Air Compressor Timer

[69-er]

I forgot to turn off the circuit breaker to my air compressor last night. Well, during the night it turned on, and at some point both connecting rods broke. Since it couldn't build pressure, it ran for who knows how long until I heard it running this morning.

Is there a method or system available to prevent an air compressor running uncontrolled for long periods? I thought of using a timer that could be set to run for, say, 30 minutes every time the compressor starts and resets when the compressor turns off. I think that would be long enough since I don't believe I would ever need to operate the compressor any longer, but if it were unattended, short enough to prevent an uncontrolled run time.

I've searched online, but haven't found anything that has a delay longer than 17 minutes.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Larry

[bru333]

I use a water heater timer on mine, so I don't have to remember to turn off the breaker. The timer is electronic, so I have it set it for multiple on times through the week during the times I am normally home. I think I'm only using 9 of the 42 on/off cycles that are available.

This works well enough for me, so I haven't really looked for a timer like you described.

both connecting rods broke

How did that happen?