Ingersoll Rand air compressor oil change

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I have a 24 gallon IR air compressor in need of an oil change. Anyone know what weight oil the OEM oil is? The IR manual says to use their oil, but no oil type is listed. I'd rather buy a quart of motor oil as it's much cheaper than the tiny IR brand oil.
 
I'm assuming you are referring to the pump.
I've got 13 5.5 hp air compressors. I'm very partial to the amsoil air compressor oil because of how it performs in the brutal cold we get however if your pump is inside you need non- detergent oil. The bottle will say ND-30 which translates into non-detergent sae 30.
You can use any non detergent oil though. If pump temps are really high you may want to go thicker and if they aren't too bad you can try a thinner grade.

I've used engine oil in my compressors before and they lead to deposits on the rings which ends up coking them which results in air getting past them and not going into the tanks,airates the oil in the pump too causing bubbles.
 
I have a 80 gallon IR using the synthetic IR oil (found in 4pack Amazon) for 18month OCI.
 
I run a 7.5HP chnged yearly with Amsoil PCK ISO 100 SAE 30/40 and that is what I would use and recommend in the IR.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
The 5 HP two stage in my garage should be about ready for its first oil change. Ok, it has been since about 1987 as I bought it in 1986.



Honestly,on a shop run compressor that is in a temp regulated building that's not really a big deal as long as the pumped air filtration is adequate.
If the pump oil is dirty black there might be a cause for concern though.
Compressor oil has no viscosity index improvers so shear isn't really an issue and considering the duty cycle,in and off and not consistently pumping means the oil never really gets super hot which can lead to ring coking.
So the oil has been in the pump 30 years and no problems yet here we get guys all worried about 6 month oil change intervals.
Funny.
I use amsoil because of our duty cycle. The air compressors run steady,not on and off once the tanks achieve pressure,so they are always pumping air since the gas engine is always running. The valve pops once the tanks have been pressurized which then just pumps the air off into the atmosphere.
I've got compressors with more than 10000 hours on them,original Honda 160gx engines and v-twin or triple cylinder pumps and they've never been opened,so my yearly oil changes seem to be doing the trick.
The compressors run in -35 like this morning and 35c in the summertime and the amsoil takes the extremes like a champ.
If your pump isn't exposed to wild ambient temp fluctuations or serious duty then and non detergent sae 30 grade should be fine,and change the oil when it starts turning black.
I put a filter on the crankcase breathers on all my compressors so when it sucks air in its filtered which keeps the oil clean much longer than without.
I make my living with air so my equipment has to work everyday and in this case,due to the extremes,amsoil is king.
Even at -35 the oil pours quite quickly.
 
I know the Amsoil stuff is top notch. I use it for yearly, or every other year change out. Single stage Sears 5hp compressor.

It looks the same when I put it in as when I drain it out. I don't put a ton of hours on it but do use it often.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: Donald
The 5 HP two stage in my garage should be about ready for its first oil change. Ok, it has been since about 1987 as I bought it in 1986.



Honestly,on a shop run compressor that is in a temp regulated building that's not really a big deal as long as the pumped air filtration is adequate.
If the pump oil is dirty black there might be a cause for concern though.
Compressor oil has no viscosity index improvers so shear isn't really an issue and considering the duty cycle,in and off and not consistently pumping means the oil never really gets super hot which can lead to ring coking.
So the oil has been in the pump 30 years and no problems yet here we get guys all worried about 6 month oil change intervals.
Funny.
I use amsoil because of our duty cycle. The air compressors run steady,not on and off once the tanks achieve pressure,so they are always pumping air since the gas engine is always running. The valve pops once the tanks have been pressurized which then just pumps the air off into the atmosphere.
I've got compressors with more than 10000 hours on them,original Honda 160gx engines and v-twin or triple cylinder pumps and they've never been opened,so my yearly oil changes seem to be doing the trick.
The compressors run in -35 like this morning and 35c in the summertime and the amsoil takes the extremes like a champ.
If your pump isn't exposed to wild ambient temp fluctuations or serious duty then and non detergent sae 30 grade should be fine,and change the oil when it starts turning black.
I put a filter on the crankcase breathers on all my compressors so when it sucks air in its filtered which keeps the oil clean much longer than without.
I make my living with air so my equipment has to work everyday and in this case,due to the extremes,amsoil is king.
Even at -35 the oil pours quite quickly.


May I ask what MFG pumps are you running.
 
IR All Season Select is what's recommended for all IR piston machines/recip compressors under 30HP. It's synthetic.
For a cheaper non-synthetic alternative I've been running Shell Tellus S2 M100 on most units.
 
Originally Posted By: Nicasio
IR All Season Select is what's recommended for all IR piston machines/recip compressors under 30HP. It's synthetic.
For a cheaper non-synthetic alternative I've been running Shell Tellus S2 M100 on most units.


thumbsup2.gif
 
Was just going to ask this same question when I got into work this AM and then I log on and see this! I just bought my IR 5hp/60gal compressor and wanna make sure it lasts. It came with the IR all season oil which I used for the break-in and first time fill but I don't like how dark it became so quickly...

Its a very light oil when you first put it in but after the 30min break-in period it was rather dark and now with about a weeks worth of running its even darker... should I be concerned? Should I change it? Do compressors need the break in contaminants removed?
 
Originally Posted By: dave123
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: Donald
The 5 HP two stage in my garage should be about ready for its first oil change. Ok, it has been since about 1987 as I bought it in 1986.



Honestly,on a shop run compressor that is in a temp regulated building that's not really a big deal as long as the pumped air filtration is adequate.
If the pump oil is dirty black there might be a cause for concern though.
Compressor oil has no viscosity index improvers so shear isn't really an issue and considering the duty cycle,in and off and not consistently pumping means the oil never really gets super hot which can lead to ring coking.
So the oil has been in the pump 30 years and no problems yet here we get guys all worried about 6 month oil change intervals.
Funny.
I use amsoil because of our duty cycle. The air compressors run steady,not on and off once the tanks achieve pressure,so they are always pumping air since the gas engine is always running. The valve pops once the tanks have been pressurized which then just pumps the air off into the atmosphere.
I've got compressors with more than 10000 hours on them,original Honda 160gx engines and v-twin or triple cylinder pumps and they've never been opened,so my yearly oil changes seem to be doing the trick.
The compressors run in -35 like this morning and 35c in the summertime and the amsoil takes the extremes like a champ.
If your pump isn't exposed to wild ambient temp fluctuations or serious duty then and non detergent sae 30 grade should be fine,and change the oil when it starts turning black.
I put a filter on the crankcase breathers on all my compressors so when it sucks air in its filtered which keeps the oil clean much longer than without.
I make my living with air so my equipment has to work everyday and in this case,due to the extremes,amsoil is king.
Even at -35 the oil pours quite quickly.


May I ask what MFG pumps are you running.


I am sorry for answering so late. I just saw the question.
They are all twin tank wheelbarrow types. All have the Honda 5.5hp 160cc engine. The 2 oldest are made in japan,the rest are Korea I believe and Thailand iirc.
I've got 4 eagle 12 cfm v-twins and an 18cfm triple. 6 roll air inline twins and 5 hitachi inline twins.
As far as the real manufacturers of the pumps I can't really say but those are the brands that are stamped on the tanks.
 
Originally Posted By: racin4ds
Was just going to ask this same question when I got into work this AM and then I log on and see this! I just bought my IR 5hp/60gal compressor and wanna make sure it lasts. It came with the IR all season oil which I used for the break-in and first time fill but I don't like how dark it became so quickly...

Its a very light oil when you first put it in but after the 30min break-in period it was rather dark and now with about a weeks worth of running its even darker... should I be concerned? Should I change it? Do compressors need the break in contaminants removed?



Yes. Treat it as any other machine as far as break in is concerned.
I really like the a soil compressor oil. Top quality stuff. And our nail supplier gives it to me for free now.
 
So Clevy, you think I should dump this first oil change now that its broke in and put fresh in, even though the manuf suggests 6mo OCI's?
 
I always drain the break in oil rather soon. A compressor pump will have extra wear metals during break in, just like an engine.
I break in for 30 minutes and the run for an additional 30 minutes, then dump it
 
Be careful about which oil was in that compressor previously. Ingersoll Rand uses some PAG based fluids in their compressors. These will not mix with typical hydrocarbon based lubricants.

IR is nice enough to list their base stock composition on their website: http://www.ingersollrandproducts.com/am-...ries/lubricants

You can mix hydrocarbons with Diester and PAO synthetics, but DO NOT mix them with the PAG based fluids.

If you want to be double sure, mix the new and old fluid in a cup and stir it up for a bit. The incompatibility should be pretty blatantly obvious.
 
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