I too recently got a 60 gallon compressor, and I too looked at the auto drain, and I too found reviews a bit scary, so I looked at alternatives. The problem as I saw it for the need of an auto drain, was accessibility to the current drain stunk. Bad enough getting down on your knees, but having to crawl around with yer hand all up under something you don't want tipping over on you..........Well you can relate.
I brought the drain out where getting to it was a flick of my toe with a ball valve, extended out from the current draincock, and supported with some 2x pine material in PT so I didn't need to worry about it breaking off.
I don't have pics of mine, but I got the idea from the web, and there are plenty of pages about this alternative.
I did the install, and after felt it was a bit flexible, so I took a piece of 2x6 PT pine, and using the bit below, cut a groove on the router table, and the board is just the right height to support the pipe.