Compressor: fixed

I've had a Dewalt trim compressor (model D55141) for about a year and a half. Shortly after finishing the DuraCoat on MrsZ's rifle - in fact, the very next time I turned it on - it crapped out.

By crapped out, I mean, "I turned it on, and it chugged along and built pressure until the safety relief valve popped open and dumped the contents of the tank in a very dramatic way." Percussive maintenance did nothing.

I did some parts searches and found ... nothing conclusive. Some of the kind folks over in #GBC pointed me  to a few different places to order a replacement pressure switch ($25-35). Armed with that knowledge, I tore into the machine, and was one screw away from having it open... only to find my T20 driver was about an inch too short. A long-shank driver would be $15-20, a $30 part ... shipping times two ... we're rapidly approaching replacement cost.

My baby brother (in law) visited this weekend and had the right driver in his Jeep to take out the last screw. That done, he jiggled out the pressure switch and found me a part number (Devilbiss N003306SV, for my own reference) which I ordered from eReplacementParts.com on Sunday morning for a whopping $19 shipped. It arrived today, and I installed it (with a bit of cursing and a few skinned knuckles; these compressors were not designed for easy access) - and the compressor runs like a top and shuts off as it should.

I cut the hose off the old switch and found that it was corroded beyond belief - there is a design flaw in this compressor that I don't see a fix for (moisture accumulates in the cutoff switch's line). I'll keep using it as I have been, replace the switch again if I have to, and keep saving my pennies to finish the garage and put in a permanent-mount compressor.

(I also found that my micro-screwdriver set has a T20 bit, and an extension long enough to do the trick. I never considered T20 to be a micro bit, so I didn't even think to look there.)