Ingersoll Randｮ 7.5 HP 80 Gallon Two Stage Air Compressor

[koamfps]

Thanks Guys

 

[ray66v]

If the problem is thick oil, synthetic won't get anywhere near as thick as conventional does....very likely enough that the breaker won't continue to trip.

You should up date your synthetic oil information.

Unless it's extremely cold, or extremely hot, conventional oil runs about the same viscosity, and about the same lubricity as conventional oil. There is some difference, but it's no longer meaningful.

You can see this for yourself, by comparing the specifications at "normal" temperatures of any synthetic, oil to any conventional oil, of the same weight. Even at 0F, there is no substantial difference, in either viscosity, or lubricity. That should settle it. However, many still refuse to accept that, even when it's right there in black and white.

I would put synthetic oil it, but mostly because no one wants to change the oil in their compressor. Mine has had the same oil in there forever.

The reason I said synthetic oil does not mitigate the effect of the cold motor is, the bearings in the motor do not know what kind of oil is in the compressor. They still have the same grease, and it's probably pretty thick in the winter, at start up.

There are other issues that could be in play, such as the wire size could be too small for the load, during a cold start up. That can cause a substantial increase in current draw. I would look into that. An amp probe will tell you right away if there is a problem there.

It may simply need to be put on a slow blow fuse, or a hy-mag breaker, which will dampen out the starting surge.

Building some sort of a heated enclosure, will extend the life of the motor, and compressor, for sure.

 

[murphy1244]

Good advice Ray, we;ve been stuck on the oil part and did not even think of the electrical part.

 

[jenkinsph]

Does anyone know what classification to look for when choosing the compressor crankcase oil? I know that I use a specific T30 compressor oil in my IR crankcase, that is separate from the engine drive or electric drive motor. I do change the compressor crank case oil once a year whether it needs it or not. It would be good to know if there is a synthetic replacement for the compressor crankcase.

 

[doxford jim]

Just a thought, but maybe the breaker is starting to fail and needs to be replaced with a new one.
I have several (in 40+ years) breakers that kept tripping and caused me problems. The last one was for my water heater I had visions of having to replace the heater. Thought to replace the old breaker with a new one. The new breaker worked fine and I only spent something like #35 instead of buying a new water heater. Previous breaker to that was one in the kitchen that kept tripping. Again, I went the new replacement route and it worked out fine, was cheap and no further problems.
I am sure using a synthetic oil will help too.
If the breaker keeps tripping something isn't right. Replace the breaker and you will doing yourself a favour in the long run.
Just my :2cents:.
Cheers

 

[GManBart]

What oil do you run now? cause if your following the book then to me whats the problem?

It's not my compressor.....no idea what he's using.

 

[GManBart]

You should up date your synthetic oil information.

Unless it's extremely cold, or extremely hot, conventional oil runs about the same viscosity, and about the same lubricity as conventional oil. There is some difference, but it's no longer meaningful.

You can see this for yourself, by comparing the specifications at "normal" temperatures of any synthetic, oil to any conventional oil, of the same weight. Even at 0F, there is no substantial difference, in either viscosity, or lubricity. That should settle it. However, many still refuse to accept that, even when it's right there in black and white.

Wow, talk about needing to learn how synthetics work!

Motor Oil 103 - Bob is the Oil Guy - Bob is the Oil Guy

"A main advantage that the synthetic has over the mineral based oil is the ability to lubricate at startup. Both types of oil have the same specifications at 104°F, 212°F and 302°F. It is the startup viscosity characteristics that separate these oils. Synthetic oils do not thicken as much on cooling. They have better fluidity as the temperature drops.

A synthetic oil that is labeled as 10W-30 is less honey like as a mineral based 10W-30 motor oil at startup. They both have a thickness of 10 at normal operating temperatures. At 75°F the synthetic is not as thick. At 32°F the difference between the two is even greater. At 0°F the mineral oil is useless yet the synthetic works fairly well. Just keep the RPM to a minimum.

At temperatures below zero you will not be able to start your car with mineral oils while the synthetic oils may be used to -40° or -50°F. Oils are so thick that the normal method of viscosity measurement is not possible. Instead we measure if the oil can even be pumped or poured. Again, we are only discussing a single category of oil, the multi-grade 10W-30 API / SAE grade."

I agree checking that electrical side of things is a good idea.

 

[The Fred]

So, I have this beast in my barn so I don't have to listen to it start up and run while i'm in my work shop. Got a problem. I live in Michigan and in the winter I can't get the compressor to kick over without popping a breaker. The compressor oil thickens to the point I can't get it to crank. I have used crankcase heaters (the kind you stick on the side of the crankcase and and plug in) it worked okay last year but when I plugged it in this fall I **** near burnt the barn down!!! The heater shorted out. can't chance that happening while i'm not around Bars 100 years old!
Anyone had any experience with this problem? What did you do to keep the oil warm enough to be able to utilize the compressor in cold weather?
Moving it into the work shop is not an option.

Thanks

I'm glad you posted this, I have the same machine for 10 years now. I keep my compressor in another shop with potatoes that I don't want to freeze or get too hot so I keep the room about 35 degrees. My machine does the same thing as yours it fails to start cold and pops the 50 amp breaker. I must pre-heat the machine with a small propane torch for about 5 minutes to get her to go.

I called the power company and they put a larger transformer at the pole that really helped for a long time until they changed the power from Delta something or other after which the compressor fails to start again. The transformer was a 10 and they went up to a 15.

Anywho they since came over with a device to check amp draw at the meter and found that the compressor draws 225 amps on cold start even at 50 degrees ambient.

They tell me there is no fix so I installed a small compressor for daily use and when I need more air I warm up the 7.5 to get her going.

I have always run T30 IR compressor oil which is a full synthetic I am told.

I believe the only long term fix would be a smaller pulley on the motor end, this is what IR told me during a call years ago. They tell me the 5 horse is the same air pump with a different sized pulley.

Good luck and regards, Fred

 

[murphy1244]

It's not my compressor.....no idea what he's using.

So sorry bart i was not posting to you.

 

[ray66v]

Wow, talk about needing to learn how synthetics work!

Motor Oil 103 - Bob is the Oil Guy - Bob is the Oil Guy

"A main advantage that the synthetic has over the mineral based oil is the ability to lubricate at startup. Both types of oil have the same specifications at 104ｰF, 212ｰF and 302ｰF. It is the startup viscosity characteristics that separate these oils. Synthetic oils do not thicken as much on cooling. They have better fluidity as the temperature drops.

A synthetic oil that is labeled as 10W-30 is less honey like as a mineral based 10W-30 motor oil at startup. They both have a thickness of 10 at normal operating temperatures. At 75ｰF the synthetic is not as thick. At 32ｰF the difference between the two is even greater. At 0ｰF the mineral oil is useless yet the synthetic works fairly well. Just keep the RPM to a minimum.

At temperatures below zero you will not be able to start your car with mineral oils while the synthetic oils may be used to -40ｰ or -50ｰF. Oils are so thick that the normal method of viscosity measurement is not possible. Instead we measure if the oil can even be pumped or poured. Again, we are only discussing a single category of oil, the multi-grade 10W-30 API / SAE grade."

I agree checking that electrical side of things is a good idea.

Well that, all sounds real good. And, at one point I would have agreed.

Except today:

Mobil1 10w30 synthetic, minimum pour point, -42F
Valvoline 10w30 conventional, minimum pour point -36F

Similar results are also there for lubricity.

If you want to insist that translates to a significant difference at 20 or 30 degrees, in his barn, You can. But I believe it won't.

The difference between conventional, and synthetic oils have narrowed to the point there is not a significant difference anymore at "normal" temperatures.