Air Compressor Wisdom

mla2ofus

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
571
Thanks, ehenry. I don't know anything about champions but it can't be any worse than a lot of the junk sold today. The pump appears to be well built and w/ plenty of fins for good cooling and also has the centrifugal unloader which is a plus.
Mike
 

ehenry

Commander
Joined
Jan 6, 2002
Messages
2,393
Mla2ofus, you'll have to tell me what a centrifugal unloader is and what it does. I'm guessing it takes the load off the compressor when it starts up??

The closest I can find on this compressor setup is $2800 and some change if I had to buy it new. The tank by itself is right at $900 on W W Granger.
 

mla2ofus

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
571
The unloader dumps air pressure off between the pump and the tank so it isn't starting against tank pressure.
Mike
 

ehenry

Commander
Joined
Jan 6, 2002
Messages
2,393
Thanks everyone for the wisdom......since I'm pumping ya'll for knowledge, can anyone tell me what oil this compressor uses in the crankcase? I plan on changing it before I start using it.
 

bonz_d

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
5,274
We were told to use 30w non-detergent by the guy that rebuilt ours.
 

bonz_d

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
5,274
Yes, but it was a bit bigger than that one. Running a 20hp on a 100 gal tank.
 

ehenry

Commander
Joined
Jan 6, 2002
Messages
2,393
The compressor is a 2 cylinder and one cylinder appears to be larger than the other. Can anyone shed any light on why that is?
 

mla2ofus

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
571
It's a two stage ie: Air is first compressed in the larger cyl and the transferred to the smaller one to be further compressed which makes for more CFM or higher psi.
Mike
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
It doesn't surprise me when I hear of people that don't drain the compressors daily. My friend is a mechanical engineer and does expert witness testimony. He was hired by a Sears attorney to represent them against a guy whose tank exploded and was suing Sears. It was determined that the tank rusted from improper drainage being done.

Tanks do explode and can hurt people including your family. Why not heed the warning that every compressor manufacturer tells you to do?

When someone like gm280 says stuff like this I cringe. Why even say it?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...sion-1.2455194

Okay folks, look like I'm the very evil very bad guy here now! That was certainly not my intension at all! But all I stated were my 60 years of experiences of never ever hearing of any such explosion of any compressor tank DO TO RUSTING ISSUES! There are absolutely other reason a compressor can explode. That can easily happen IF the pressure relief shutoff device fails! Then the compressor can keep compressing until the weakest point lets go. All I was stating is that rust in the inside of any type compressor tank simply can't be stopped. Even with draining the tank daily. Water intrusion and metal will start rusting (if it is steel, iron) the moment they get into contact with each other. So draining is a good habit to get into to help prolong a tank but there will always be a small amounts of water/moisture remaining in any tank! But seriously, we can't see inside and therefore have virtually no idea the true condition of any compressor tank. The outside can look perfect, but who really knows about the inside without taking some fiber optic camera and looking? So sorry for ruffling feathers on here with my understanding of such things. I have seen videos of tanks exploding and know it can happen. I've just never heard of any or even read about any around my areas in all my years... Does that mean none has happened in my areas? Probably there has been, but I haven't been privy to such! I can only verify what I know about... I'm certainly not going to challen anybody's opinons if they have seen or hear of explosions. I'm quite sure they have, and I would be totally stupid to say otherwise...
:peace:
 

mla2ofus

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
571
gm280, I hadn't heard of one rupturing until this one did on me and I'm 67.
Mike
 

82rude

Rear Admiral
Joined
May 8, 2012
Messages
4,082
sears does indeed say to drain after each use .I looked up another mfg manual just for ha ha,s and theirs says periodically!personally ive made it a habit to drain after each use and I never stand beside the compressor when its running.also check the relief valve frequently .id bet more tanks have had issues because of faulty valves than rust .I have to admit though this is the first time ive ever heard of a tank exploding after reading this post.
 

bigdee

Commander
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
2,665
82rude;n9147991 also check the relief valve frequently .id bet more tanks have had issues because of faulty valves than rust . .[/QUOTE said:
Yeah, I can see the possibility of rust PLUGGING a relief valve and then a stuck pressure switch due to welded contacts=BOOM.
 

ehenry

Commander
Joined
Jan 6, 2002
Messages
2,393
When we were moving the compressor I checked what I though would be the drain valve in the very bottom of the tank. What I found was a pipe plug. I pulled the plug yesterday and about 5 gallons of water came out. What appears to be a drain is about a quarter way up the side of the tank from the bottom. I plan of removing the plug from the bottom and replacing it with an L, short length of pipe and a drain. I'm also going to have to bolt something to the feet to raise it up so I can install the L on the bottom of the tank.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
When we were moving the compressor I checked what I though would be the drain valve in the very bottom of the tank. What I found was a pipe plug. I pulled the plug yesterday and about 5 gallons of water came out. What appears to be a drain is about a quarter way up the side of the tank from the bottom. I plan of removing the plug from the bottom and replacing it with an L, short length of pipe and a drain. I'm also going to have to bolt something to the feet to raise it up so I can install the L on the bottom of the tank.

That sounds like a extremely good idea. Also make the valve easy to get to and open and close so you'll have an easier time draining. As far as a plug part way up the side, I have no idea what that was there for. But it is certainly not a drain line by any means. IF you had to wait until water rose that high, you would have reduced the tank capacity by so much that it would be useless. And that would also mean water would be still sitting in the tank. Not a good thing... Good luck and be safe.
 

ehenry

Commander
Joined
Jan 6, 2002
Messages
2,393
All right yall......New drain valve installed, new pressure switch installed and fired it up. Pressured up to 150 lbs and cut off. Cracked the drain valve and fired back up at 115lbs. There was an awful buzzing sound when it initially started and tracked it down to one of the starting capacitor covers. Tucked a little piece of 10/2 sheathing under it, tightened it down and no more buzzing.

Next thing is to slide it to place, wire it permanently and start plumbing the shop.

Thanks for all the input..
 

bonz_d

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
5,274
ehenry, congrats! Should serve you well and last forever. That's a lot more compressor than I'd ever need but sure would still like to have one.
 

ehenry

Commander
Joined
Jan 6, 2002
Messages
2,393
I wouldn't have this one if my neighbors children hadn't given it to me. They could have just as easily have let it go with the property.

I do have another question though.........In replacing the pressure switch, I noticed that who ever installed it had it wired backwards according to the labeling on the switch. They had the supply line wired to the motor side and the motor wired to the line side......how much did that matter? The thing worked fine with no issue for a long time. When I got in wired up at my shop and turned it on it shot sparks out the side of the switch and that's what prompted the new pressure switch.

Another thing that I noticed when I picked it up was that it was wired from the breaker panel all the way tot the pressure switch with 10/2 romex probably 40 feet. I've wired it with #4 to a cutoff box approximately 20 feet then 10/2 from the cutoff to the pressure switch and wired it the way the switch says......lol
 

bonz_d

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
5,274
ehenry, I do think that the diagram on the switch was wrong. Shouldn't have worked.
My question is how big of a motor do you have on that thing?
 
Top