Bostitch BTFP02011 Pancake Air Compressor: Resources

Bostitch btfp02011 Pancake air compressor, 150psi,6 gallons

Picked up I did, a Bostitch BTFP02011 Pancake Air Compressor. It needed some work, but seems to be intact. As I have no compressor or air tools experience I needed to learn form the ground up. Here’s the start of my air tools journey. This compressor looks robust and made of metal. It has the capacity of 150psi. The canister is 6 gallons.

Docs
The user manual is easily found, and actually quite short. I do read all manuals, especially tools. It was a short read.

Drain Excess Water
The darn thing is a bit heavy. There is an air tank and the compressor on top. I heard the sloshing of water inside. There is a drain plug underneath but when opened noting drained out. I used an awl to poke it and a lot of brown water came out. Now the compressor is a bit lighter.

Airing Up
You plug it in and start it up. The compressor is a bit loud, but it started increasing pressure, which you can see on the air pressure dial. At 150psi it stopped. I let some air out and it automatically restarted, stopping at 150 psi. Cool.

Once aired up I unplugged it and the canister kept its relative pressure overnight. Probably not a good idea to let it sit with compressed air, I don’t know.

Faulty Quick Connector Bodies
There are two quick connector bodies for two tools. I think they are 1/4″. As the tools usually need less than 150 psi you use the regulator to slowly add air pressure to the tools. As I increased the regulator I heard loud sounds of air escaping. Once the cover was removed (4 torx screws), I added soapy water to all fittings.

It turns out that both quick connector bodies are leaking air. These are easily removed with a wrench. You can use a wrench and a vice grip to unscrew the mechanism. There are youtube videos to help you. Inside there are 2 springs, a washer, 4 ball bearings, etc. The mechanism was rusted out and I need to replace both quick connectors. They should not be too expensive.

How to use air tools
I found a longish but useful youtube video about air tools starting from the basics, by Leah of seejanedrill. Starting from the basics, it is really good. I appreciate her simplicity, because I knew very little.

More to Buy
I’ll need to get a hose and fittings, as well as the pin nailer I have wanted for a long time, but I am much further along than I was before.