Given an Air Compressor Today

[Luke'sScreenName]

I was given this IR 4000 compressor today. All the compressors I have owned previously had carrying handles! Can anyone fill me in on what kind of quality this one is? I also have some other questions.

What kind of oil should I put in it? I have an old bottle of "compressor oil." Would that work?

Should I replace the water filter? What Kind?

Needs a new pressure gauge. Should I do glycerin filled?

Where might I find a manual?







And what is in this box?

 

[Gary Fowler]

I just use full synthetic motor oil in the crankcase on my Puma compressor.
A glycerin filled gauge will dampen the vibration and show a better reading, but it really isn't necessary.
That water filter might have a replaceable element in it. Have to take it apart to see but you would need to know where to get a replacement cartridge.
Open the drain on the bottom of the filter to remove any water collected. While you are draining that, drain the compressor tank using the valve on the bottom off the tank.
A good upgrade to any compressor is to take off the factory el cheapo valve, put a nipple, 90 degree elbow, nipple and a quick open ball valve that is easily reached so you don't have to get on your belly to unscrew the factory needle valve. This should be drained at least once a week if you use the compressor daily.

That rectangular box looks to be the intake air filter for the compressor.

Question: is that a shop vac hanging on the back side?

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I just use full synthetic motor oil in the crankcase on my Puma compressor.
A glycerin filled gauge will dampen the vibration and show a better reading, but it really isn't necessary.
That water filter might have a replaceable element in it. Have to take it apart to see but you would need to know where to get a replacement cartridge.
Open the drain on the bottom of the filter to remove any water collected. While you are draining that, drain the compressor tank using the valve on the bottom off the tank.
A good upgrade to any compressor is to take off the factory el cheapo valve, put a nipple, 90 degree elbow, nipple and a quick open ball valve that is easily reached so you don't have to get on your belly to unscrew the factory needle valve. This should be drained at least once a week if you use the compressor daily.

That rectangular box looks to be the intake air filter for the compressor.

Question: is that a shop vac hanging on the back side?

Yes a little (2.5 gal I think) shop vac.

 

[murphy1244]

I think you have a 230volt 5hp single stage 40 or 50 gallon compressor. Probably get a manual online. Older units used 30 weight non-detergent oil. Water filters usually just need drained. The box is for your intake air.

 

[George2615]

Ingersoll Rand can probably supply a manual for your compressor. I think they are very good quality. Here's a link about the difference between motor oil and compressor oil. Compressor oil is available at most auto parts stores, Wally World, HF, TSC etc. If you can't find any then 20 or 30 wt. non-detergent oil can be used.
What Is the Difference Between Air Compressor Oil & Motor Oil? | eHow
Any pressure gauge of the proper range will work and doesn't have to be glycerin filled.
Water filter is probably still good. You can probably unscrew it to check it. It can be replaced with another IR or similar different brand.
And best of all was the price of the compressor.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think you have a 230volt 5hp single stage 40 or 50 gallon compressor. Probably get a manual online. Older units used 30 weight non-detergent oil. Water filters usually just need drained. The box is for your intake air.

That is for sure, You are going to need a 220V connection for that compressor since it pulls 15 amps size the breaker accordingly.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would use IR T30 Select compressor oil, buy two quart bottles at most auto parts stores. Nice find or gift.

 

[sd455dan]

I was given this IR 4000 compressor today. All the compressors I have owned previously had carrying handles! Can anyone fill me in on what kind of quality this one is? I also have some other questions.

What kind of oil should I put in it? I have an old bottle of "compressor oil." Would that work?

Should I replace the water filter? What Kind?

Needs a new pressure gauge. Should I do glycerin filled?

Where might I find a manual?

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And what is in this box?
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looks to be a slightly newer model of the Ingersol Rand 5 hp 60 gallon compressors i have.
Although your tank does look smaller??
They are a decent compressor and the pump is rebuildable with replaceable crankshaft bearings.

my compressors are single stage, rated @ around 11.9 cfm at 90 psi. and shut off at 120-125 psi.
Although these are not a true commercial duty air compressor- they do have continuous duty motors and quality compressors.
i have many times run my original non stop ( literally) 10 hrs straight- doing auto body sanding /paint work
with no problem other than needing to drain the moisture from tank condensation...

i bought one new and the other from a friend that bought his at the same time, both still going strong after 30 years of use with no failures yet.

Congrats - great score:thumbsup:

 

[LD1]

Decient unit. Looks like about all the other $400-$500 60 gallon compressors.

Probably around 10-12 cfm as most of them are rated.

Not a fan of those "compressor duty" motors though. Fancy way of saying it ain't ment to run all the time. And 5 SPL label for horsepower...it Aint truly 5hp.

Love the price. Wish I could find a 60 gal that cheap.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Thanks for all the great info so far. :thumbsup:
Is it a problem painting with a single stage? Everything I've owned has been two stage.

 

[SPYDERLK]

What kind of oil should I put in it? I have an old bottle of "compressor oil." Would that work?

Thats a single stage compressor and will work fine on an engine oil. So, after using up the compressor oil you can go to a good engine oil if you want. ... But, if it were a 2 stage compressor it would be extremely important to use compressor oil. The second stage is always under positive pressure and this leaves less oil on the cyl wall and rings than you would find for the 1st stage, or for a single stage. A compressor oil has corrosion inhibiters that are able to protect the nearly bare wall from rust during off periods.

 

[kevin37b]

Nice unit , love the price .I read that a water separator will work better the further you get it away from the compressor , if you can do that . As the air cools the moisture falls out much better . It was on the screen so it has to be true !

 

[sd455dan]

Thanks for all the great info so far. :thumbsup:
Is it a problem painting with a single stage? Everything I've owned has been two stage.

I just body worked and shot this last week with mine.
One of these IR compressors will get the job done- but since buying the second identical unit now have 23.8 cfm @90 psi and 120 gallons of air storage for under $1000
and a spare if 1 of the 2 does go down for some reason.
With 2 compressors, can easily run the biggest air hog tools and still have only 1 unit running most of the time.



as posted earlier-30 years of use on both, and still going strong. Oh and although the compressors are single stage they work fine for a small shop/garage.
ps I use- and would recommend compressor oil for these IR units. Not that expensive for the amount of oil needed-cheap insurance.

 

[rosso1000]

It looks very solidly built

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I still can't find a manual. Contacted IR with no response. Any ideas?

Also can't find and air filter.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Contact them on the phone. Persist til you get a human. Take names. They will get you to the right tech department.

 

[TractorGuy]

That air filter should be washable. Just buy some IR compressor oil from Lowes.

You seriously need to resize and compress your photos.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

You seriously need to resize and compress your photos.

Won't they get bent?

 

[rswyan]

Nice score ... :thumbsup:

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

So I want to give IR some credit here. They did get back to last week. Spoke to a very nice guy who was going through the filing cabinets looking for the manual. Wanted to know where I dug up the dinosaur.
He found the parts blow-out but no luck with the manual.
Oh well.

I'm going to make this dual stage (unless someone can convince me it's a bad idea). The current pressure switch is on at 80psi with an adjustable max up to 120psi. Problem is that I need consistent 100psi for some of my uses.

I've ordered another switch that has a 30psi on/off range (fixed differential) that is adjustable to a 150psi max.

I've also ordered a "piggyback" regulator/filter to put on.

My plan is to set the switch to come on at 110psi and off at 140psi then use the piggyback regulator to bring the pressure down to whatever I need.

The only down side to this I can see is with high volume / low pressure (high CFM) situations, the motor could "rapid cycle."

Any thoughts?