil which should be this. Do not run regular engine oil in it.

Other than changing the oil it may have air filters, and make sure the belt/pulleys are tight. Drain the tank too if you can.

My compressor is more than 30 years old and works great. The head unit is quite large and will almost keep up with my 90cfm air tools.