A VERY interestin' take on air compressors

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The crap you get now at auto stores or big name retailers is just crap and won,t last long.the compressor I have,is a binks 80 gallon tank,with cast iron every thing,top to bottom,and only last year did the electric motor crap out.The thing is about this compressor,It was built in,get this, 1959 on the tag,the compressor it,s self has never been apart,no leaks or problems,change the oil,once a year,that,s it,make sure you drain the water out of the tank,do the math boys and girls,54 years old.When was the last time you saw any thing last 54 years,mrmopartech
 
Hey I made it to 60 but I have had some serious surgery to keep me around. I think I am on my last leg though. LOL
 
Very interesting article Del, I enjoyed reading it. I have some large compressors at work but they are industrial screw compressors. Those are true HP ratings which can be verified by the tag on the motor itself. Ive always wondered about that so called 6.5hp rating and what not based on the say 7hp motor that is spinning a fan inside one of our air handlers. The so called 6.5hp motor on the compressor appears much smaller

Now for a little story and side note. about the compressor that Mrmopar talked about. They dont make them like that anymore. Which is to bad really. Although, a compressor that old scares the hell out of me and here is why. Its not the compressor portion but the tank portion. Have any of you ever been around or seen a compressor that blew out? Meaning the tank, because of its age... They destroy a crap load of stuff. We had a 20 gallon horizontal compressor growing up and my dad was pretty regular with the maintenance. We came home one day opened the garage door. We noticed stuff misplaced and stuff all over the floor. Started investigating and noticed the Lincoln welder twisted up and crushed like a pop can then noticed that the entire garage was lifted off the foundation on 1 corner and the walls blown out. The tank gave way and failed. Never figure out why. With that being said if I have no way of testing the wall thickness or seeing the inside of that tank for corrosion etc... Im not going near it, I wont buy one at a garage sale or take someone else's, because I dont know how they were taken care of. I dont want to be killed by one.
 
I have an old (~25-30 yrs old) Craftsman with a DeVilbiss compressor on it... it works great, I'm dreading when I have to replace it!
 
straightlinespeed said:
industrial screw compressors. .
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In my early years starting out in refrigeration / HVAC, my boss (we were a small outfit of only 4 guys) did some service work on the mining chillers down here in "The Silver Valley." A couple of these were 250 HP Dunham - Bush shaft drive. Because these were so deep in the mine, they operated off 2300!!!!! V 3ph. (NOT 230!! 2300!!). In mines this deep, they get HOT. and HUMID. (I'm told) water falls right out of the air, off the ceiling and rocks, and in some places you are STANDING in water. Imagine servicing something like that. Dark, hot, humid, ...................

Anyhow, the mine (millrights? minerights?) occasionally had to move the chiller, and "stuff happened." They could not get one to operate, so of course you do what ANY good on site electrician does..........you start bypassing safeties!!!

There are all kinds of them.......over / under temp, over / under pressure, water flow, and PHASE DETECTORS. These monitor the 3 ph power coming in.

So "we" (they) fire it up and what? It's rotating BACKWARDS. This is not the "best thing" for a compressor that costs over 20K (dollars in the eighties) to overhaul!!!


straightlinespeed said:
. Have any of you ever been around or seen a compressor that blew out? Meaning the tank, because of its age... They destroy a crap load of stuff. .
Click to expand...

Not personally, but a reminder to others...........................

(you can easily "rig" your own hydrotest, it only takes .............water)

air_tank_3.jpg


compressor-tank-exploded-on-craftsman-devilbiss-compressor-21717022.jpg
 
67Dart273 said:
In my early years starting out in refrigeration / HVAC, my boss (we were a small outfit of only 4 guys) did some service work on the mining chillers down here in "The Silver Valley." A couple of these were 250 HP Dunham - Bush shaft drive. Because these were so deep in the mine, they operated off 2300!!!!! V 3ph. (NOT 230!! 2300!!). In mines this deep, they get HOT. and HUMID. (I'm told) water falls right out of the air, off the ceiling and rocks, and in some places you are STANDING in water. Imagine servicing something like that. Dark, hot, humid, ...................

Anyhow, the mine (millrights? minerights?) occasionally had to move the chiller, and "stuff happened." They could not get one to operate, so of course you do what ANY good on site electrician does..........you start bypassing safeties!!!

There are all kinds of them.......over / under temp, over / under pressure, water flow, and PHASE DETECTORS. These monitor the 3 ph power coming in.

So "we" (they) fire it up and what? It's rotating BACKWARDS. This is not the "best thing" for a compressor that costs over 20K (dollars in the eighties) to overhaul!!!




Not personally, but a reminder to others...........................

(you can easily "rig" your own hydrotest, it only takes .............water)



Click to expand...

2300??? HOLY *&^* I have never heard of that but that story is just crazy!!!

Oh and those pics look all to familiar! Ours wasnt caused by water, it split down the seem where they welded it.. Just glad we were not around when it happened. What scares me more are the 400gallon tanks of air we have at work that we have to squeeze between. LOL
 
My favorite is the craftsman or home depot rigid shop vac. 5 hp? really? Just like my 5 hp briggs and stratton mini bike? You could stop that 2 pound motor with your fingers. Yet they still advertise "5 hp shop vac".
 
with micrometers a mic from Starrett rated for 2." opening. will really go .003" - .004" over. but one from over seas will stop RIGHT on 2.0000".
 
moe7404 said:
with micrometers a mic from Starrett rated for 2." opening. will really go .003" - .004" over. but one from over seas will stop RIGHT on 2.0000".
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The problem, here, moe, is that

we are not talking about "just overseas."

and,

we are not talking about the "compressor" equivalent of .002"

It's more like 50-100% error rate!!!! LOL
 
The bad thing about compressors is, the more they cost is not necessarily indicative of quality.
 
RustyRatRod said:
The bad thing about compressors is, the more they cost is not necessarily indicative of quality.
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That is,a correct statement. My shop partner and myself, picked up a unknown dual piston /100 gallon tank: 150 bucks. Silent & smooth as silk,kept up with dual d.a. sanders at one time. It finally died,it's own death.(Reed valve,couldn't find one,'04) . The replacement was a 4 bill Ingersoll- Rand 5 horse /60 gallon upright. Did it's job,with lots of noise. The older equipment, was simply assembled better....
 
After having inadequate air for decades with various compressors that always seemed to need replacement at the most inopportune time. I finally came up with a winner.
It is a kind of Frankenstein built from a piece here and piece there. I found the baldor 5hp motor first at a yard sale. Guy said it was a spare for a grain auger that never got used. 25.00. This was about 20 years ago.The 80 gallon upright tank was donated from a neighbor who wanted it out of his garage when the pump or motor quit on him. It is dated from 93. The pump is surplus from the local collage that got replaced due to scheduled maitenance from a boiler room. A friend works for the collage and bought it when it was pulled out of service. It sat in his garage for a couple years unused and I traded him a pair of rear wheels and tires for his duster for the pump. It is a quincy model 325. Size 4 1/2"&2 1/2" x3.
I had to mount the pump and motor on the tank and get a pressure switch and belts.
I was able to use the wiring from the auger setup but had to make the pipe to the tank.
It has been going now for over 7 years and it runs all day and lots of late work nights.
I have under 200.00 invested in this but it would cost much to replace with something comparable. I heep the filter and oil clean and hope it last the rest of my life.
I had to replace the capacitors on the motor once probably due to age. It has been good so far.
This took awhile to gather it all up but my patience has payed off. A good compressor is a sizeable investment that was hard to fit in along the way. Here's a picture of the beast, not pretty but a work horse.
 

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The best air filter you can come up with is not enough, LOL
 
I have a Quincy air master 2 stage 5hp 80 gallon compressor that I've had for 10 years now and it works perfect so far. It wasn't cheap though, 1300 plus tax but I got it on sale out the door for 1025.00:) Beats the hell out of the junk they sell at Lowe's-Home depot these days;)
 
Mrmopartech said:
The crap you get now at auto stores or big name retailers is just crap and won,t last long.the compressor I have,is a binks 80 gallon tank,with cast iron every thing,top to bottom,and only last year did the electric motor crap out.The thing is about this compressor,It was built in,get this, 1959 on the tag,the compressor it,s self has never been apart,no leaks or problems,change the oil,once a year,that,s it,make sure you drain the water out of the tank,do the math boys and girls,54 years old.When was the last time you saw any thing last 54 years,mrmopartech
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I actually have a "Enco Unimat" milling machine/Metal Lathe, factory, NO new parts BUT the drive belts, oiled every other month, I use it all the time, and its manufacture date......1954! its as old as my Dad (if he'd be with us today at 60!)

Sure, its a hobby milling center, BUT.........what HOBBY milling center have you seen to run a 3/4 inch end mill, and not stall out, thats BELT driven? The drive belts to this little machine are about .250 thick, yep a quarter inch! Thing takes a poundin' too.... I used it to do a lot of hobby repairs work on clocks, and old Lionel trains, for YEARS. paid $75 for it at a yard sale, came with EVERYTHING, and.. I still have all the attachments for it.....

Best investment I ever made, the Wife, asked you just needed one more tool, the day I bought it, NOW thats a whole other story, you wouldn't BELIEVE what I've done with this little thing, you know that pipe that crosses from one side of the front of your car to the other with the high and low pressure power steering fluid being transferred? I cut my own pipe barbs for a replacement thick wall pipe. for $14.00! NOT $229 as at the time Ford wanted for the factory part, car steered great till the body fell off it!

This one machine is a metal lathe, Milling machine, Drill press, miniature table saw, miniature wood lathe, miniature threading machine, Miniature sabre Saw.

Machine booklet that came with (just as old as the machine) says its true to .002 of an inch, and I've checked it as it is afterall got a bit of age to it and its still true to around .003 of an inch! And that .001 of an inch could be MY error in checking it!
 
I have an SIP brand compressor...15cfm, 3.2hp, 240V, 15amp, and next year it will be 20 years old.....never replaced the belts, just change the oil every now and then.
I did fit it with a car type air cleaner assembly....better than the foam one it had.
 
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