Mounting compressor upside down

Technical Pneumatics
1

We are mounting our compressor upside down this year under the robot. In final testing we weren’t getting the pressure up above about 80 psi from the compressor. I was wondering if other teams have done this? It very well could be a poorly adjusted safety valve. This was not checked and we frankly didn’t think of it until after it was in the bag. Mostly I’m looking for a “we mount them that way all the time” or a “you can’t mount it that way because…” And it is the Viair compressor. Just trying to think of things that need to be done on the first day of the competition…

Thanks!

2

Last year we mounted our compressor upside down. That should be fine. It most likely is caused by a leak, or an issue with the pressure relief valve.

3

If you can prove to the inspector that your mounting is safe, you are fine. There are no rules that otherwise specify an orientation for mounting the compressor.

4

It is probably caused by some sort if leak in your air system.

How much storage are you using?

Also I assume you know that you may store air at 120 psi and the working pressure is a maximum of 60 psi.

5

Coach,
There is no rule about compressor orientation but there are a few things to consider.

  1. If you use the rubber isolators to mount, they are not intended to be used in tension and so have a tendency to fail over time.
  2. The compressor gets hot and heat rises, putting the heat back into the compressor body.
  3. It hard to see if it is running by looking into the robot.
6

I have heard that the Viair compressors use gravity-based seals. It’s possible that’s why you’re having those issues. I would also recommend testing your pressure switch, as they come in a number of varieties and aren’t very noticeably different from each other. If all else fails, you might want to see if the old Thomas compressors will work for you.

7

I just found this in the user manual

  1. Select a FLAT, UPRIGHT AND SECURE location where the compressor can be mounted.

It looks like it needs to be mounted upright

:frowning:

8

That is very curious, I work with quite a few compressors with similar build/technology and have seen them mounted in every way possible.

The orientation should not effect the performance of the compressor.

9

Make sure the regulator is not put in backwards.

10

We had a situation where the compressor would not get above 60 psi. Spent hours troubleshooting various items. Turned out that every component in the system was operating fine. It was the system itself that was the problem. A hose bypassed the regulator, in effect turning the whole system into a low pressure system.

I know, incredibly stupid of us to do that. And somewhat subtle to diagnose and troubleshoot.

Check to see that the high side all feeds into the proper side of the regulator, and all of the low/working side feeds from the output side of the regulator, and that no hose bypasses the regulator.

11

That’s what I thought too. But now I am not very sure.

12

Also, check your dials. When we had this problem last year, it turned out we were at pressure, but our dial said we were at like 80. That happened again this preseason.