Compressor help or Do I have a cheap anchor?

[4lug39]

An old guy down the street stopped me yesterday and asked if I still worked on old cars? I said "sure" I was in the '54. He told me that his compressor wasn't working right and if I wanted it I could have it, If I came and picked it up. I asked if I could look at it and he said I could. I figured it would be a little 110 oilless unit from some where I had never been. That was not completely true. I went over there yesterday and It is a 80 gal 220 5hp husky. It was still all hooked up when I looked at it. I used a 1/2 impact he had on an old Sbc that I was dragging home and it worked fine, but when the compressor shut down it was leaking air from the valve that the copper tube connects to on the top of the tank. it is a bad leak, The compressor kicked right back on within a few seconds. I asked him what he wanted and he said just get it out of my garage. So now I have it in mine. Is this and easy fix? Is it worth fixing? If so where would I begin to look for the part?

James

 

[DHS]

Worth fixing, sounds like it might be a bad check valve and the unloader is letting the air out like it should.

 

[hofferwood]

Worth fixing, sounds like it might be a bad check valve and the unloader is letting the air out like it should.

I second the motion
Chuck

 

[padronanniversary]

third, fix it, should not cost that much to fix at all

 

[hofferwood]

I've done 3 just over the summer, here's the cheapest I found
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/CDI-CONTROL-DEVICES-Compressor-In-Tank-Check-6X213?Pid=search
Chuck

 

[4lug39]

Thanks guys Grainger has 10 in stock. I am going tomorrow to pick it up. Here is a pic.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

yes... great unit - made by CH, iirc... worth keeping along time

 

[daveroy]

I think this qualifies as a YOU ****!

 

[ImportTuner]

You lucky son of a gun ... you **** ...

 

[Tom2]

Yea..Sweet deal. I just paid $1000 for mine from HD. A little loud and not the most powerful, but I had $400 in HD store credit..So that pretty well made the decision for me.

Should be a real easy fix..If you don't like it, just resell it. Gotta be worth at least a few hundred.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

Those heads are no-thrills, loud, but are pretty robust if you change the oil once in a while... consider building a hood/shroud w/ a bit of insulation to cut down on the noise. leave plenty of airflow in the rear for cooling. the beauty of these compressors, imo, is they consist of nearly all US made components (tank, head, maybe motor if you are lucky) - you can piece together some nice second hand parts like aftercoolers and shouds, etc... and have a very nice compressor setup w/o breaking the bank. The way CamHaus or whomever is assembling them now, is keeping prices fairly low, is by using cheap peripherials (box, valves)... so expect them to fail. as long as you don't crack the US made tank or run the US made head dry, it'll last a long time.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Thats funny, Ive got a similar compressor, same size tank and hp, (branded porter cable, probably made by the same people), it came with the house, that relief valve took a dump as well, in 2009, I just put a pipe plug in it and have continued to run the snot out of it. Nice to know I wasn't the only one that happened to. Great find !, easy fix... (yeah, I know why it was there, and its not supposed to be plugged)...

 

[mrholeshot]

I have the same compressor over in the shop where I do my head work. Good compressor but the manifold is junk. I built a manifold and ran it out of the side of mine. Nice output. Not enough for a big full size shop but I never run low on air while porting. I like a smaller one in the garage beside the house.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

I have the same compressor over in the shop where I do my head work. Good compressor but the manifold is junk. I built a manifold and ran it out of the side of mine. Nice output. Not enough for a big full size shop but I never run low on air while porting. I like a smaller one in the garage beside the house.

You use air for porting/polishing? Cool, I've always used D/C - mostly alum. work so I don't need the rpms or torque of air... must be a preference thing (I know others that use air)... and I can take a head into the living room and sit down to watch Antiques Road Show and grind away... wife LOVES it.


I guess, with these compressors, be ready to do some maintenace - but they are a great piece of kit for the money. "Maintain your tools!"

 

[mrholeshot]

You use air for porting/polishing? Cool, I've always used D/C - mostly alum. work so I don't need the rpms or torque of air... must be a preference thing (I know others that use air)... and I can take a head into the living room and sit down to watch Antiques Road Show and grind away... wife LOVES it.


I guess, with these compressors, be ready to do some maintenace - but they are a great piece of kit for the money. "Maintain your tools!"

I use both but when I get into a tight spot I switch to air. I like air when I get down to flap wheels