The small diameter plastic tube that goes to the unloader valve keeps popping out whether just starting up or sometimes full. Tried unscrewing the collar around where the tube enters and putting the plastic line back into the small internal brass collar and tightening it back. Pops out again and air escapes. Any ideas on how to keep this sucker in for good? Upright Harbor Freight 21-gal oiled and 6-months outta warranty…
It’s an easy fix, sort of. Depends on what you have. Cut a little off the end of the tube and replace the ferrel fitting or brass wedge thing. Or run some 1/8" copper tubing with compression fittings to replace the plastic tube.
But if you have permanent type ends on the tubing, it may look something like a small spark plug wire boot, then you may have to order another from your user manual that you got with it, or can download the pdf manual on the Harbor Freight web site.
I’ve done that two times and am about to run out of plastic hose! That inner coupling/collar seems like a bad design, doesn’t it? I mean when you have that coupling/collar on tight around the hose tip, it’s so easy to just take it off, you know what I mean? And when you tighten the outside coupling, it’s very easy to just yank the hose out!
I’m not sure. It’s hard to say without knowing exactly what you have, but could you rough up the outside of the hose end a little bit with some sandpaper and use some JB Weld on it or something to keep it in? Of course if it ever popped out again, you might be forced to buy another one.
If you tried to replace it with copper, you would have to have the mounting place for the compression fitting on the pressure switch and the pump head – which may not exist.
That’s a good idea, I’ll try it. I wonder if the JB Weld will hold on the plastic? We’ll find out!
Probably not the slick plastic like it is, but if you roughed it up a little with some sandpaper it might. Give it several hours to set up first before you turn the compressor on, and it just might work. Good luck with it.
superglue to the rescue
i have a friend that works at harbour freight… says the compressors come back all the time… all that stuff is junk, pay the $10 warranty and they will keep replacing your junk for a year maybe two…
I had a problem like yours one time and I went to the Auto parts store and got some O-Rings. Doubled up on the O-rings and problem solved. I think I just got lucky…
It had a manufacturers warranty of 30-days and I paid $19.95 for an extra year. Now, 6-months out of warranty.
Howzit Moku, So is this a H.F. compressor? I have never seen a quality brand with any plastic hoses on them. Usually they have copper lines with compression fittings. The best fix would be to replace all lines with copper and compression fittings. In my mind the best compressors are belt driven since they are quieter and use less amperage to run. If you are a serious board builder it may be time to upgrade to a better one. Presently I own 1 belt driven single cylinder and a Senco compressor. The Senco is mainly for my nail guns but it is an awesome one and so quiet you can barely hear it. These are both oil splash so I use a filter set-up. A quality compressor will set you back a few hundred dollars but they are well worth it.Aloha,Kokua
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94667
I paid $149 for it, not bad, really. Except for this hose problem it’s worked like a champ. It’s about a year and a half old…I went thru two Sears horizontal models in two years b4 that…they were they 20 gal cheapies…