Quittintime: Air tool oil.

Ok, I spent 5 bucks on a 16 0z bottle of air tool oil a couple weeks ago. You may say so what, but for me that's a lot more than candy bar money.

I have an air tool kit. Has a 1/2" drive in it, a 3/8" drive, and I think an air chisel. Got them at Costco the year I moved in here.

I never used them. And the shed they have been sitting in is not "air conditioned". Gets musty, moldy, damp, etc.

When I got the tools out, I found the 1/2" to barely work, and the 3/8" to not work at all. How I got them working is another thread. This one is about the oil.

I should have had an air source all along, and should have run the tools every once in a while, feeding them plenty of the air tool oil each time.

Anyway, now I have air, and I have the oil. But that oil is pricey. So I went and did some research. Read the MSDS sheet for a couple different brands of the oil, etc.

What it comes down to is... Air tool oil is ordinary mineral oil with some rust and corrosion inhibitors. Stuff that mixes with the water that always gets in there, and keeps it from turning into acid.

Further... the most common rust and corrosion inhibitor is... TADA !!! Glycol. To be specific... Antifreeze.

When this air tool oil runs out I am going to make my own. I will put 5 or 6 teaspoons of antifreeze into the empty bottle and fill the rest of the 16 ounces up with cheap old mineral oil.

I am thinking that it may be a good idea to pour a quarter to half bottle of that mixture into the compressor whenever it is going to be sitting for a long time without being used, as well. And as cheap as my mixture will be, I will not hesitate to do so.

It's already been suggested in other places that when you use one in a cold climate, pure antifreeze should be added to the compressor.

That's supposed to be good for the compressor and the tools as well.

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The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. ~Samuel Johnson