bankyf
Contributor
I had this discussion with a tech guy at Bauer on Thursday regarding an older Utilus I was considering purchasing. I was told that any compressor that sat for more than a year would need a valve job. He said valves are carbon steel and would rust quickly without use. Another item of interest was the year of manufacturer. There is a number stamped on the crankcase. The first two digits are the year of manufacturer. Bauer compressors have a 15 year service life at which point the pressure vessels are no longer considered safe.
i started taking the compressor apart and gunking it, looks much better, and i found the stupid serial number. i popped off the 2nd and 3rd stage heads and attached pics of each surface. there more soot than i'd expect, i thought it was just supposed to be air through there. is this normal? should the valves be replaced or will cleaning them in some parts cleaner suffice?
