80gal compressor project

[Prybar]

I recently moved into a larger home shop and have been looking to upgrade my air compressor. My old one is a 5hp, 2 stage Sanborn with a 20gal tank and has served me faithfully for about 25 years now. With the larger shop and air plumbed in it I have been over working this guy for a while now. I searched craigslist for about the last 9 months until I found the right deal on a 7.5hp 1ph, 80gal upright. It is a CAS brand elite with a Baldor motor and Saylor Beall 705 pump clone. The compressor had been used pretty hard in a body shop and had been moved out of the shop to storage with no electrical to power it on for an inspection prior to buying it. I took a chance and since I got a decent deal it seemed like I couldn't go wrong. A few strong friends made loading it easy after draining the oil out of it. Unloading it at home with only my oversized 12yo son and an engine crane wasn't as easy..but we got it done without hurting anything, including ourselves.
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[Prybar]

The next step was to clean the outside and check function. This thing was ridiculously dirty. It apparently hadn't been protected from the painting and spent it's early life living in it (and eating it but thats for later). I used a wire brush, scrapers, and a lot of air to get all of the old paint buildup off the outside. the cooling fins on the pump were caked nearly smooth on the back. The after cooler was about 2/3 plugged and the flywheel had so much buildup on it the fan blades were noticeably different shaped after the paint was scraped and brushed off. I had to use a dental pick to get the hardened paint out of the after cooler. To say it was impressive would be an understatement! After it was all scraped clean on the outside I fixed the wiring and gave it a test run to make sure it at least ran, and built pressure. It did run and although it was pretty loud and seemingly slow to build pressure it compressed so it seemed worthy of pursuing as a project. I also replaced the original bent up, welded together, and generally crappy stock air filter housing with the wrong size filter in it with a new Solberg unit.
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[930dreamer]

Looking good on the compressor, make sure the tank isn't full of water.

 

[Prybar]

Thanks Dreamer. That was one thing I was able to verify before I brought her home and no water inside. I'll update this thread later with what I did to fix the auto drain.

 

[Prybar]

So, at this point I knew I had a functioning compressor that I suspected had ingested all kinds of garbage. I wanted to remove the head to check and clean it as well as check the cylinders for obvious damage. I also wanted to check and clean the valves assuming they had never been removed. I needed gaskets and valve seals to make all this happen but my local CAS distributer was less than helpful. Nice folks, but totally clueless about compressors and parts. I looked through the cardboard box for a while with minimal success. I couldn't come up with a solid answer for whether or not Sanborn pump parts were compatible with the CAS pump so I opted to get the parts directly from CAS. They normally don;t work directly with the customer but after I explained my issue with the distributer they were very helpful. I ordered about $50 worth of gaskets and seals and paid another $50 in tariff fees and shipping. Parts arrived quickly and I went to work.

The dirt I found exceeded even my expectations!

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I didn't take any pictures of the carbon buildup on the exhaust valves but it was impressive as well. After a ludicrous amount of cleaning all was well again. Luckily the cylinders looked great too against all odds! I tested the sealing ability of the valves by spraying brake cleaner in them. I got them all to hold the brake clean and not let it leak out. I figured if they will hold a thin solvent they should hold air well enough to compress it!

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After it was all re-assembled a test run yielded quite a bit less noise and a 6min 35sec fill time from 0-175psi.

 

[930dreamer]

Its looking good.

 

[DerekV]

Awesome

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

Nice job Prybar! It truly amazes me how some folks spend a lot of money for a piece of equipment and then don't do ANY maintenance whatsoever on it. I've scored a couple of very nice compressors that were sold due to "performance issues" which were do to never servicing the valves. If folks just read their manuals, they would see that valve servicing is part of routine maintenance...oh well, you snooze, you lose!
I can't believe how much **** that poor pump ingested. Good on you Prybar for giving the ol' girl another chance at life!

 

[Prybar]

Thanks for all the positive comments!
I forgot to mention that I re-inforced a standard 36" square pallet and mounted the compressor to it using hockey pucks as isolators and lag bolts. I tightened the bolts just enough that I can still spin the washers by hand. The pallet makes it easy for me to move the compressor around in the shop and it'll be easy to remove from the shed I'm building for it so I can do maintenance.

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The compressor I bought is one of their "elite" models which come with automatic drains and belt guard mounted after-coolers. The previous owner told me the auto drain quit working so he just removed the cap and strainer screen and used the manual valve to drain the tank. Of course he didn't have the parts any longer and I had to buy a whole new drain assembly to get them. I also question how often he actually drained the tank but I digress.... The pneumatic actuated automatic drain on my unit I made by Conrader and is a super simple affair. It functions by allowing air that comes off the main tank fill check valve as the compressor starts to flow though a tiny orifice acting on a diaphragm to overcome the pressure in the tank opening a valve to let water out of the bottom. It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is! I took the drain valve completely apart and cleaned all of the garbage out of the inside and all of the valves. I then re-plumbed the line with some clear refrigerator water tubing and new compression sleeves and such. The water line works fine for this application because it doesn't get hot in this location and it only sees a fraction of the air pressure in the tank as it is only open for a couple of seconds and the air has an escape. I also put a PVC elbow in the bottom of the drain valve with a push to connect fitting on it and ran another short piece of the water tubing into a hole in the cap of a 1 gal jug to catch all of the schmoo that comes out of the auto drain rather than letting it soak up the pallet and make a small oil and water lake under it on the floor. This has the added bonus of letting me see what and how much is coming out of the compressor. I did have to drill a small vent hole in the cap as well since the hole for the tube was such a good fit when the drain actuated it would expand the jug and make it bounce all over the place!

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[Wamsutta]

Coca-Cola called. Said they want their pallet back.

 

[Prybar]

Hahaha. I wondered how long it would be before someone said something.

 

[Prybar]

The next upgrade was an hour meter. You might ask why I need an hour meter on an air compressor? Well, just because! I honestly wanted a way to track maintenance and how much the compressor actually ran. I didn't actually "need" an hour meter for anything. I made a simple bracket out of galvanized flashing and secured it to the motor cover with the factory screws. Wiring was simple and I wired the positive to one of the legs going to the motor and grounded the negative inside the magnetic starter cover.View media item 93216View media item 93215View media item 93213

 

[Zexx]

What hour meter did you go with? I am in the market for one as well.
Thanks.

 

[Prybar]

What hour meter did you go with? I am in the market for one as well.
Thanks.

Here is a link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G58R6QG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Zexx]

Thanks! stuck it in my wish list for later purchase.

 

[driftpin]

Looks like you're coming along on getting it where you want it to be.

I am posting this because of your build-up of paint on your parts, may have had some value to it. That doesn't sound plausible, but here is an interesting article.

https://www.rockngem.com/fordite-jewelry/

 

[Prybar]

I am posting this because of your build-up of paint on your parts, may have had some value to it. That doesn't sound plausible, but here is an interesting article.

https://www.rockngem.com/fordite-jewelry/

1 mans junk I guess....

 

[Prybar]

So, the next step was a compressor shed. In my case this was a necessity because the tool room in my shop happens to sit right under my master bedroom and the compressor is right under my master closet. The low frequency noise is VERY noticeable from the bedroom and makes the wife less than happy. I have more plans for sound deadening in the future like an intake muffler, and a complete enclosure with insulation and vent fans but for now I've just built a simple 1 side and roof structure. I had some serious space considerations due to the hatch on the floor which houses my septic macerator and lift pump as well as a future condenser which will be on the wall. I specifically wanted to be able to use a pallet jack to completely remove the compressor if I needed to since the shed is necessarily tight fitting.
Here is what I started with after moving some other shelving.View media item 93217
Rough framing.
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Complete with trim and the compressor is home for now.View media item 93283View media item 94419

 

[Prybar]

Intake muffler

My compressor came with a large intake muffler. It was filled with just as much paint dust as the rest of the compressor so I decided maybe I could cut it apart and re-pack it like a motorcycle silencer. Not so much. It was totally welded together and the more I cut the worse I made it. So, a new Solberg was over $100 and that wasn't happening either. I reasoned that it wasn't much more than a glasspack muffler and those had to be cheap, right? $20 on Amazon later I had a universal 3" glasspack muffler at the door to modify. I welded the inside to the shell, cut out a couple of caps, and welded 1" male and female pipe ******* to them then the whole shooting match together. I then fabbed up a sliding bracket system to mount it sideways on the compressor and allow for motor adjustments later if I have to change belts. A couple of 1" pipe street elbows allowed me to position it sideways for packaging purposes and I've also read the 90s help with sound deadening as well.

part number for the muffler:
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The sound difference is remarkable! The muffler really helps cut down on the low frequency pulses. Don't get me wrong, it's still loud in my concrete box of a tool room for now but the sound that travels into my upstairs closet and out into the shop is much more tolerable. For a total investment of less than $30 It rates right up there in the mod department.

 

[OccupantRJ]

You might be wise to install a fan in the wall or ceiling of that enclosure to flow air through when the compressor is in use. My compressor(s) are in a 8x20 tool room built onto the rear of my shop, and when blasting, it got so hot in there that I installed a 6” thermostatically controlled exhaust fan to pull the hot air from the room. I have it set to come on at 90 degrees F, and it does make quite a difference. The fan is at the top right of the blue cabinet in this picture. The thermostat is at shoulder level.

 

[Prybar]

Thanks RJ. The plan I had was to install a door due to the need for sound deadening. Because of this I was going to install a pair of fans near the top of the enclosure and some intakes near the bottom and baffle both to keep the sound down. I was already planning to combine it with a thermostat so it only ran when needed. The room the compressor is in is about 15x20 and stays in the mid 60's year round so ambient temp isn't an issue. I can't easily draw air in from the outside though because 2 walls of the room are sub grade and the ceiling is under my master bedroom! Hahaha.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Thanks RJ. The plan I had was to install a door due to the need for sound deadening. Because of this I was going to install a pair of fans near the top of the enclosure and some intakes near the bottom and baffle both to keep the sound down. I was already planning to combine it with a thermostat so it only ran when needed. The room the compressor is in is about 15x20 and stays in the mid 60's year round so ambient temp isn't an issue. I can't easily draw air in from the outside though because 2 walls of the room are sub grade and the ceiling is under my master bedroom! Hahaha.

For a thermostat, you will want a “close on rise”, which means the thermostat activates to turn the fan on as the temperature rises, then shuts off as temp drops. I got mine from Amazon for around $24 if I remember correctly. Most general thermostats are open on rise, it seems.

 

[Prybar]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Prybar]

Compressor has been running well for a while now. I still haven't gotten around to finishing the door or installing fans. I completed this condenser setup some time ago but just haven't posted it yet. I also have drains at all my drop locations but I have yet to get any water out of them. In fact, I rarely get any water out of the drains on the copper condenser due to the condenser on the back of the compressor. I tied the compressor into the system with a custom 300psi rubber over braid hose made up by a local company to my specs.

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[sberry]

Looks like a good repair and install. One of the reasons not to install an hour meter is that is likely not the right one for this.

 

[Prybar]

One of the reasons not to install an hour meter is that is likely not the right one for this.

How do you mean? So far it has logged about 18hrs of compressor run time. Seems to be accurate, or at least close enough to get a general idea rather than just guessing.

 

[larry4406]

How do you mean? So far it has logged about 18hrs of compressor run time. Seems to be accurate, or at least close enough to get a general idea rather than just guessing.

I installed a very similar looking hour meter on my compressor. It crapped out at 21 hours on the clock

 

[Prybar]

Roger! I'll keep an eye on it but as I said, it really doesn't serve a purpose except to keep track for fun.

 

[Prybar]

Just for fun I thought I would post some pics of parts of the air system that runs throughout the shop. There is more that isn't pictured like the drops into the paint booth and blast cabinet with regulators, dryers, filters, etc. and the other hose reels but this gives everyone an idea of how I plumbed the system.
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[May Pop]

Nice clean job. I like it on strut.

Ron

 

[Prybar]

Thanks. I've been trying to do everything in the shop as clean as I possibly can. At the expense of a BUNCH of extra time. My goal for the shop is to not only have a very functional, multipurpose shop, but to also have a place that looks and feels clean and interesting inside.

 

[sberry]

How do you mean? So far it has logged about 18hrs of compressor run time. Seems to be accurate, or at least close enough to get a general idea rather than just guessing.

It needs to be a 240 meter and may even need additional fuse or lead changes. The craft work here is great but 1 other minor addition shold be a service valve on the tank ahead of any hoses or other equipment.

 

[sberry]

How do you mean? So far it has logged about 18hrs of compressor run time. Seems to be accurate, or at least close enough to get a general idea rather than just guessing.

It needs to be a 240 meter and may even need additional fuse or lead changes. The use of a 120 meter has made the whole machine and the ground wire a current carrying conductor.
The craft work here is great but 1 other minor addition shold be a service valve on the tank ahead of any hoses or other equipment.

 

[clubairth]

I went with a vibration hour meter. Beyond simple as it just sticks to what you want to monitor. Turns on and off with the vibration of the machine. Battery powered so no wires or anything else.

They are all over and I got mine for about $10 on EBay.

Like you I really wish the compressor had a factory installed meter. Mine was almost a twin to what you got and I also had a lot of repairs to do before I could use it. 7.5HP single phase with an 80 gallon vertical tank. Heck mine even came on a pallet too! Not a nice Coca Cola one though.

Mine lasted 5 years and then ate one of the intake reeds. I found a new compressor for around $500 as the repairs would have been in the $350 range anyway. Still happy with it as it puts out 23.7 CFM @90 psi and I can run my blast box or paint with no restrictions on air usage.

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[Prybar]

It needs to be a 240 meter and may even need additional fuse or lead changes. The use of a 120 meter has made the whole machine and the ground wire a current carrying conductor.
The craft work here is great but 1 other minor addition shold be a service valve on the tank ahead of any hoses or other equipment.

I did use a 240v hour meter, although it never occurred to me to fuse it. As cheap as the meter was it just never hit the radar. As far as the valve at the tank...I thought of it, then just forgot when I put it all together. The first time the compressor comes out for some sort of service I'll add one.

 

[sberry]

The 240 meter could be designed with that in mind. In theory 120v meters are on circuits to 20A, the 240 could have heavier leads.