air compressors

[Anonymous Poster]

Bird, you forgot to point out that it consumes as much power to build the tank from 125# to 175# as it took to get to 125#.
Building a tank pressure to 175# is a negative investment, when doing it merely for additional stored CF of compressed air.
A lot of guys also run high to overcome loss in undersized hoses, another foolish waste of energy.
From my experience, a system with sufficient storage and sufficiently sized lines pays off in energy savings in a short time.
We agree on the concept of oilless compressors being money wasted. I also think the high speed direct coupled compressors are money poorly spent when it comes to projected usable life.
My personal choice are Cast Iron Champions, both of mine have been running for over 25 years, and have another 25 in them.

 

[Rockyroad]

Bird-

Thanks for the info!

Yes, it is in fact a chain hoist, not a winch as I called it. It was in use for many years by a big machine company here in Rhode Island that went out of business. My buddy was a maintenance worker there and they gave him several of these things, one of which he gave to me.

I don't know what these things are worth new, but it is probably more than I would want to spend. That is why I was trying to find out where replacement parts would be available in the future. It has been rebuilt once by my buddy before he gave it to me. Unfortunately, he has moved to Florida so I can't find out where he got parts.

It is one of the handiest gadgets I own. I pick up all manner of things with it to load in my pickup. I hook it to the rear end of my riding lawn mower and lift it up to take the blades off to resharpen. Came in real handy when I was installing my FEL on my JD750. It is way faster than a regular chain fall. Only takes a couple of seconds to lift something up a few feet. Pull the cord, and the air compressor does the rest.

Anyways, thanks for the info. I have printed it out and will keep it in my file for use when it needs repair.

 

[stovepoker]

Gentlemen: Air chain hoists are like caviar compared to electric or manual chain hoists. And like caviar, they can be
ridiculously expensive. If you can find a good one cheap, you
will never go back to reality.
If you want to set up a new air system just to paint, save your
time and money. Buy an airless rig, Wagner at the low end, Graco etc at the high end and save yourselves a lot of headaches. There are many used industrial cast iron compressors for sale cheap, made by Quincy, Joy, Ingersoll, Kellogg, Gardner-Denver, Champion, etc.... They may look forbidding but don't be afraid of them. They will last longer than you if you take care of them. Take that three phase 15 HP motor off and replace it with a 3HP single phase, go with
220 if you are setting up a stationary compressor in a smaller shop. You can run that compressor head as slowly as you want; it will last longer that way.
Oilless, aluminums, high speed units are ok for dedicated
applications; I buy a lot of these & incorporate them into
machines that I build & sell. But my shop uses cast iron.
120PSI service is plenty for most shops; the step to 175 exposes you to unnecessary risks and the equipment is far costlier. Don't waste your money on the plastic and pot metal
junk that you see in the retail stores. And stay away from the
mega horsepower claims that these people are declaring.
A good rule of thumb is that 8 amps at 120 Volts AC will
produce about 1 Horsepower, losses considered. There is no
way that you can get 5 "peak" horsepower from this amount
of juice!!!

 

[bgott]

It just depends on the single stage. I worked for a machine shop in Tampa, FL. that had an Ingersol Rand single stage that built up high pressure fast. It was pre WWII and the plate on the side listed it as being useable as a compressor or as a steam engine. I forget the horsepower and pressure ratings but with it being useable as a steam engine I imagine you could build up way more air pressure than you could reasonably use! The thing had a nine inch bore by a nine inch stroke. If I remember correctly we used a thirty five horsepower three phase motor to drive it. The tank was two or three hundred gallons and it had a heat exchanger with a fan in between the compressor and tank. I don't know what pressure they had it regulated at but with ten or so guys in the electric motor shop using impacts and stuff and ten machinists using air nozzles I don't think the thing ran more than every other day.

 

[s1120]

um, I think that would be a little big for my garage./w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Rockyroad]

I looked at my compressor when I got home last night. It is a Rand 4000, twin cylinder aluminum with cylinder liners. It is on top of a 60 gallon tank and has a 5hp 220 volt motor.

I purchased it some years ago, but it was not that expensive. I am thinking of the $400 range. It is an "must have" item down in the barn. If I ever have to replace it, I will probably go with a cast iron compressor. Or, if I have trouble with it, I will replace the compressor with a cast iron model rather than replace the whole setup.

Once you have one, you can never live witout one again!

The ONLY problem I have is that it does not want to start in the cold weather. If the temp gets down to about 20 degrees in my unheated barn, it will not start. I have to wait for a warm winter day if I want to use it. Is this a problem that is happening only with my machine, or is this a universal problem?

 

[bgott]

You're just not thinking outside the box. As little as you'd use it it would only have to run once a year, think of the electricity savings! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[s1120]

LOL

Ya, Plus it would fill the garage, so I could not work, so would not need it

 

[crb478]

If the oil gets cold, and 20 degrees is cold, it is hard for the compressor to turn over. This is not uncommon at all. I have the same problem with a portable compresser that I use for air nailers. Once I get it to start running it will heat the oil enough that it runs fine, but I often have to warn the compressor up to get it to start. You can use a thinner oil in cold climates, but I haven't done that yet.

 

[bgott]

Lawn art!