compressor mystery

[dian]

i have this little 1.5kw/50liter compressor that i use for inflating tires. i never bothered to look at it closely. recently i found a puddle of clean oil under it. 10 tablespoons or more. i had not used it for a while but it cycles from time to time for 5-10 seconds. looking at the sight glas the oil level is in the middle and its real, it moves. now the unit seems to be working fine and doesnt loose any oil any more.

im out of ideas what might have happened. any thoughts?

edit:

[JoeLee]

Not knowing what type of compressor it is and with the limited info you've provided I can only guess that perhaps something clogged from inactivity and air pressure got into the crank case and pushed some oil out, or it was over filled from the beginning.

JL................

[dian]

iv had it for several years. it cycles every few days. i know mnothing about compressors. how much oil might it take so its still showing full?

[old mart]

A rat that had just drunk a bottle of cooking oil, paused under the compressor for a piss.

[Gary Paine]

Have you drained the water? It needs to be done periodically to slow rust out in the tank.. Maybe a leaky valve?

[JoeLee]

Do you know exactly where the oil leaked from? Can you follow the trail? Base gasket, crank case vent, etc.

JL................

[reggie_obe]

A rat that had just drunk a bottle of cooking oil, paused under the compressor for a piss.

Could you try and be a little more helpful?
The common Norway rat does not have a bladder capacity anywhere close to 10 tablespoons.
Perhaps you meant the Northern Luzon giant cloud rat?

[JRouche]

i have this little 1.5kw/50liter

That sounds like an oil-less pump. Small. JR

[Sparky_NY]

That sounds like an oil-less pump. Small. JR

I think thats a oil level sight glass on the crankcase that you can see in the pic.

[dian]

pressure entering the crank case: is it not ventilated?

[MikeL46]

Is it possible the oil came from something else and you just parked the compressor on it? The tank looks clean enough to follow a trail of oil to its source.

Mike

[Jim Stewart]

Is it possible the oil came from something else and you just parked the compressor on it? The tank looks clean enough to follow a trail of oil to its source.

Mike

You never know. Like the time (geez, must be 30 years ago) when my buddy at work got a pristine RZ-350 (that's a motorcycle). Parked it in the company lot and one afternoon I got off work a bit earlier than him and I went over to the motor pool, asked the head mechanic for a small amount of motor oil. Poured it on the ground under his engine.

Sure enough, he spotted it right away. Aargh! Out with the tools. I stopped him just before he began removing fairings.

He was amused - later - but not then.

-js

[Mike Burch]

If the oil had dripped out of the crankcase, would it not have left a visible trail as it ran down the tank? But if the level in the sight glass is still correct, as you say it is, it's a fair bet that the oil did not come from the compressor, as there isn't oil anywhere but in the crankcase.
Are you sure it is just oil, and not slightly oily water which might have leaked out of the drain on the bottom of the tank?

[JRouche]

I think thats a oil level sight glass on the crankcase that you can see in the pic.

Ooops. I am sorry. I meant to say I dont htink the oil is f'in coming out of the compressor. Because I cant see so well? sight glass... Man.... JR

[Arcane]

You never know. Like the time (geez, must be 30 years ago) when my buddy at work got a pristine RZ-350 (that's a motorcycle). Parked it in the company lot and one afternoon I got off work a bit earlier than him and I went over to the motor pool, asked the head mechanic for a small amount of motor oil. Poured it on the ground under his engine.

Sure enough, he spotted it right away. Aargh! Out with the tools. I stopped him just before he began removing fairings.

He was amused - later - but not then.

-js

I heard a similar story from a fellow worker who at the time worked in a place called "Apparatus Repair" which was a specialized part of the provincial electric corporation and a great deal of what they did was salvaging burned out transformers, the kind you see hanging on a power pole.. One of the guys there was a bit of a dick and he bought a new car one day and wouldn't shut up bragging about it so when he wasn't looking they started to pour a little bit of the used transformer oil (yes, the PCB kind...this was back in the days before the kerfuffle) on the ground in the parking lot under his car's engine or transmission (I forget which). It was a small amount he didn't notice at first but a fellow worker was kind enough to point it out to him. This made the guy just lose it apparently when he saw the oil on the ground because #new car! He'd take it in to the dealer and of course they couldn't find a non existent leak (I don't feel sorry for them, they were better known as a stealership) and the guys made sure the "leak" followed him around the parking lot. This went on for quite some time before they decided to stop doing it which left the guy worrying about why it stopped instead of why it was leaking. They never did tell him, just let him stew but he did shut up his incessant bragging about his new car.