I have a small 1HP air compressor – Rolair JC10 Plus 2.5 Gal.
It would be very convenient to leave it plugged into AC power at all times so that any time I use it, if I bleed it down it will kick in and re-compress itself, etc.
However, this worries me – what if there is a break in the (copper) air lines or a failure of the socket or … a serious leak. If that were the case, the compressor could just run forever, or cycle very frequently.
At the very least this is bad for the compressor – at worst, a fire hazard.
Right now, I leave it plugged in but turned off. This means that if I run out of air I have to walk around the building and turn it back on to re-compress.
An easy solution would be to wire in a high voltage switch at the point of use and make the outlet a switched outlet … and then leave the compressor power set to on. HOWEVER, there are TWO points of use (air outlets) so that gets weird and hard to wire.
So my hope is that there is a plug-in relay with a remote control that I can plug between the compressor and the outlet. So, no wiring involved – just a device between the compressor and the 20amp outlet – and I have two or three remotes that I can place anywhere I like and turn the power on.
Does that device exist ? Can I size a device purely on the 20amp power outlet or do I need to compute the horsepower of the compressor ?
Is there a simple way to do this that I am unaware of ?
Thank you.
Best Answer
I think you are over engineering your solution. It is a small 1HP 4.1 CFM compressor with a small 2.5 G receiver and 90 PSI max operating pressure. The copper pipes will not burst in your lifetime. You may have a very unlikely leak at the receiver valve or a more likely leak in your hoses and connections. I leave my compressors on all the time and have copper pipe to all the outlets avoid pressurising lengthy rubber hoses. I also have a pressure gauge at each outlet. Bursting of pipes and fire hazards resulting from that, are so low I would not consider them. If there is a leak, the motor will run more than it should and you will find out from running noise or moving gauges. Your motor has overload protection in the very unlikely case it runs all day and you do not notice. Establish if it has leaks by monitoring if you lose pressure overnight. Use soap water to find the leaks and eliminate them. My tanks retain pressure for several months without any leaks or the need for the motor to run when not used.