Procedure for filling a tank with a Yong Heng

[green]

I apologize in advance if this is redundant, but I searched through all of the older posts on the Yong Heng (and other HP compressors) but couldn't find an answer for a question I have. I have my Yong Heng setup so that it feeds through the small tampon type filter and then to a large gold filter. The gold filter has an insert that is filled with desiccant and charcoal. I have installed a check valve on the input (lower) side of the gold filter so that I can open the low and high bleeders on the YH every few minutes without having to loose all the air inside the gold filter or hose feeding the tank. The check valve also protects in case of a catastrophic failure of a fitting or hose. Besides providing this protection and saving air, I also put the check valve in so that hopefully I would no longer have to worry about opening the valve on my bottles at the right time while filling or shutting down, regardless of the pressure in the bottle.
My question is this:  If I have say 3000psi or more in my bottle when I start filling, can I open the valve on the tank before starting the YH since I have the check valve installed? The same goes for when I turn the YH off, can I leave the valve open? Will the pressures equalize automatically with the check valve installed?
Thank you very much for reading and hopefully responding if you have the same type setup. Tom

 

[Finn]

As long as the compressor gauge reads zero pressure you can start and stop the compressor, doesn't matter if the filters have pressure in them. I would recommend a second check valve right before the tank so that if a hose bursts you don't need to worry about accidentally emptying the whole tank.

[Thiel]

the yong heng build in check valves are not very reliable.
do not count in them.

[essbend]

Tom,

You have the same setup as me. I do just as you describe with no problem.

Another reason I prefer this setup is that you can pressurize the gold filter before it starts filtering anything. This should extend the life of your desiccant because only pressurized air (which is already pretty dry) enters the filter.

I would not put another check valve on the output of the filter because then you would never be able to bleed your gold filter unless you put in another bleed valve.

Steve

[igolfat8]

Can you post a schematic of your system and where the checks are located?

[essbend]

Can you post a schematic of your system and where the checks are located?

Me?

[igolfat8]

Yes please

[essbend]

Can you post a schematic of your system and where the checks are located?

[UlteriorModem]

I have more or less the exact same setup. I posted this in another thread but here it is again.

My start up goes something like this. If you see something you think is wrong or incorrect please correct me

* Make a note of the current pressure in the bottle
* Plug in water pump make sure water is flowing
* Open the compresser's drain and HP valves a few turns
* Open Bleed valve on the bottle
* Start the compresser let it run a few seconds with it's valves open.
* Close the 'drain' valve
* Cloe the HP side valve
* Wait till air is flowing out of the bottle bleed valve then close it with the bottle main valve closed.
* Wait untill the pressure in the hoses / filters is equal to the bottles stored pressure.
* Open the bottles main valve and wait for it to fill.

Occasionaly while running open the drain valve to expell moisture.

Once the bottle is full

* Close the bottles main valve
* Open the compresser's drain valve for a few seconds
* Open the compresser's HP side valve and discharge to atmospheric pressure
* Shut down the compresser.

Once the compresser is finished I try to turn off the water pump fairly soon as the rapid cooling is probably not a good thing.

Hopefully the check valve will hold the pressure when the compresser is stopped (mine leaks a little), you can then open the bleed valve on the bottle and empty to atmospheric pressure.

[essbend]

I wouldn't say your procedure is "incorrect", but my procedure is different:

*Plug in water pump (I actually just connect the water hose directly to my faucet, so I don't use a water pump)
*Open the compressor's drain and HP valves (I don't know why this is necessary, but I do it anyway)
*Open the bottle main valve (this fills up the gold filter with dry air from the bottle)
*Start the compressor (I don't wait for it to run a few seconds)
*Close the 'drain valve
*Close the HP side valve

Occasionally open drain valve and 'HP valve' to expel moisture.

Once the bottle is full

*Open the drain valve
*Open the HP side valve
*Shut down the compressor
*Open the bleed valve on the fill adapter

I don't have a leaky check valve. I'm not sure my procedure would be possible if I had a leaky check valve because the leaky air would pressurize the HP side and the compressor would stall when I started it up.

As atmospheric air gets pressurized, condensation is formed, so if you pressurize the gold filter using the compressor, you are forming condensation inside the gold filter. This will saturate your desiccant quickly, reducing its life. This is why I like to pressurize the gold filter using air from the bottle. The condensation should form inside the drain and HP side chambers, so the air that enters the gold filter is already pretty dry. The gold filter than acts to get the "last bit" of moisture out of the air. Now since the desiccant is doing only a small part of the work, it will last longer.

[UlteriorModem]

The reason I don't 'pre pressurize' the gold filter is that I feel like the air would be moving through the filter in the wrong direction and you might be blowing crud back into it.

Either way will work though. I think the most important thing is to have the valves on the compressor open when it is started. That way it wont be slamming into a brick wall of back pressure. The pressure can build up gradually.

[igolfat8]

Can you post a schematic of your system and where the checks are located?

What specific check valve are you guys using? Where did you buy it?

[UlteriorModem]

What specific check valve are you guys using? Where did you buy it?

This is the one I got, but it leaks a little.

[tracker1955]

I believe that's the same stainless check valve I bought. Keep in mind that if you are using any of the Chinese made filter housings be it gold or black, be sure to order the one with metric threads and not the NPT one.