How to Adjust Cut-out Pressure on an Air Compressor?
Air compressors are certainly one of the most used tools, as they are able to be used for a whole range of multiple purposes. Before you go ahead and purchase an air compressor, you will need to know exactly what size compressor you need to purchase. This is because if you buy a small compressor, then it won’t be able to deal with tools that require a lot of compressed air, and because of this, it is likely to cut out quite frequently. The reason why it cuts out is because of safety reasons.
Best of Machinery has discussed just below everything you need to know about the cut off on an air compressor and how you can adjust it.
What does cut out Pressure Mean?
Cut out pressure is when you’re using your air compressor and the pressure that is coming out of the compressor rises. When it rises to a certain amount, for instance, the amount that you have set it to cut out, then the air compressor will automatically stop when it reaches the cutout limit that you have set, and it won’t increase anymore. This is mainly for safety reasons, and it will also prevent too much pressure from going into your tool and causing it to become damaged.
However, your tools may require a different amount of PSI in order to be able to work, which means that you might need the pressure to be at quite a high rate. To solve this you can simply adjust the cutout pressure, so it cuts out at a certain time and not when it has overreached the desired pressure that your tool needs.
How to Adjust It?
Adjusting the cutout pressure on your air compressor is essential if you don’t want to waste time and stop your tools from being able to work properly. First of all, it’s best to identify what type of pressure switch you have, because each one may be slightly different from one other. However, the list below is how you would generally adjust it, but it’s best to check your manual beforehand.
1. Identify your pressure switch.
2. Then take the top off of the switch and underneath you should see two springs.
3. One of these springs will be the cut in switch (this is normally on the left), and the other spring will be the cutout switch (this is normally on the right).
4. If there is a smaller spring next to the cutout spring, then this also adjusts the cutout, but on the high-pressure side of it.
5. If you want to increase the pressure, then you will need to tighten down the spring, but if you want to decrease the pressure, then you will need to loosen the spring.
6. To be able to do this you will need to turn them and to do this you will need a big set screw.
7. If you want to increase it, then you will need to turn it clockwise, but if you want to decrease it, then you will need to turn it anti-clockwise.
8. To do this, you need to start the compressor and close the drain valve.
9. Wait until the compressor stops and then you can adjust the cut-out pressure.
Why is cut out Pressure Useful?
So you may be using your air compressor quite a lot and for quite some time as well and all of a sudden it might stop increasing pressure. This is when it has cut out, it would have done this because of a whole variety of reasons, which are all about safety. The main reasons why you want to cut out more pressure from the air compressor is because the amount of pressure that is being released will become excessive and if it carries on working at this rate it could end up damaging the air compressor itself.
Not only this, but it could also be very dangerous for you, as you wouldn’t want it to start overheating when you’re using it. Therefore it’s very useful, as it will keep you and everyone around you safe. Another reason that you may want it to cut out at a certain place deliberately is that you don’t want the pressure to increase any more. This is because it would have reached the exact amount of pressure that your tool requires in order to be able to work.
What is cut in Pressure?
Cut in pressure is the exact opposite to cut out pressure. It basically means when you want the air compressor to start what pressure do you want it to be releasing. Ideally, you will want to set it around 90PSI, this is because if you set it any lower and you want it to go higher, it can take quite a long time to get to the desired PSI. Therefore if you set it, it will automatically start at that specific amount of pressure.
Conclusion
Air compressors are very handy to use in everyday life, but in order to keep it well maintained and to also stop it from ruining your tools, it’s important to set the correct cut out pressure. This means it will stop increasing the pressure when it reaches a certain point, and then it won’t overheat or waste any of your time, plus, it is also a lot safer.