Vintage Double Hose

Hi,

I have an old Cornelius compressor that I was going finally fill with fluorinated oil and test it out. It has the original filter for water separation which I plan to clean up. Any suggestions as to the first few fills? Do folks have the air tested first? Do I check the tank for moisture control? Do I just go for it and taste the air?

Exactly what type of purification set up do you have. Air progression should be water seperator> desicant (13X molecure seive)> activated charcoal. Also a priority valve (back pressure valve) to maintain at least 2000 PSI on the moisture seperator.

sitting here wishing i was divingwatching sea hunt remakes. ....Captain just curious is the purpose contiued pressure to maintain life on thefilter media? Robohips

Roger, if I read your question correctly, it is why keep 2000 psi on the system.
The higher the pressure the more water vapor is condensed out of the air.

Without the 2000 psi back pressure, actually it could be whatever pressure the compressor is capable of delivering, you wouldn't reach maximum condensing until the tank was almost full.
Most compressors have condensators (water traps) after each stage and water vapor is progressively condensed at each stage as pressure is increased in each stage. By holding a continuous back pressure on the compressor and condensators maximum condensing occurs through out the tank filling process. This reduces the load on the desiccant which is usually 13X molecular sieve.

Eskimo,
For your safety I recommend that you have someone who is familiar with hp compressors, filter systems, oils, hp fittings, etc., have a look at your rig if at all possible. It doesn't sound like you have an actual purification filter chamber after your final moisture separator, but with no photos I can't be sure what you have.

I made some mistakes in my early years of dealing with hp air systems that could have been dangerous while I was still learning things the hard way. I still see people using low pressure pipe fittings that come from the local hardware store, and lots of other potentially unsafe things, particularly at small volunteer fire departments that haven't had the benefit of knowledgeable people building or servicing their equipment.