Project Garage: Week 6

I managed to get quite a bit done this weekend. Friday I stopped at Harbor Freight to get a automatic compressor drain kit, the kit they sell is one of the few mechanical kits I have seen and is substantially cheaper than an electric one.  Unfortunately because of its design and my compressor I was only able to use one valve from the kit. I was able to get everything else I needed from Lowes and for less than $40.00 it seems to work quite well. It connects to the line between the pressure valve and the pressure switch, I was able to find a compression T fitting and run a 1/4 copper line down the back of the compressor to the auto drain valve.

When the compressor reaches its filled pressure the pressure valve opens sending air to the pressure switch shutting off the motor. Tapping into this line also sends air to the auto drain valve opening it for a second each time the compressor shuts off, which should drain condensation from the tank.

While I was looking for my tubing cutter I came across some old suspension parts I had. I found some upper a-arm bump stops which I decided to try as vibration isolators for the compressor. With them installed the noise during operation is much less.

I also picked up a Gladiator GearTrack section to hang some of the more commonly used items in the garage. I was never a big fan of hanging a bunch of junk on the walls but for these items and having them between the two garage doors, easy to get at it made sense.

I finally started installing the pegboard I cut down for the Lista cabinets. When I first got them they had pegboard installed in this area but the owner had let them sit outside for a couple of weeks and the pegboard got wet and warped. I would have liked to install metal but the cost of it was prohibitive. The old pegboard was bolted through the shelf cutouts which left the bolt threads protruding through nuts. For this I used existing holes in the rails and #10 screws

I still need to run airlines from the compressor, I just have not yet decided how I want to do it.

Project Garage: Week 4

Last weekend it was cold (45³-50³) and I wasted most of Saturday looking for 1/4" pegboard. I would have thought that would be fairly common but apparently it isn't. This weekend it was much warmer and I was able to get the 240 run to my compressor done.

Running 4/10 to a finished, insulated wall fuse box wasn't much fun. I had Matty help me pull it though after I got a feed through installed on the top of the box. I didn't need 10 gauge wire, the compressor is only 14 amps but I have it if I ever upgrade to a real compressor.

The drop was 12 feet away in the same insulated wall.

I found a cheap safety disconnect and left enough flex to be able to move the compressor out for maintenance.

I didn't realize how much I used it until I didn't have it to use. Now I need to decide if I am going to run PEX-AL-PEX or black pipe. I don't currently have plans for a huge run probably just a 35 foot single run to the work benches on the other side of the garage.

Indiana Plate

After an oddesy which began in Feburary and included two trips to the BMV, three phone calls, and three different registrations, I finally recieved a license plate for the Corvette. The morality department of the Indiana BMV prevented me from renewing my existing plate, so I chose the new one with an old nickname.