Curtis Air Compressor - Pics - any experts info?

[Ryan_C]

Found a pretty cool vintage Air Compressor this weekend. I am kind of wondering what kind of CFM I can expect from this compressor. I have pictures, and if anyone has more info on this or can provide links to any websites where I can find more info, that would be awesome...


What I know, wired up for 110v and most likely can be rewired for 220. The guy I picked it up from stated it was a home made setup and didn't see any manufacturer tags on it. I found some once I arrived to buy and haul home...

tag on the pump reads:

"The Curtis Compressor
Patented Aug. 31, 1915 Nov. 30, 2016 Nov. **, XXXX
No B4 1393 size 3 x 3.5
Keep base filled to between high and low level
marks of oil gage with good automobile cylinder oil
Clean out base once a year
Run at least 300 rev per min
Curtis Pneumatic Machinery Co.
St. Louis USA"

GE Motor

Tank unsure of manufacturer, but I measured it at 16" in diameter and 48" long... putting volume at just shy of 42 gallons... err 41.8 gal.

Its heavy!

and on with the pics...
Pump tag:

GE Motor:






and a really cool gauge, Rockwood Sprinkler Co. (at least I think it is...)

 

[Ryan_C]

What would be a good automobile oil?

I replaced the small valve on the left (while looking at the pic with the red side of tank) because I believed it was the leak I could hear. But come to find out the leak is in the tank, seems to be under that mount plate, near that valve. Not exactly easy to get to.

What is anyone's thought on having the leak fixed? I don't own a welder, but have a couple of friends that can weld. Any suggestions to make myself sound a little educated would be helpful.

 

[MacMcMacmac]

Dump that tank.

This is a neat conversation piece. Might make a nice piece of garage art, but I think it's day is done.

 

[redmondjp]

That pressure gauge was made by a fire sprinkler manufacturing company out of Worcester, MA. Here's a bit on the founder of a ball valve mfg. company that used to work there:

http://www.worcesterhistory.org/enterprise-4b-freeman.html

I like looking at these vintage compressors but can never figure out what to do with them. I barely have space for my shop compressor!

 

[wild cowboy]

That is definitely a collectible! - and you can definitely get it going again, though you might be chasing a leak or two in the connections after all of these years. I would definitely restore it, and at a very minimum you need to do two things to get it running safely:

● have a competent tank company fabricate you an exact replica of the old tank using the old one as a template (don't even think of keeping and trying to fix the old tank, it is now a bomb waiting to detonate)

● replace the oil with a modern full synthetic 5W-30 (such as Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol Edge, Valvoline SynPower etc.)

if you are lucky, that will be all it needs to become safely and correctly operational again, Curtis compressors were one of the best ever made and very well built, even back then!

 

[G_P]

That looks like an old galvanized water tank with a mounting plate welded to it.

You can still buy those tanks at TSC.

 

[wild cowboy]

That looks like an old galvanized water tank with a mounting plate welded to it.

You can still buy those tanks at TSC.

but those wouldn't be safe for 100-125 psi would they?

 

[G_P]

Not sure what their working pressure rating is.

Edit: TSC tank is rated at only 75 psi. No tood for a compressor!

 

[Ryan_C]

Thanks for all the responses! A friend stopped over yesterday and to check this compressor out. First thing he said about the tank was that it looked like an old propane tank. The tank is really thick. I am hearing all of the suggestions on just replacing the tank because of it possibly being a ticking time bomb. If you click on the one picture, the leak is between the 2 welds of that top plate, far left. I think if we notch out that steel it would at least expose the hole to get a better idea of what I have here.

The individual I purchased this from said he would operate it between 125-175 psi. Said he was a diesel mechanic at a local steel foundry and used his 1" impact with no problems. Sounded promising, was hoping he wasn't just selling me dreams.

I lost a little oil while moving it around, and I added some back to it... before I got any responses, I added some Rotella Synthetic 5w40. Just something I had on hand that was already opened.

I added hyperlinks to the GE Motor and was also wondering what you guys could tell me about that motor. The compressor states I should run it at 300 rpms at the minimum. I somehow don't think its running at 300 rpm.

 

[Fixnair]

I wouldn't even try to repair the receiver. Too much liability. They are killers. As far as oil goes you will find no better oil than 20 weight hydraulic oil. Motor oils will work but have additives in them that are not needed or desirable in an air compressor. As far as synthetic oil goes, why spend the coin for no appreciable benefit. And that compressor was made before synthetics were even thought of. Synthetic oil may damage some components internally.
Also the maximum working pressure of that compressor is 125 PSIG. Water tanks are not designed for compressed air service. Buy yourself an sit receiver and be done with it.
As far as using it with a 1" impact with it consider this, the output of that little compressor is about 4 SCFM. A 1" impact uses something like 30 SCFM. Won't even come close to keeping up. It will make a good little shop compressor though, nice & quiet & running @ 800 rpm it will last a long time.

 

[Ryan_C]

Thanks for the honest reply! I am keeping my eyes out for a tank.

 

[wild cowboy]

As far as oil goes you will find no better oil than 20 weight hydraulic oil. Motor oils will work but have additives in them that are not needed or desirable in an air compressor. As far as synthetic oil goes, why spend the coin for no appreciable benefit. And that compressor was made before synthetics were even thought of. Synthetic oil may damage some components internally.

This is all complete BS - might have been true 40 years ago, but manufacturers are changing their recommendations as newer improved oils are introduced. The best compressor oils are the dedicated pump oils such as the Mobil Rarus line, if that is too pricey then a good automotive full synthetic 5W-30, 5W-20, 0W-30, or 0W-20 is the next best option, and changes in manufacturer's recommendations over the last 5 years are reflecting this.

Good oil is cheap at Wal-Mart, so why put junky hydraulic oil in that is 1940's technology, when there are great oils which are available at low cost and decrease wear and enable the compressor to start in cold environments so much better. Please quit believing the old wives tales about compressor oil needs to be single weight, non-detergent, etc.

Hello, it's 2015, not 1945!