Daystate T2 oil change

A few questions for DaystateT2 compressor owners. How did you access the oil drain plug circled below that's 'hidden' behind the safety cage? And when you did drain the oil how did you collect it? The compressor is fantastic, but changing the oil looks like its going to be a pain in the butt and make a mess.

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I'm considering cutting out a section of the safety cage, outlined in red below, to avoid having to remove the cage every time the oil needs changing. Did others do this, or do you remove the cage. Looks to me like once the plug is removed, the oil is going to run over the lines connecting the compressor stages and make a mess; am I right? Did you put a shallowbowl underneath to catch the oil? 

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Thanks!
 
I changed mine last month wen the clock reached 5 hours.... I took the bolts of from underneath the cage. Then I raised the cage very carefully cause of the gauge. I took the nut of the oil sump. I then used a plastic container that I get from my Chinese delivery to collect the oil. I would recommend to run be for this so oil is warm and thinner so it comes out quicker. Once you do it. Next time should be easier 
 
"drid"I changed mine last month wen the clock reached 5 hours.... I took the bolts of from underneath the cage. Then I raised the cage very carefully cause of the gauge. I took the nut of the oil sump. I then used a plastic container that I get from my Chinese delivery to collect the oil. I would recommend to run be for this so oil is warm and thinner so it comes out quicker. Once you do it. Next time should be easier
Thanks for sharing - great idea for the takeout food container to collect the oil; I'll copy that. I'm still undecided about removing the cage; the compressor is so damm heavy to move around; they could have made access to the oil drain plug much easier. Coltri/Daystate changed the design of the cage for the T2; in some of the earlier versions the cage was not as wide, so access to the oil drain plug was not an issue.
 
I bit the bucket and changed the oil, removing the cage, which was a PITA. Hopefully this will help others when the time comes. First, run the pump to get the oil nice and hot because its quite viscous when cold. You'll need a 6 mm long arm allen wrench to remove the six bolts that attach the cage to the chassis; you access these from below.

With these bolts unscrewed you cannot simply remove the cage and set it aside because the pressure gauge that's on the top of the cage is attached to the pump by (1) a high pressure hose, and (2) an electrical cable from the adjustable pressure limit switch that goes to the power supply. I unscrewed the high pressure hose where it entered the gauge, and this gave me enough freedom (barely) to set the cage at the opposite end of the pump from the oil drain plug. It helps to have something to raise it about 4-6" above the ground because the electrical cable still limits how far the cage can be moved, and its probably not a good idea to let it hang by this cable.

Before unscrewing the oil drain plug with a 17 mm socket wrench I fashioned a U-shaped trough out of aluminum foil (several layers folded to increase stiffness) and positioned this underneath the oil drain plug with the other end over a collection vessel (a 500 ml plastic food jar); with this I did not spill a drop. If you just remove the plug the oil is going to run over the coils and chassis at the base of the pump, increasing your cleanup. Before removing the drain plug, don't forget to unscrew the vent cap. After the oil has finished draining, you will need to tilt the unit to get about another 50 ml out. This sounds easy, but due to the weight of the unit, with the cage hanging off the other end via the electrical cable, its harder than it should be. Reassembly is easy; one thing to check is that there is no metal swarf in the end of the high pressure hose (there was in mine) that could damage the O-ring that seals this connection.

I'm amazed at how little thought was given to the design of the cage and the connection of the pressure gauge / automatic cutoff when the T2 design was upgraded from prior versions; its made what should be a very simple maintenance task into a much harder job than it should be.
 
".22Bobcat"So I took a water bottle and cut it down the center. It fit perfect over the 17mm socket. (Cut completely in half) Also cut out part of the cage so I can easily access the 17mm bolt. Set the compressor on a table and the rest was easy.
Thanks for posting - this is the way for T2 owners to go; much better than removing the cage. Daystate should modify the cage design, and supply a 22Bobcat designed drain accessory!