cheap electric air compressor oil

[meborder]

I just changed the oil out in my cheapie air compressor, which based on the amount of metal visible in the oil, i should have done years ago.

anyway, it is winter and it always has a hard time starting when it gets down around 20°F or lower so i put in Non Detergent SAE10W oil.

I also bought some "synthetic blend" of unknown weight that says it is supposed to be better for extreme temperatures (high and low), but opted for the 10w because i figured a flush with a short OCI would be a good idea.

so the question is: what's the upper temperature range at which i should change out the 10W?

50°F?
60°F

no owner's manual to be found, and can't find much on the net otherwise.

i will say this, the 10W makes the compressor much easier to fire up in the cold!

thanks in advance!

 

[Rand]

I would just use amsoil synthetic compressor oil all year.

 

[Chris142]

I had a CH compressor that would just slip the belt when cold. It called for 10w40 but I ran 0w40 which helped a lot.

 

[Dufus2]

Most consumer air compressors recommend SAE 30 Non Detergent oil or 10w30 synthetic such as M1.

 

[mattwithcats]

Perhaps some Rotella T6 5W-40?

Lots of detergents, great cleaning power...

Mobil1 0W-30 might be considered, or 0W-40...

 

[OneEyeJack]

You might spring for a really good oil and pay a couple of extra bucks. After all, you won't be using much.

 

[Donald]

I would use a multi-weight synthetic, Amsoil would be good. You only use a QT or so, so cost should not be a big issue.

 

[meborder]

thanks for the suggestions.

no, cost is not an issue. i think it uses about 1/3 of a Qt.

the semi synthetic was $10/qt, but was labeled specifically for air compressors.

i was just going to use that, but after seeing how bad the old oil was (never changed it before) i figured a 6month stint with the SAE 10 over the winter wouldn't be a bad idea.

just not sure when i should change it out.... that is to say when it becomes to thin to work properly.

 

[tightwad]

Originally Posted By: meborder
just not sure when i should change it out.... that is to say when it becomes to thin to work properly.


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