the pee-hole post or a quick fix if your air compressor's drain valve is leaking and other sidequests
i mentioned having drama with my air compressor in my last post. the issue was that the compressor's drain cock valve - the pee-hole, on this blog - was leaking air. notice how i said "the issue was" and that's because i fixed it. to celebrate, as well as deliver on my promise to jenn nation, here's...
the pee-hole post
the way an air compressor works is that it forces air into a tank which can then be released, for example, when you press the trigger of an airbrush. imagine the tank being a full balloon and the airbrush is your fingers holding the balloon closed and loosening to allow some air out of the balloon.
i own a california air tools (whatever) compressor and i use it for airbrush painting and just blowing air for dusting or drying stuff on my desk.
the tank has a pee-hole that you can rotate a ball inside it to stop or allow air to drain. you want to end each use of the compressor with an empty tank - of air, as well as any condensation. it's a pee-hole, see.
my issue is that when when i had the pee-hole closed, it was still releasing some air. i had been pretty good about draining it and it wasn't an old tank, so i figured that there must be a plastic piece inside the pee-hole that needed to be cleaned or replaced.
i used a hex wrench or whatever it's called to remove the insides so i can confirm there was a worn-down piece inside. i made an order to ace hardware for a new part. shipping was going to be twice the amount as the part so i added a couple of items to the order to tackle other projects: some sisal rope to rerope pumagreg's cat tree, and a new mop and bucket so i can clean up the place ahead of thanksgiving.
as a temporary fix to the valve, because i wanted to paint that night and had no idea how long an ace hardware order would take, i stretched a little bit of thread tape around the piece over the plastic bit. this greatly improved the leak and allowed me to keep using the compressor while i waited for the new part.
and then my spray pot lid broke and i found a model for andy to 3d print for me. of course, the jar i used to use was a narrow-mouth jar and the model needed a wide-mouth jar. so within hours of the first, i made a second ace hardware order - fortunately a set of jars was on sale and we'd use the rest for drinking anyway.
i was not happy about making 2 orders within a day, but i was pleased to receive both orders less than two days later. finally, i had my compressor's new pee-hole, mopping supplies, a roll of sisal rope, and 8 wide-mouth jars. what a girl wants.
here's my "spray pot" complete. you can find the model like i did on thingiverse. just note that you'll want to put a ball of cotton or something in the cone thing if the water level of the jar is lower than the pole beneath it. in the future, i'd remix the model to remove that thing entirely - i think it's so you can "easily" pour stuff out, but i'm fine with unscrewing the lid once in awhile.
before i show you how i installed the compressor's new pee-hole, i want to talk about pumagreg's cat tree. pumagreg is an absolute shredder, and fortunately he keeps 99% of his shredding to cardboard and his cat tree. i had been meaning to rerope the scratching posts - something i've not done before but figured was an easy, annoying task to do. i was right!
with a roll of sisal rope in hand, i tore off the rope from the bottom post first. and then i just wrapped the new rope around. it absolutely was both easy and annoying. rope shreds got everywhere! sometimes i got splinters but never got up to put gloves on! i also could have unassembled the tree to make it easier to wrap the rope, but part of my art is doing things the hard way. anyway, the amount of rope one needs is (warning: math):
height-of-pole / thickness-of-rope * diameter-of-pole * pi
remember this math but refrain from exclaiming how smart i am for knowing math...
...because after i completed the first pole, i realized i forgot to multiply that by the NUMBER OF POLES I WAS REROPING. so here's the actual math:
height-of-pole / thickness-of-rope * diameter-of-pole * pi * number-of-identical-poles
so, naturally, i made a third ace hardware order for another roll of sisal rope. and because i'm a sucker and cannot stand an order where shipping is the most expensive item, i tossed two treats into the order: a toilet paper holder and...well, you'll have to reach the end of this chaotic journey to find out the other one.
let's get back to the pee-hole.
every time i question whether i'm taking myself seriously enough or not by calling it the pee-hole, i remember that what i'm talking about is a "ball type drain valve [that's] ideal for replacing air compressor drain cocks". despite what a pain this entire journey was, i was happy that this particular drain valve promised a "long, trouble-free life". what a girl needs.
here's a side-by-side of my compressors old valve on the left and the new one on the right. funny enough, the rest of the hardware on the compressor was brassy and not silvery, so this new ball type drain valve ideal for replacing air compressor drain cocks actually fits the compressor's aesthetic better. this matters more than anything, even safety.
here's the compressor with no pee-hole. even though i'm incredibly strong, it's important to the safety and serenity of our household that i reserve that strength, so andy helped me remove the valve and put the new one in.
it was easy to install, but took a lot of strength to get it tight. you'll need a wrench, no matter how leathery your hands are.
pov: you're looking up at my compressor's newly-installed pee-hole
with that installation complete - and working fantastically by the way, thanks for asking - i now had to finish all the sidequests i started all because there was air leaking out of my air compressor pee-hole. unfortunately, thanksgiving was coming up so i had to wait like 4 days for my third, final ace hardware order. pumagreg waited patiently on his half-done tree while i mopped all the floors with our new mop and bucket.
he wasn't too patient though.
pov: you're removing the old rope from a cat tree while pumagreg stares at you from the top
pov: you realize that even though you ordered the identical sisal rope, they sent you a different one
this post was going to end in a glowing review of ace hardware and how big their selection is and how fast they ship, but this pissed me off! clearly, and we measured it, the rope on the left is 1/2" but it's got the same exact 1/4" label and UPC as the first roll of rope. there was no way i was making a FOURTH order to ace hardware, i was all out of projects and things i'd need from there. i just had to make it work with this DIFFERENT rope.
pov: pumagreg is watching you and judging the inconsistencies in the rope you're using on his cat tree
at the end of the day, pumagreg didn't seem to give a shit whether the rope was different or not, it got the job done. and i came away with not only a new compressor pee-hole, re-roped cat tree, spray pot, drinking jars, toilet paper holder, and clean floors - i came away with a long, drawn-out story to tell for hopefully many thanksgivings to come.
also a chia pet hedgehog, from that third ace hardware order. i always wanted one as a kid!
xoxo jenn
