New to me Saylor Beall

[VtMcGyver]

Well, this is my first post to the forum. Found the forum while researching an old compressor I found on Craigslist. I've found a lot of good information on here regarding these older compressors.

Anyway, I recently discovered some pinhole leaks in my old craftsman 20gal compressor and was looking for a replacement tank. Stumbled upon an old Saylor Beall 80 gallon tank and compressor (no motor) on CL. I had never heard of Saylor Beall until now. After researching the brand and reading through countless threads on this forum I decided to pull the trigger. I figured the compressor was worth the $175 and the tank was a freebie. The compressor is an older style Saylor Beall 705 pump. The flywheel has seen better days. Apparently someone tried to weld the cracks in the flywheel but ended up warping the flywheel so it has about a 1/2" to 3/4" axial wobble. So I'm in the market for one if anyone has a used one lying around they don't want. The seller had run it this way for ~6 yrs with no issues. The tank is dated 1966. Haven't had a chance to peak in the tank yet, but I do plan on hydro testing it. Turns out the seller also had a 5hp single phase Blador motor that he was willing to part with for another $200. So after $375, and inspiration from this forum, I now have my self a "little" restoration project.

My plans are to clean up the pump, replace the flywheel, safety valves, and check valve at a minimum. I don't want to tear into unless there is a problem with it. If the inside of the tank looks good (and passes a hydrotest) I want to clean up and repaint the tank at a minimum as there is some surface rust on it.

-Dave

 

[DekeT]

Maybe you could grind out the welds on the flywheel and make that repair. The weldor probably made mistakes in the temperature process causing the cast iron to warp. Releasing the stresses from the weld using heat treatment and removing the fill material may allow the flywheel to reshape. You would then need a competent weldor to reweld the flywheel using the correct procedures.

Repair work on the valves is likely a necessity. Just like most engines it can be done from the top without tearing down the inside. Though once you get started fixing you may not want to stop because it offer opportunity to buying more tools.

 

[Brad J.]

That flywheel is cobbled from a different machine. You can tell by the # of spokes that don't match up. Hopefully it didn't damage the crankshaft with all that runout. That would be hard on the end bearings. I'd pull the end plate off and check them.

I sent one of those flywheel to the scrap last spring. Great compressor and I'm sure it won't be to hard to find a flywheel for it. Measure the shaft diameter when it's off and you can use anybody's flywheel with the same shaft diameter.

 

[larry_g]

As your putting this back into operation pay attention to the rotational direction of the pump and make sure that the 'new pulley' has the bladed oriented in the proper direction to blow the cooling air in the proper direction. It does matter.

on edit The manual, http://www.saylor-beall.com/images/manuals/700SeriesManual.pdf , indicates ccw rotation and also gives the operating speeds.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[930dreamer]

Are you sure that's not the correct flywheel?

 

[Burgerkong]

Are you sure that's not the correct flywheel?

The SB wheel is the right one, not sure why Brad seems to think different.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138906

 

[DekeT]

As your putting this back into operation pay attention to the rotational direction of the pump and make sure that the 'new pulley' has the bladed oriented in the proper direction to blow the cooling air in the proper direction. It does matter.

on edit The manual, http://www.saylor-beall.com/images/manuals/700SeriesManual.pdf , indicates ccw rotation and also gives the operating speeds.

lg
no neat sig line

I read in that link that overheating may be caused by running the pump backwards. I take it in this case the CCW means you are looking at the pulley and it is between you and the pump. And the fan blades force air onto the block? I ask this because a local SB parts guy told me the SB pump can be run either direction. When I asked if that were true only if the flywheel were reversed to keep air flowing over the block he looked at me like I was crazy. The troubleshooting part of the link does not indicate that a backwards running pump is a cause of insufficient air pressure, only overheating. Could simply reversing the flywheel around on the crankshaft allow a clockwise rotation without overheating?

 

[Mark914]

My father has a Saylor Beall similar to yours except its upright, monster tank, I think it could be a 120 gal. I believe his is also in the 1960's. The pump looks identical but ill have to look again. I think he has had the valves out to clean them, but that's about it. He has a newer 5HP motor. He uses the hell out of it, still runs good

 

[MacMcMacmac]

Looks like someone might have rolled that compressor trying to move it. A new flywheel might not remedy all of that runout. You might try hitting up some local compressor shop to see if they might have a spare flywheel for it. Depending on how close they copied it, a Sanborn SC23 flywheel might fit. It's the same pump Eaton and so many other companies used to build up house brand machines. There was always a ready supply of used flywheels at every shop I worked at.

 

[Brad J.]

Maybe is it correct. I looked at the picture again and I've built a lot of compressors and have never seen a flywheel with the short blades like that. Once I looked closer it appears they aren't just cut off but are casted short? I thought it looked like a different hub was married with the outer ring. Now I don't think it is.

Any Saylor Beall stuff I've came across hasn't had a flywheel like that. Doesn't matter though as you'll have to get another. Also never seen a commercial brand compressor run a different direction either. You should be good on whatever flywheel you come up with. As long as you mount it on the tank like the original. (motor placement in relation to pump placement)

 

[MacMcMacmac]

Those type of skip bladed flywheels are common on SB, Websters, Sanborns and all of the brands which use those SB knockoff pumps.

 

[Burgerkong]

Those type of skip bladed flywheels are common on SB, Websters, Sanborns and all of the brands which use those SB knockoff pumps.

Yep, I forgot the brand, thought it was Brunner, but in fact was Webster as the last Webster I was looking at had the same exact flywheel design.

 

[VtMcGyver]

Thanks for the input. Got a few close pics of the flywheel. It is the original SB flywheel. They must have revised the design to fix the issue with the blades cracking near the hub as the newer ones have a inner ring connecting all the short blades. The runout only appears in the flywheel, not at the crank. A new one from SB is about $250. I'vefound SC23 flywheels for about $130. The crank diameter is about 1.5625" as it hard to measure with the flywheel on. I'm torn between keeping it original but not spending a lot on it at the same time.

I got one of the big plugs out of the tank.there is about 2 to 3 inches of oily water soup in the bottom. Upper portion of tank looks good though, just some flash rust. It's gotten cold here in Iowa so not sure if I'll be able to wash out the tank anytime soon. Well just have to see.

-Dave