Air compressor wiring help

[truck]

Okay, I picked up this compressor the other day. It is an older Keystone compressor. I can't seem to find any information on it. It seems solid, pump seems to be compressing when I turn the wheel. Here is where I need help. motor says it can be wired 230 or 115. I'm not sure how it is wired now. I want to wire for 220. So here are some pix to show. If any one can help explain what I need to do that would be great.

Compressor and pump

Motor ID plate and wiring on the other side...only black and white come out of cable to connect...the yellow, blue, red and gray all go into the motor

This is the shutoff switch box and how it is wired

Finally, this is the current plug on it.

Truck

 

[porcupine73]

With that plug, my guess it is already wired for 230V. That is a NEMA 6-15P which is generally for 240VAC, 15 amp.

 

[dxdexter]

Yes, as porcupine73 said ,it appears to be already wired for 220V (based on the plug) . You probably should change the oil in the pump as well prior to use.

Thats a great looking old compressor. I haven't seen a horizontally opposed pump for quite a while.

 

[truck]

Thought I'd post a few other pix

Motor..can't see it very well but the ground wire for the 12-2 going into the pressure switch box is not hooked to anything. No ground wire coming out the other side and into the motor. Shouldn't it be grounded somewhere?

These were in the box on top of the motor. Capacitors? I figure I ought to clean up the corroded connections right?

Truck

 

[engnerdan]

You could always hook it up to 110 momentarily and if it does not start you know its wired for 220. Its not the greatest method but still better then plugging a 110 motor into a 220 plug.

The wiring diagram is usually on the cover that goes on the motor, but must be non-existent.

-Dan

 

[truck]

Yes, as porcupine73 said ,it appears to be already wired for 220V (based on the plug) . You probably should change the oil in the pump as well prior to use.

Thats a great looking old compressor. I haven't seen a horizontally opposed pump for quite a while.

Yes, I am draining what little oil is left in it. I'm trying to do all the maintainance things I can before I try and fire it up. this has been sitting and unused for quite some time.

I'm going to wire it to a dryer type plug as the is the type outlet I installed for my welder. This will let me just plug it in for now. Once I get the shop built I will hard wire and plumb it.

Cost me $200, so I figured it was worth giving it a shot.

Once I get it running, does anyone know how to get a cfm rating?

Truck

 

[porcupine73]

Yes it should be grounded for your safety. Otherwise if for some reason either hot contacts the frame/motor casing/etc somehow the frame will be at that potential and someone then touching the frame can get shocked. If the frame is grounded then if that happens it should hopefully trip the breaker or whatever overcurrent device is feeding it. Maybe you can route/extend the ground wire to a bolt on the frame or something? The caps are probably for starting until it gets up to speed and/or possibly also for power factor correction.

 

[SteveU]

Be careful around those capacitors, they can hold a charge for quite a while even after beiing unplugged.

 

[truck]

Be careful around those capacitors, they can hold a charge for quite a while even after beiing unplugged.

Thanks, I suspect they should be fine as this hasn't been plugged in in years.

Truck

 

[truck]

I replaced a couple of the pictures in first post with better ones

This lub instruction plate was on the motor...where do I put the grease?

 

[dauntless]

Good morning everyone. I'm new here but I did some lurking and I think I'll be right at home. I recently got an air compressor very similar to the one pictured above but with a smaller tank (I'm guessing 60 gallons) and a 1.5HP motor. The compressor pump (pictured above) looks identical to the one on mine. I got her all wired up and ready to go except one major hitch: what oil do I put in it? I've been searching the internet for the last couple of days and since Keystone Compressor Co. hasn't existed for a long while I can't get any info. I love old tools because they don't break and I aim to keep it that way provided I can figure out what oil to put in it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!