Yuck! Rust? Something else?

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cworkman74

cworkman74

Member
May 11, 2018
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NC, United States
I just pulled this off a Daystate LC-110 purchased from AoA in Oct 2018. It's the 90 deg fitting that connected the condensation tower to the fill hose. Is this rust? Oil residue? Something else?

The output of the fitting looked relatively clean.

-Clayton

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Looks like rust but the fitting looks like brass or pot metal made to look like brass, if brass, the rust is coming from somewhere upline. I'd replace that fitting (think stainless steel) and take a look at the condensation tower. Not familiar with that compressor so...
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The picture color balance isn't quite right. It's a stainless steel fitting (at least appears to be stainless). I replaced it since I'm doing some replumbing/reconfiguring anyway. The fill hose connected to it looked pristine on both ends. I'll have to dig in upstream and see if I see anything else like this.
 
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Hydraulic oil does tend to be red, try to wipe a piece and see what's underneath the goo. You may 'simply' be seeing oil blow by, although if the filter isn't catching it that could be a big problem for the tank/gun your are filling.
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I'm cleaning it up now. And Yes, it's oily to the touch (so looks like the separator is mostly doing its job.) Downstream from separator looks clean, so I'm starting to feel a bit better. I'm going to clean this mess up and do a few test runs.

When I first purchased it, I may have over-filled it on the first oil fill (ok, I did.) My guess is that this may have exacerbated the issue.

-Clayton


 
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That rusted 90 degree fitting is made of regular steel. You should replace it with an inexpensive stainless steel elbow fitting.

Overfilling compressor oil is just as problematic as under filling. It forces excess oil through the system. Inspect your cylinder check valves at each stage. They could use a cleaning and might be gunked up like the water separator tower. I owned a Daystate LC-110 and added a gold filter with plumbing to catch any excess moisture/oil from the output of the water separator. A local buddy owns it now and the periodic checks of the filter cartridge show almost no oil or moisture bypass. The cotton on the input side of the cartridge is only slightly discolored. Proper oil level, 10 minute moisture draining, and using Coltri 750 oil prevents many problems.

I rebuilt and Air Venturi compressor for the same friend who sold it to buy my Daystate. He had overfilled his AV with Harbor Freight compressor oil which caused all kinds of problems. It quickly wore out the high pressure rings, spewed burned oil from the bleeder output, and clogged the check valves with burnt oil. A thorough clean out of the valves and new high pressure rings and adding the proper level of Coltri 750 oil made the AV run like new.

The LC-110 is a nice compressor that gets maligned by failures which are often caused by operator error. 

Cworkman74, after your cleanup, buy a stainless replacement 90 degree fitting. It is 1/8NPT male elbow to JIC. They are common and are sold by Grainger and hydraulic parts vendors. If you haven't already done so, It would help to add an air filter cartridge housing to the empty hoop on your Daystate to prevent oil and water vapor from reaching your fill tank. There is an old thread on this forum posted last year that describes the procedure.
 
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That rusted 90 degree fitting is made of regular steel. You should replace it with an inexpensive stainless steel elbow fitting.
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I did just that. The reason I found it to begin with was because I was installing a gold filter.

Overfilling compressor oil is just as problematic as under filling.
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Yes, I was definitely over-filled. I drained the oil and filled it with 300mL which is what the manual calls for. The oil level falls between two lines on the dipstick which is what the manual calls for. (I do use Coltri 750).

The LC-110 is a nice compressor that gets maligned by failures which are often caused by operator error.
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I agree. It's served me well over the past almost 2 years. (It more than meets my needs.)

Cworkman74, after your cleanup, buy a stainless replacement 90 degree fitting. It is 1/8NPT male elbow to JIC. They are common and are sold by Grainger and hydraulic parts vendors. If you haven't already done so, It would help to add an air filter cartridge housing to the empty hoop on your Daystate to prevent oil and water vapor from reaching your fill tank. There is an old thread on this forum posted last year that describes the procedure.
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Yes, I change out the fitting and added a gold filter with molecular sieve. I also added cotton tampon to the top part of the separator just for added protection at the output. I did some test runs and some tank fills this past weekend, and the gold filter still looks VERY clean (like it hasn't been used.) So far, so good.

Humdinger, thanks again for the comments and insight.

-Clayton


 
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What Humdinger said. 330mL of oil, measured, in a graduated cylinder or beaker. Validate using the dipstick. Ignore the sight glass. I have 11 hours on my LC-110 and I've never seen anything like you've pictured.

Chances are if you can see the oil as level in the sight glass you've significantly overfilled it.
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Mine doesn't have a sight glass. I measured out 300mL of oil (300mL is what is mentioned in the manual), and it put the oil level right between the 2 lines on the dipstick which is where it should be. The oil level before was well above the top line. 😞 All should be good now.

Thanks guys.

-Clayton


 
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