Antique Air Compressor at Auburn CHAMPION

Lump · Sep 4, 2011

If you saw my recent post about what all I saw at the Fall 2011 Auburn Auto Auction and Swap Meet, I mentioned that I had seen a really cool, really old air compressor. It was a Champion brand compressor. I took some photos for you.

This unit was sold before I got there. The seller told me that it was from the mid 1920's. It was in remarkably good shape, for that age. Check out the riveted and inverted end cap on that air tank!

(Below) Get a load of that cool old compressor pump, with twin opposed cylinders. The Champion name and logo are all over it:

(Below) The old original decal is still intact on the side of the tank. The correct name of the company is: Champion Pneumatic Machinery Company. That's where the CPMC logo came from:

(Below) Even the old gauges had that Champion name on them. And look at the braided insulation on the electrical wires. This thing is OLD! And I'll bet it will be a major restoration project for someone!

(Below) Here is a shot of the other side of it:

(Below) Look at the exposed end of that electrical motor. It looks "period correct."

(Below) Here is a shot of the tag on the electric motor. It is a Wagner brand motor. As I said, it does look period-correct. Is it the original? I don't know:

I also found an old Vise Grip display board. I'll make that a separate post too.
:thumbup:

By the way....the seller told me that he sold the compressor for $700. He said, "Yeah, I know that I let that one get away from me WAY too cheap!"

A_Pmech · Sep 4, 2011

The quality of the pump castings is superb, as was the case with most castings of that time period.

djmartins · Sep 4, 2011

A_Pmech said:
The quality of the pump castings is superb, as was the case with most castings of that time period.

*sigh*
Don't think we will ever see castings of such quality ever again.
All the skills lost in time.....

930dreamer · Sep 4, 2011

A very nice piece of machinery.

oldjacks · Sep 4, 2011

I've seen a few old compressors in my time but nothing as nice as this. One would have to wonder if the tank was still sound and if it wasn't what could be done to fix it as it has such unusual construction.

Most old motors had brass tags on them which I can see this one appears to have. At some point in history that practice disappeared and they went over to aluminum or some other metal.

smallcarguy · Sep 4, 2011

The pump is so cool, its easy to overlook how cool the tank is. Which is also pretty neat..

markw365 · Sep 4, 2011

Looks like an old inductive start motor. Dad's pump had a motor like that, his was dated 1921 on the brass tag.

Lump · Sep 4, 2011

I just noticed in my own photo that one opposed cylinder is substantially larger than the other. One of you smarter guys will have to explain why this was done that way. 'Cause ol' Lump just don't know! :headscrat

Could it be that one of them is easier to start up, and it works on only the easier one until it builds up some RPM's? I dunno. :dunno:

A_Pmech · Sep 4, 2011

Lump said:
I just noticed in my own photo that one opposed cylinder is substantially larger than the other. One of you smarter guys will have to explain why to me.

It's a two-stage compressor.

Skin · Sep 4, 2011

$700 for that thing? That wasnt cheap. For all the time it will take to clean it up who ever bought it paid too much.

Lump said:
I just noticed in my own photo that one opposed cylinder is substantially larger than the other. One of you smarter guys will have to explain why this was done that way. 'Cause ol' Lump just don't know!

Could it be that one of them is easier to start up, and it works on only the easier one until it builds up some RPM's? I dunno.

2 stage, air enters the low pressure [larger] chamber side and gets compressed then forced into the higher pressure side where it gets compressed further.

Packard V8 · Sep 4, 2011

$700 for that thing? That wasnt cheap. For all the time it will take to clean it up who ever bought it paid too much.

For you and me, probably. However, many of those who attend the Auburn show have so much money, the asking price really doesn't matter. For the fortunate 1%, $700 is a rounding error on their monthly expenses. Does Jay Leno really care how much the right machine/tool/car costs? He's just the famous one, but there are many more with enough in the bank not to even look at the asking price. They want it, they buy it.

A bit OT, but I knew of a Hollywood wanna-be-car-type who had his car maintenance guy build and outfit a ten car garage. To look like work was done there, the car guy bought the largest tool chest Snap-on made, with one of everything which would fit in it. IIRC, it ran around $100,000. At one party the rich guy was showing off his Ferrari collection. A car snob guest told him the Ferrari team used Facom tools. The rich idiot then told his car guy, "Get rid of this **** and get the right stuff in here."

jack vines

DHS · Sep 4, 2011

That is a good looking compressor. The riveted tank is just bad ***. Here is mine. I just need a good motor for it.

gatewaysysop · Sep 4, 2011

Packard V8 said:
A bit OT, but I knew of a Hollywood wanna-be-car-type who had his car maintenance guy build and outfit a ten car garage. To look like work was done there, the car guy bought the largest tool chest Snap-on made, with one of everything which would fit in it. IIRC, it ran around $100,000. At one party the rich guy was showing off his Ferrari collection. A car snob guest told him the Ferrari team used Facom tools. The rich idiot then told his car guy, "Get rid of this **** and get the right stuff in here."

That is awesome. :lol_hitti

Wrenches of Death · Sep 4, 2011

djmartins said:
*sigh*
Don't think we will ever see castings of such quality ever again.
All the skills lost in time.....

Not so much the skills, as the PRIDE.

WoD

Lump · Sep 4, 2011

Skin said:

$700 for that thing? That wasnt cheap. For all the time it will take to clean it up who ever bought it paid too much.
QUOTE]

Click to expand...

Skin said:
Skin,
Personally, I would not have paid $700 for it either; so we agree...sorta.

If you need an air compressor for your shop and air tools....today...this would be a poor deal indeed. Yet if you wanted to create a "show garage" for your Super 8 Packard, supercharged Auburn speedster, V-16 Cadillac....or even a 1923 Hupmobile, you might think it would look great in there, alongside your porcelain signs, Chas Parker vise, and Peter Wright anvil. Also, if you like tinkering with old machinery, you might enjoy restoring this classic bit of automobilia.

I ASSUME it would not match performance with a high quality modern air compressor even if fully restored; but it would look great as a back-up compressor which you might use only a few times per month. And it woudl look more period-correct with your old Harley Davidson V-series motorcycle or your AC Mack truck.

No, I wouldn't have paid $700 for a project like that. But if I were to stumble onto one in my favorite scrap metal yard, and have a chance to buy it under a $100...I would be sorely tempted. Yet when I'm being honest with myself...the LAST thing I need is another project!

Lump · Sep 4, 2011

DHS said:
That is a good looking compressor. The riveted tank is just bad ***. Here is mine. I just need a good motor for it.

DHS, Yeah, MAN! :thumbup:

I love your old Champion compressor. I'm sure it would be pretty easy to find a great old motor for it. And when you get ready to restore it, my staff artists may be able to recreate that tank decal for you!

But I personally wouldn't trust that neat old riveted tank, unless I had thoroughly inspected it.

Nice!

Packard V8 · Sep 4, 2011

No, I wouldn't have paid $700 for a project like that. But if I were to stumble onto one in my favorite scrap metal yard, and have a chance to buy it under a $100...I would be sorely tempted.

What makes that compressor unique is it is complete and original, right down to the flat belt drive. If one wanted to be period correct, it's always less expensive to buy them that way than to try to find missing pieces.

FWIW, I've got the cast iron base for one of those Champions. I believe it functioned as a primitive oil separator. Does anyone have another theory as to why Champion plumbed the air through the base before it went to the tank?

Anyone need a Champion base, or should I just throw it on eBay?

jack vines

oldjacks · Sep 5, 2011

Lump said:
I ASSUME it would not match performance with a high quality modern air compressor even if fully restored;

I would not be too quick to pass judgment as I have an old Curtis Pneumatic Catalog from 1928 in which they claim that they had been in business for 74 years. So my take is that compressor technology had already been around for a number of years and considerably refined. I think that one would probably see that these old compressors actually worked quite well when new.

Lump · Sep 5, 2011

oldjacks said:

I would not be too quick to pass judgment as I have an old Curtis Pneumatic Catalog from 1928 in which they claim that they had been in business for 74 years. So my take is that compressor technology had already been around for a number of years and considerably refined. I think that one would probably see that these old compressors actually worked quite well when new.

Click to expand...

Hmmmm.....You may be right on that, Oldjacks. If so, wouldn't it be cool to have a compressor which both looked this cool AND was powerful and efficient enough for modern air tools?

scw1991 · Sep 5, 2011

That baby belongs in a museum.

norcalpablo · Sep 5, 2011

Lump said:
I just noticed in my own photo that one opposed cylinder is substantially larger than the other. One of you smarter guys will have to explain why this was done that way. 'Cause ol' Lump just don't know!

Could it be that one of them is easier to start up, and it works on only the easier one until it builds up some RPM's? I dunno.

Lump, I’m not an engineer, so this explanation will be seriously flawed technically, but…what the heck…you know about car engines, right? Like a car engine, an air compressor has a compression ratio. On a single stage compressor (even one with multiple cylinders), the air is compressed only once. The resulting pressure is limited to the compression ratio of that compressor. You might get 120 psi out of a single stage compressor. That’s it. Plenty to run most air tools, but not so great if you want to put 175 psi in your storage tank so the compressor isn’t cycling all the time. So a two stage compressor compresses the air in…you got it…two stages. The discharge of the first stage might still be around 120 psi, and that same air is then compressed a second time in another cylinder. Now you can get your desired 175 psi.

Now to your question about the cylinder size. Obviously the incoming air is squeezed into a smaller space once it leaves the first stage. The second stage’s displacement needs to be sized to accept this charge of air from the first stage. Because the crank throws (stroke) are typically the same on both first and second stages, the diameter (bore) of the second stage is smaller to accommodate the “size” of the charge coming from the first stage. Now the second stage does its work, taking the 120 psi air and squeezing it up to 175 psi. Make sense? Clear as mud, right?

Anyway, I’ve seen a similar horizontally opposed compressor labeled “Keystone”.

Ram · Dec 18, 2011

I have one that is not quiet as old as the two posted. I am looking for a finned cross over tube. The PO has restored this one with a galvanized pipe between the two cylinders vise the finned pipe with couplers to the cylinders.

Gixerfixer · Dec 18, 2011

Thought I would post up some pics of my recently acquired Ingersoll Rand Compressor, we are talking vintage though

its a single or three phase repulsion induction motored 1945 2 stage 12/14CFM 55 gallon receiver, it also comes with a remote 2 speed controller/contactor (for constant duty) that is able to run the motor at half speed also under constant demand if necessary (****** noisy though, like a buzz bar) I wont be keeping that part

that motor is HUGE and puts you off the actual scale of the whole thing in these picture's. Fortunately the receiver is in good condition with corrosion to the lower centre area only with a few deeper pocks of 2mm but no more, the rest of the tank as just an even coat of surface rust not bad considering the wall thickness is 3/8" or just over 9.5mm

supposedly based on a steam receiver/vessel as they was in those days so I am told, runs great and quickly pumps up to 170psi before tripping out. Apparently the guy purchased this from a closing down power station in London in the sixties for garage purposes, looks to of sat idle for some time by the looks of things though fortunately vented via the drain being open :bounce:

I did take a gamble on the condition of the air tank/receiver on arrival but its proved in better shape than I could of expected, now it's inspected this monster should out live me.

Lump · Dec 18, 2011

Very cool, Gixer!

Gixerfixer · Dec 22, 2011

Lump said:
Very cool, Gixer!

Thanks

No where near as pretty as that Vintage Champion though :bowdown:

what a work of art :bounce:

can you tell things are quiet at the workshop today? :wtf:

you can even make out the original IR greenish primed finish under that blue paint "the blue was put on in the 80's owner told me"

Gixerfixer · Jan 5, 2012

Thought I would post up some recent pics of my nearly finished re-furbed IR compressor, just got to wire in the remote magnetic contactor and main isolator before setting it down in its new home/corner & piping up in 22/15mm copper. :bounce:

Also a big thanks to you lot on The Garage Journal after recent reading up on pipe arrangements/designs & how to avoid moisture in the lines a bit clearer & the hockey puck trick

sits on 10 due to the weight and they are bulging in that picture :eyecrazy:

Lump · Jan 5, 2012

Wow, it's looking great, Gixer! Can't wait for your report on how it all works out when it is completed.

By the way I just realized that I forgot to say: THANKS to NorcalPablo for the terrific reply to my question on the different size cylinders on that old compressor. It makes perfect sense, and I do appreciate it.

Gixerfixer · Feb 11, 2012

Lump said:
Wow, it's looking great, Gixer! Can't wait for your report on how it all works out when it is completed.

By the way I just realized that I forgot to say: THANKS to NorcalPablo for the terrific reply to my question on the different size cylinders on that old compressor. It makes perfect sense, and I do appreciate it.

Thanks, I have uploaded my previous post with some recent pictures :beer:

bigd2203 · Dec 17, 2012

i have one with wood planks that the pump and motor mount to. got it for free from my landlord. the motor was scrapped by the landlord. i bought a house a year and a half ago and haven't had time to fix the beast. i recently found a large enough 220 motor for it. time to start the cleaning process. the pump has exceptional compression. its in decent shape other than the years of grease build up on the wood. i will post pics soon.

jspies22 · Jan 14, 2013

Anyone know what kind of PSI and CFM these would be capable of. This one is on sale close to me for $200. I am wondering if it looks like a good deal and if is is capable of running a small pot media blaster.

Lump · Jan 14, 2013

Wow, Jspies...that thing looks COOL! Sorry I don't know cfm, etc.

bobsjr · May 11, 2014

it was considered a 2 stage compressor larger cylinder feed little cylinder for increased air out put

bobsjr · May 11, 2014

i have the compressor but not the rest of it but not sure of year noticed this is flat belt driven mine has v belt set up

Larch · May 11, 2014

Wow that thing is awesome. The rivets look like it was built at a shipyard or something. I am sure seven hundred bucks is a you stole price, but then again what the hell do I know.

Lump · May 11, 2014

Gotta love this old-time garage equipment.

bobsjr · May 25, 2014

here is the one i have no tank or motor grandfather got it out of the junk yard do have complete one that did work but has whole in the tank and has since been buried in the garage

littledog · Jun 1, 2015

Does anyone have another theory as to why Champion plumbed the air through the base before it went to the tank?

jack vines[/QUOTE]

the finned tube connecting the the two cylinders is the "intercooler" and the small tank under the pump is the "after cooler" with a drain plug to drain off the water. i have one similar in style from the 1920's i will post on here when i finally figure out how to post pics.

adrian esparza · Oct 9, 2015

Hi I own this one but no idea what year is it? some body can tell me pleace ,thanks

Lump · Oct 19, 2015

Adrian, I can't tell anything from this photo, and I'll bet no one else can either. Your best bet might be to try and strip some of that blue paint from the compressor itself. Look for any ID tag that might be riveted on. If not, look on the tank, to see if the paint might have covered an old paper brand-name label. If so, you can maybe clean the paint off CAREFULLY enough to preserve the brand name. CAUTION: The tank could be a replacement. Only the compressor itself might have a brand name that you can totally rely on. Good luck, and keep us posted.

mattsblues · Feb 11, 2021

Hi there, new member and first post! I've been scouring the internet for information regarding my Champion Pneumatic Machinery Company model N air compressor, and this forum is the only place I've found anything. Serial number is 17636 and it was made in Chicago (in 1929, someone told me). I inherited it from my late grandpa.

DHS, do you still have your compressor? I have nearly the exact same unit and it has worked well for me for years, until yesterday when the Wagner induction motor decided to give up the ghost. I'm looking for any manuals, documentation, specs, or instructions I can find to go about finding the correct motor and eventually rebuilding the compressor unit itself.

The current motor is a 1hp, 1750rpm single phase. I don't know how to attach photos or I would. Thanks in advance!

Antique Air Compressor at Auburn CHAMPION

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