Did I screw up my with new compressor?

[reefrat]

OK, I never wanted a compressor but the logistical nightmare of where I live forced me to go through the long and expensive process of buying/ shipping (literally) a new Alkin W-31 Mariner and all the bits and pieces to build a nitrox stick set-up. The electrician and installed the 220V plug in my gym where the compressor lives and since that involved drilling through a concrete wall I covered all susceptible equipment and placed a stopper over the compressor intake that I had positioned facing upward for eventual connection to the nitrox stick.
In the process of doing the first small air fill (a 40 cu/ft bail-out) I went through all the procedure in the manual and started running the compressor with the filter drain valve open for 10 minutes. You guessed it, for the first few minutes the plug was still over the intake dohhhh! The compressor seemed to run normally and gas was exiting the drain, when I realized I grabbed the plug off and continued with the 10 minute run before closing the drain and filling the cylinder.
The fill went normally but after finishing I opened all the drains and about 30 mls of heavily brown stained liquid came out the first stage drain (I was expecting clear water), the other drains were empty.
So, did I do any damage like suck oil into the compressor (Anderol 755) or is the brownish liquid to be expected and should I empty the bail out or whatever?

 

[Wookie]

No. Piston compressors can run fine (although won't compress anything) with the inlet closed. That's how constant run machines regulate how much they are discharging. I'm more concerned that when you started it up for the first time (for you) that you didn't check pressures in the normal range as I'm sure the manual has a very detailed startup procedure.

 

[reefrat]

No. Piston compressors can run fine (although won't compress anything) with the inlet closed. That's how constant run machines regulate how much they are discharging. I'm more concerned that when you started it up for the first time (for you) that you didn't check pressures in the normal range as I'm sure the manual has a very detailed startup procedure.

There was no pressure at the time because the 3rd stage purification filter drain was open- the intake was blocked for the first few minutes of the 10 minute run-in which is not under load.

 

[clownfishsydney]

My Junior II puts out heaps of water/oil mix as do most compressors. Totally normal. Not sure why you would run for 10 minutes venting air, most recommend only a minute or two for a new filter (and that is why you do it to get rid of any loose filter material).

 

[sunnyboy]

... Not sure why you would run for 10 minutes venting air, most recommend only a minute or two for a new filter (and that is why you do it to get rid of any loose filter material).

It's in that compressor's manual for the first time start-up procedure. He was following the manual.

...The fill went normally but after finishing I opened all the drains and about 30 mls of heavily brown stained liquid came out the first stage drain (I was expecting clear water), the other drains were empty.
So, did I do any damage like suck oil into the compressor (Anderol 755) or is the brownish liquid to be expected and should I empty the bail out or whatever?

You didn't say how long it took to fill the tank, and to what pressure. You also don't mention whether you opened the drains periodically or not.

I own the land version of that compressor, and my book recommended running the drains every 5-10 min during a fill. I decided to open the drains for about 10 sec every 5 min, based on the fact that in 10 sec it stops venting condensation mist. I keep a rag under the drains when I do this and have seen some brown from time to time, but never a lot. Just enough to stain a blue shop towel a bit.

So if you didn't open the drains at all while filling say an AL80 to 3000, then yes - you could expect a LOT of condensation and it does get a bit brown looking. I don't think it's anything but I would recommend opening the drains at a min 10min interval during the fills. Those condensation traps are not very big.

 

[sealark]

fill another tank and crack the drain every few minutes. If it fills a full tank to pressure check the oil level if full you should be good to go.

 

[sunnyboy]

fill another tank and crack the drain every few minutes. If it fills a full tank to pressure check the oil level if full you should be good to go.

Agreed.

One nice thing about the Alkin is there's a window to see oil level right in front. You can check anytime. The Alkin has a few known problems, but overall it's quite a fine little compressor. I bought mine to fill rebreather tanks and the occasional bailout, but ended up filling a steel HP 100 every week all last year without any problems. It just takes a while to fill 80's and 100's from empty (around 50 min for a HP100 from say 20-30bar to full).