Yong Heng oil in first stage condensate drain

[cgun]

Hi all,

I have a yong heng setup. Recently I am getting some oil mixed into my first stage condensate. Is this typical of these compressors after theyve been used a bit? It probably have maybe 15 hours on it. 

Thank you much!

 

[er1c]

Me too. A bit of oil passes thru the piston to the separator. This is why there is an oil/water separator.

 

[Rodeo]

Is it a "conciderable" amount of oil more than before? Some small amount of oil has always been there (the evidence is on the cotton output filter). Has the compressor been taking longer to fill your tank lately? Maybe it is time for a rebuild.

 

[cgun]

Thank you. I just wanted to make sure i didnt need to rebuild this things since i just wired it into a cart and would have to pull it out again

 

[SteveKralsAround]

How's the oil level ?

maybe a little too much ?

compressor sitting level ?

 

[cgun]

Oil level looks ok. But it might be time for a change... its pretty brown. The condensate puts out a mixture of oil and water. (Like maybe two drops) on the first stage. 2nd stage is just water condensate.

 

[cgun]

Compressor is sitting mostly level. It might be off by a few degrees. Does it matter if it isnt totally level?

 

[er1c]

This 250$ compressor looks small in the middle of all that stuff !

 

[Rodeo]

Interesting set up. Is that a refrigerant coil you are using for cooling? Fans hidden within the white shroud? What is your temp at about 15 min run time?

 

[cgun]

Haha yeah it is sitting in front of my TIG welder which is huge. The cart sits pretty level. Maybe i never noticed oil in it because i am using husky oil and when it is new, it is clear. But as it has aged, it gains some color and is more apparent in the condensate...

 

[Rodeo]

I have been using Royal Purple but plan on switching to the Husky full synthetic on the next oil change (finally used the last of my RP). Have you used the Husky oil for all of the 15hrs run time? (Got 12.5 on mine with RP)

 

[cgun]

Interesting set up. Is that a refrigerant coil you are using for cooling? Fans hidden within the white shroud? What is your temp at about 15 min run time?

Yeah it is an AC condenser coil. There are 8 80mm 12v cpu fans placed in symmetric rows that move a lot of air. So much so that the coolant comes back into the tank at basically room temperature. I am thinking of putting a peltier device with heat sink on the return line to progressively drop the coolant temp before it gets to the head. But ibwould need a bigger 12v SMPS to run a peltier.

That 100psi diaphram pump (highly recommend! They are like $20 on amazon, just make sure your connections are buttoned down) really pushes coolant so the temp has more to do with what pressure it is currently at as it kind of reaches a homeostasis at certain pressures with the active cooling system. The more pressure, the more heat is produced so homeostasis temp rises a little with each corresponding pressure increase.

As an aside, The manual doesn't say where to put the thermostat, but I noticed a thermostat sized hole in the back of the first stage head and it fits tight in there... maybe that will help someone.

Anyway, at 1000-2000psi it runs in the 30s. At 2000-3000psi it runs in the 40s and at 3000-4000psi, it gets up to about 49C. I dont go over 4000 because I dont want to abuse the pump and my Impact only has a fill pressure of 250 bar anyway. So the SCBA tank strapped to the back of the cart will fill it like 5-6 times with a 4000psi fill.

 

[cgun]

I have been using Royal Purple but plan on switching to the Husky full synthetic on the next oil change (finally used the last of my RP). Have you used the Husky oil for all of the 15hrs run time? (Got 12.5 on mine with RP)

Yeah but it is need of a change at this point. I won't run it any more until I do that.

 

[cgun]

So I changed the oil in the compressor with new synthetic. I think it has always had oil in the condensate but until the oil reached a certain shade of brown, it just wasn't apparent. With new oil the color went away. Thank you all for all your input!

 

[Humdinger]

All compressors regardless of price level do spew out a small amount of oil when the water separator knob is opened. If the oil is new it will make the moisture milky looking. When the oil gets old it will be light brown. If you get an excessive amount of oil in the moisture drain it is an indication that the oil is above the recommended level. On larger twin piston compressors like Air Venturi and Tuxing or the second stage water separator on the hard cover Yong Hengs if the oil is dark brown oil it means the oil is bypassing the high pressure piston. It is an indication of impending failure as the check valves are being clogged as well as the high side rings are getting excess wear. It's less harmful to under fill rather than over fill the crankcase. Fill to the proper level and using synthetic non detergent oil made for high pressure compressors and you will be ok.

 

[cgun]

All compressors regardless of price level do spew out a small amount of oil when the water separator knob is opened. If the oil is new it will make the moisture milky looking. When the oil gets old it will be light brown. If you get an excessive amount of oil in the moisture drain it is an indication that the oil is above the recommended level. On larger twin piston compressors like Air Venturi and Tuxing or the second stage water separator on the hard cover Yong Hengs if the oil is dark brown oil it means the oil is bypassing the high pressure piston. It is an indication of impending failure as the check valves are being clogged as well as the high side rings are getting excess wear. It's less harmful to under fill rather than over fill the crankcase. Fill to the proper level and using synthetic non detergent oil made for high pressure compressors and you will be ok.

Thank you. Yes I only barely fill to the recommended volume. I have no oil in the second stage but there was a little in the first. I will keep an eye on it.