Craftsman 26 gallon air compressor regulator problems
Hey yall, I'll try to make this as brief as possible. Craftsman 26 gallon Model 919.167280 Syptom: Output air pressure regulator not holding pressure. The main in tank air pressure guage will not exceed what I have the line guage pressure set to. Example: if I set the static line pressure to 90 psi, the in tank pressure will not exceed that and it just runs and runs. If i max out the line pressure it will run to it's normal 160 or so and shut off. After that if I turn down the output line pressure it will just bleed out both the line and the tank and both guages will register the same pressure. Important: I just replaced the regulator. It's still doing the exact same thing. There are no leaks anywhere. It will hold at 160 until I start turning the output regulator down. What else would cause this? Thanks! Welcome to the forums. The main tank pressure gauge is before the regulator which would mean that the regulator should have no effect on it. The outlet pressure gauge is after the regulator and should display the regulated pressure. Why wouldn't the regulator have an effect on in tank pressure? If the regulator was not even there wouldn't all the air come out? Or is there something between the main pressure guage and the regulator to keep air in the main tank? The 1st gauge shows how much psi is in the tank, the 2nd gauge after the regulator shows how much psi is being allowed to come out of the tank. You may have 125 psi in the tank but if you are using a paint cup gun you'll blow the bottom out of the cup with that much psi so you turn the regulator down so it doesn't allow more than 50 psi [or whatever] to come out at one time. When the tank goes down to it's cut on pressure [often 85-100 psi] the compressor cuts back on to build the pressure back up. If turning the regulator down reduces the psi in the tank - the regulator or how it's installed is probably defective. If the regulator was not even there wouldn't all the air come out? Or is there something between the main pressure guage and the regulator to keep air in the main tank? If the regulator was not there then all the air would leave the tank. I added to my illustration above to show airflow direction. I think I understand how it works, my question was more or less whether or not these symptoms could be caused by something besides the regulator. It seems strange that there is no pressure difference between the main in tank pressure gauge and the output gauge regardless of regulator adjustment even after the replacement of the regulator. Connect a tool to the output of the regulator. While using the tool and letting air out try turning the regulator and you should see the pressure drop. If you don't let any air out of the regulator and you turn it down....the pressure gauge will just stay there. Here, I attached a video of what it is doing. At what pressure does the compressor cut on to build the tank pressure back up? Did you have the compressor unplugged when you made the video? I had it turned off when I made the video. I just let it pump up to about 70 psi. But if I fully close the regulator (highest pressure) let it pump up fully, both gauges will go up to about 160 psi and the compressor will shut off normally. Then if i start reducing the output (regulated) pressure, both gauges will drop at the same time and eventually when the main pressure gets low enough it will kick back on. It's like the regulator is letting air out of both sides. Which is exactly the same thing it was doing before I replaced the regulator. Everything seems to be pointing to a faulty new regulator. I just want to be sure before going back to the company I bought it from and demanding another one. Is there any way to mess up installation? I have had it off and on several times and even tried putting the old one back on with the same results. If that is a quick disconnect fitting on the right.....after the regulator.....it's bad. When nothing is connected it should shut off air flow thru it. Try plugging a tool in to cap it and then try the regulator. PS....good video yeah, I've tried it with and without a hose/tool plugged in. It doesn't make a difference. I'm sorry.....not thinking quite straight this morning. Obviously the unit is sitting there and holding air with nothing connected. So the QD is fine. That regulator has a problem as you originally suspected. As you turn the pressure down it should relieve the pressure until the pressure equalizes and stop. Your regulator is allowing air to continue to leak out which will also drain the main tank which is why both gauges go down evenly. Ok, I figured it out. When my old regulator went out I never could find the exact part number for it so I sort of guessed based on the picture when I bought the new regulator. Apparently, there are two holes that you can screw the pressure gauge into. Whichever one you use and the other one is plugged. Well, one is under full pressure and the other is under the regulated pressure. The holes on this unit are opposite what my old unit was. So I had the gauge plugged into the full pressure side. Seems it was working all along I just had the gauge plugged into the wrong hole. Of course now my regulator adjustment knob is sort of sticking up instead of out like it did. But as long as it works I could care less. I'll try to post another video in case anybody else has an issue like this. Thanks everybody for the help. Sometimes it just takes some insight from some fellow DIYers to find solutions.
Thanks for updating us Who'd of thunk it would have been that simple Glad you got it figured out and working properly
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