I pieced together a new compressor

It all started when I acquired an old (60+yr) Westinghouse Air Brake pump. I started gathering what I needed to make an air compressor. I ordered an 80 gal tank, a 5 hp motor, and all the little things that add up big real quick. After spinning the old pump it turns out it wouldn't build pressure. I called Polar Air and ordered their 7.5 hp 3 cylinder 2 stage pump.

I finished putting it all together today. It's not in its final form yet but it is I functional. This thing pumps some serious air!! It filled the empty 80 gal tank to 150 psi in 5 minutes 45 seconds.

Did I say QUIET? I turned it on while I was talking to my brother on the phone and he didn't hear it. I was standing 2 ft in front of pump. The motor is
1750 rpm and the pump is spinning right at 800 rpm.

I finally have a big bad *** compressor in my garage!!

Cool

nice. I like how you kept the pump/motor separate from the tank.

out of curiosity, what $$ do you have in it? if my CH 60 gal takes a **** I'd like to turn it into a 2-stage some day with the pump re-located from the tank...

sometimes it's not the destination, but the journey that matters.
I think you nailed it. Execution = A+.

Must be a 1750 rpm motor judging by the pulley sizes. Mounting the pump and motor separate and on wood really helps in the noise abatement. Keeps from "ringing" the tank

Nice job, that's a beast!

I would also be curious on the cost, but as said, sometimes it the journey and the challenge. Nice job.

Thanks all for the kind words. Yes, I enjoy making things, putting things together and having it how I want it. The pump will eventually come off the wire rack as it will go into a shed in back yard. That is my next project. Darn, retirement is getting expensive.LOL
As far as cost,
Tank--$500 shipped
Motor--$380 shipped
Pump--$600 shipped
High temp hose--$200 ouch, that one hurt bad. 3/4" x 7' with JIC both ends
Belts, pulleys, check valve, starter, pressure switch and misc fittings probably another $200
All said, under $2k
I have the Eaton pump with full 5 yr warranty, all cast iron. Heavy little ******. 150#
I really like the quiet. I have been using a 20 gal Huskey for about a year. That thing would wake the dead.
Next I'll be looking to get a reel mounted on ceiling.
Thanks for looking!!

Nice, may as well move the tank along with the pump.

Maybe that was misleading. My bad. The wire rack will be going to the shed. The pump and tank will stay in garage somewhere. Right now I have too many things for the square feet available in garage. Sound familiar??

In your climate and with something as reliable as that will be would be tempted to send it to the shed too.

Getting electricity to the shed and airline to garage would be a pain in the ****. Around here you can scratch through topsoil with your finger and hit rock. The shed will be strictly storage.
It would be nice to do that but not really feasible at this point. Maybe someday though. Thanks

The mention of the Westinghouse air brake compressor brought back fond memories for me. Back before my memory span (early '50s) my daddy did something for a friend and was given a Westinghouse compressor said to have come from a Greyhound bus. It was originally driven via a splined shaft through the gear case of the engine and lubricated from the engine as well.

When I saw it the spline had been cut off and my daddy was going to drive it from the front end that had a pulley. He had made a wooden block that he had coated in fiberglass resin to close off the end where the spline had been. He had also had a neighbor grind the crankshaft and re-babbit the connecting rod bearings.

Well, many years passed with nothing done but when I was in high school I made an aluminum block to use instead of the wooden block. Years later, after I had bought an old lathe I machined a new nut for the rear bearing and fabricated an oil seal to ride on that nut. Using parts from an old Harley I built a gear oil pump that was driven from a cross bar in that nut. Found a place to make up new piston rings (or maybe they had them in stock, I don't remember) and put the thing together. I was able to block it in place and run it somewhat with the lathe.

It sat for another couple of years until a friend found me an old three-horsepower motor. It was a three-phase motor but I was able to re-connect it to run on single-phase power after reverse-engineering the three-phase adapter on the lathe. I took the original pulley and machined it down to use as a taper-lok hub in a newer pulley. I welded up a frame with the compressor over the motor and added a cut-down radiator from a '49 Pontiac for the water-cooled head. Another block of aluminum with some lathe time added to an old Ford water pump with a wooden "pulley" riding on the belts gave the cooling. I connected it up to an old water tank, salvaged from St. Vinnie's for a buck, with a piece of 3/4 inch hose and away it went.

That was a fantastic machine! We never ran out of air and could run (at one time) an impact wrench, air hammer or a large spray gun. Painted several cars and also scrapped out several car bodies with the hammer and panel cutting chisels.

Alas, after my mother passed and I had to sell the house I was unable to get it out of the garage. My older brother was supposed to have cleaned out the garage but the day before the closing he still hadn't done anything. I don't know if he moved it in the dead of night or it was just plain lost. I wish I had that compressor.

Nice job, quiet is a huge plus

I would try to bend some wire grating or repurpose a shopping cart for a belt guard...

Furd50
That compressor had some history behind it. I know you hated to loose that one. Do you possibly have any old pictures of it that you would be willing to share?

Matt
Yes I have covered it temporarily until I can get some expanded metal or something of the like to make a proper guard. That fan/flywheel could do major damage if you got caught up in it.
Thanks for the thought!

I have a couple used pulley guards you could choose from.

How much heat does the hose need to be able to handle?

The heat is a good question. I do not know for sure how much heat it needs to handle but I drained the tank then refilled it. After running for just over 5 minutes the outside temp of the hose was 120* at the head of the pump and 85* at the tank. I can only imagine the actual air temp coming out of the pump. It is a two stage pump so more compression is more heat. The hose is 7' long. That's a pretty good temperature drop there.
I will be picking up some 16 ga expanded metal Monday to make a proper belt guard for it.

davejo said:

I have a couple used pulley guards you could choose from.

How much heat does the hose need to be able to handle?

Click to expand...

I would say about 300F. When looking through the catalogs for it, keep in mind that maximum working pressure is rated in terms of temperature. For example "300PSI at 70F" which wouldn't be appropriate. McMaster Carr has a guide on how to buy it.

Well I finally got a belt guard made. I sure wish I had a welder. That will be one of my next tool purchases.

Nice job on the belt guard!

I looked for pictures of my old compressor but couldn't find any.

Two-stage compressors actually have lower discharge temperatures than single-stage machines. Part of the reason is that the "intercooler" between the stages cools the air going into the second stage and the compression ratio of each stage is usually less than the total ratio on a single-stage machine.

^^Thank you

Very nice job, looks much safer then most guards.

It's very sturdy with 1 1/2"X 1/8"angle. I do not currently have a welder so I used 3" corner braces with 1/4-20 bolts. It's mounted with 3/8" bolts in 3 places across 32".
Down the road I plan to put a heat exchanger in front of the flywheel. The fan in the flywheel move a good bit of air so I might as well utilize it.
Thanks again.