when to pull the plug??

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Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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I have a compressor ...sears craftsman 33 Gal horizontal tank and it was new in 2003. My dad has the receipt from a black Friday special in 2003.

To put it lightly, I have used the crap out of it all these years and in the last few months I have noticed it sounds a little off when you first start it and then it straightens up and sounds ok after a few minutes of run time. It still functions well but it is slower to fill up now.

I recently borrowed my friends compressor and only then did I realize how much mine has slowed down and takes longer to fill up.

Is there a fix to lower the recovery time like when it was new or how long are these things supposed to last?
 
And/or pump. (Compressor part)
If it's electric then it's probably the compressor part that is wearing out.

Even though it's electric the wear on the compressor section is almost like our motors in our cars and they wear in almost exactly the same way.
Rings, Pistons, valves and seals are of different types and materials but perform the same basic funtions.

See if you can find a rebuild kit from Sears and go for it.
 
oh yea I had forgot to mention ...its an oil less 110V

Probably teflon rings on aluminum cylinders (hope for steel) with metal flap type valves.
Kinda like reed valves on a 2 stroke bike motor.
Easy rebuild if they have kits.
 
I have a compressor ...sears craftsman 33 Gal horizontal tank and it was new in 2003. My dad has the receipt from a black Friday special in 2003.

To put it lightly, I have used the crap out of it all these years and in the last few months I have noticed it sounds a little off when you first start it and then it straightens up and sounds ok after a few minutes of run time. It still functions well but it is slower to fill up now.

I recently borrowed my friends compressor and only then did I realize how much mine has slowed down and takes longer to fill up.

Is there a fix to lower the recovery time like when it was new or how long are these things supposed to last?

Nothing to complain about, its old and Craftsman over in China won't stand behind it so time for a motor rebuild or a better compressor that's Made in the USA.
 
Oil-less? Do you wear ear plugs or ear muffs while it is running? Or do you have it sitting in a sound proofed room....those things are pretty noisy...
 
When direct drive oil less aluminum pump compressors start to fail, the fat lady has sung. They are just not worth putting the money into. I have tried several and the only way to really restore them is to have them steel sleeved and that makes it WAY outside of cost effective.
 
Yep, I think its junk also.

I had a oil less compressor and I will never ever buy one again. It didnt last a year. I couldnt get warranty on it and the repair parts where to buy a new compressor assembly. They didnt sell the teflon rings. That assembly was as much as the compressor was new. From that point forward I will only buy compressors with oil in them.
 
I have a compressor ...sears craftsman 33 Gal horizontal tank and it was new in 2003. My dad has the receipt from a black Friday special in 2003.

To put it lightly, I have used the crap out of it all these years and in the last few months I have noticed it sounds a little off when you first start it and then it straightens up and sounds ok after a few minutes of run time. It still functions well but it is slower to fill up now.

I recently borrowed my friends compressor and only then did I realize how much mine has slowed down and takes longer to fill up.

Is there a fix to lower the recovery time like when it was new or how long are these things supposed to last?


I have the same compressor, it started doing the same thing and last week, locked up completely. Ran for about a month of light use after it first started doing it. I'd say start saving for a new compressor as its on borrowed time.
 
I found new piston/rod assembly, seals and gasket on the web and I was like a new compressor for under $100.

I would look around for a rebuild kit first and if you cant find anything then start looking at ne compressors.
 
Oil-less? Do you wear ear plugs or ear muffs while it is running? Or do you have it sitting in a sound proofed room....those things are pretty noisy...

they are noisy ......and ear plugs are a must as well as safety glasses and now I even wear a full respirator when sanding with a D.A. sander......too many mornings of blowing my nose and all that dust and crud coming out (sorry to be graphic) but health should be number one.

When I was a bit younger and starting out I did some daring stuff and didn't take care of myself but after I broke my finger in the shop for being stupid with a drill, I really take care of safety now.
 
I have a Craftsman oil less vertical 220V compressor that is 8 years old and just locked up. I have not taken it apart yet but was unaware they were rebuildable.
 
I say pull all the stuff off the tank and use the tank for a smoker/bbq pit. If you got 11 years out of a oil less compressor you did pretty good. Save/ borrow and go buy you a upright 60/80 gallon with at least a 5-7 hp motor and never look back. You will spend pretty close to a grand, but it will do everything and faster that a home mechanic could and should ever do. Just my 2 cents. Plus with a little metal and a weekend of work you will have a good brisket smoker to feast out of after you finish working it the shop all day.
 
I say pull all the stuff off the tank and use the tank for a smoker/bbq pit. If you got 11 years out of a oil less compressor you did pretty good. Save/ borrow and go buy you a upright 60/80 gallon with at least a 5-7 hp motor and never look back. You will spend pretty close to a grand, but it will do everything and faster that a home mechanic could and should ever do. Just my 2 cents. Plus with a little metal and a weekend of work you will have a good brisket smoker to feast out of after you finish working it the shop all day.


Or take the motor off and use the tank as an extra air tank like we are in the process of doing. Also husky makes a nice high flow 80 gallon compressor. It's quiet and was 850 bucks. So with the old tank, we're up to 113 gallons. Works great with blasters.
 
I have a Craftsman oil less vertical 220V compressor that is 8 years old and just locked up. I have not taken it apart yet but was unaware they were rebuildable.

They arent. At least not the one we have. I searched for 2 weeks for a rebuild kit but couldn't find one.
 
At one time they were made by Coleman power-mate. Not sure what the deal is now.
You could buy the cylinder and piston kit for them. The piston ring looks like it is made of leather. Dust and such just chews them up. Also they will break one of the reed valves on them causing the slow fill issue. They use an O-ring to seal the head so it wouldn't hurt anything to tear into it and see if you can spot the easy fix.
 
At one time they were made by Coleman power-mate. Not sure what the deal is now.
You could buy the cylinder and piston kit for them. The piston ring looks like it is made of leather. Dust and such just chews them up. Also they will break one of the reed valves on them causing the slow fill issue. They use an O-ring to seal the head so it wouldn't hurt anything to tear into it and see if you can spot the easy fix.
Check the reed valves...........cost $o.oo
 
At one time they were made by Coleman power-mate. Not sure what the deal is now.
You could buy the cylinder and piston kit for them. The piston ring looks like it is made of leather. Dust and such just chews them up. Also they will break one of the reed valves on them causing the slow fill issue. They use an O-ring to seal the head so it wouldn't hurt anything to tear into it and see if you can spot the easy fix.
Check the reed valves...........cost $o.oo I've made reed valves out of shim stock or old feeler gauge blades before.
 
Its almost like an old friend is ill. Its just a compressor but when I think of the service its given for all these years, its amazing. This wasn't just used to fill a tire here and there......this compressor has been rolled across the corn field countless times to go work on a tractor. This compressor has ran a Dual action sander on hot days till the job was done. This compressor was even sandblasting last year as well as countless other times.

For how I use it, I have already started looking for a replacement, at best this one will go on light duty if not be phased out. Really a compressor is too important to risk its total failure in the middle of a job.

So far I have found some really sexy new ones at home depot but it seems the trend is uprights when I prefer the horizontal tank like the old one.
 

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You know how to weld. Turn the upright into a horizontal.
 
New piston and sleeve. Its common and a cheap easy fix, $50 or so.

100% right, but the problem with a lot of these aluminum compressors is they are made like the old chebbie Vega engines. No sleeve. Just aluminum cylinder. If it's like that, it's toast. Still could be sleeved and fixed, but by then you could buy anew one.
 
I just went through this. I had a vertical sears crapsman , and just couldn't take it anymore. when you plugged it in, it was so loud the neighbors would even come outside wondering what the hell was going on. I wheeled it out to the curb and left it for the garbage truck. My friend also had one and his needed the cylinder rebuild kit, he found one real cheap and had it repaired in no time. It ran for a week before something else failed and its now a reserve air tank on wheels. :violent1: I went to all the home depots and lowes and everything they offer is 3450 rpm, and that =loud! I found a local compressor shop and found this. Jenny, K2A-60 American made, dual 110/230V motor 1750 rpm 13.1 cfm so its not a screamer. Its not the end of all compressors, but its an excellent home model.
 

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