Craftsman Compressor rebuild

[bagged89s10]

So I have a newer oil less craftsman compressor and an older craftsman compressor.

This one is about 15 years old and the tank seems pretty solid. I bought it new and usually drained it. I did drain out about a cup of some rusty water which I neglected to empty over this past year. It's just too loud.


Then I have this compressor which I picked up for $20. The 220v motor and compressor work fine and that's why I bought it. I've wanted a nice fairly quiet compressor for a while now.


Looks like someone either welded up a pin hole or the old fitting for a drain. I don't even know if these old compressors came with a petcock underneath. So it could be just a welded up fitting.


My plan is to mount the tank and compressor inside this cabinet. The oil less craftsman has been in there and fits fine


It's not air tight by any means and has vent holes. I can add more vents if I need to.


So my questions.

1.What did the bottom of the old craftsman tanks look like. We're there drain fittings underneath?

2.Do you guys think I should use the red tank with the setup of the 220 motor and compressor? If I do should I mount he motor and compressor separate from the red tank?

3. If I mount the motor and compressor off the tank, can I move the motor closer to the compressor and use a shorter belt? Or will that cause the compressor pulley to spin slower or faster?

 

[radrush]

I've been working on a similar model air compressor; although, mine is a bit older.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=314748&showall=1

 

[bagged89s10]

I've been working on a similar model air compressor; although, mine is a bit older.



http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=314748&showall=1

Yes I've seen your rebuild thread. Great job on it. Yours is a 1973 and mine is a 1976. Does yours have a petcock fitting underneath?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Man you STOLE that 2hp compressor for $20 ! YOU **** !!!

I have one that is just a couple of years older/newer and it works great. I am not sure about that weld on the bottom, but it looks like original paint on it so I would not worry. Mine has a drain valve at the end, past the wheels.

It you run it a lot, it will overheat in that cabinet.

Stick with the bigger tank. If you change the spacing on the motor-compressor you will have a problem finding a new belt.

 

[radrush]

Yes I've seen your rebuild thread. Great job on it. Yours is a 1973 and mine is a 1976. Does yours have a petcock fitting underneath?

Yes it had a petcock fitting on the bottom.

I removed the petcock fitting and replaced it with a much nicer extension and valve to remove the water from the tank.

By the way, I can see your gold tank has an identical petcock fitting about 4" lower down than that weird looking weld.

IMO that gold tank is unusable.

 

[radrush]

Here's my replacement petcock.

Thinking about putting a "moisture minder" on it as well.

 

[bagged89s10]

Man you STOLE that 2hp compressor for $20 ! YOU **** !!!



I have one that is just a couple of years older/newer and it works great. I am not sure about that weld on the bottom, but it looks like original paint on it so I would not worry. Mine has a drain valve at the end, past the wheels.



It you run it a lot, it will overheat in that cabinet.



Stick with the bigger tank. If you change the spacing on the motor-compressor you will have a problem finding a new belt.

Well you can see that the weld was spray painted and not original. Both tanks are 20 gallons. They red tank is made by devilbiss. I thought about the overheating but I can open up the cabinet if I'm running it continuously like using the die grinder. I'm not worried about finding the right belt. I can get belts at http://www.vbelts4less.com

 

[radrush]

Looks like someone either welded up a pin hole or the old fitting for a drain. I don't even know if these old compressors came with a petcock underneath. So it could be just a welded up fitting.

So my questions.

1.What did the bottom of the old craftsman tanks look like. We're there drain fittings underneath?

2.Do you guys think I should use the red tank with the setup of the 220 motor and compressor? If I do should I mount he motor and compressor separate from the red tank?

3. If I mount the motor and compressor off the tank, can I move the motor closer to the compressor and use a shorter belt? Or will that cause the compressor pulley to spin slower or faster?

The bottom of the old craftsman tanks had a drain fitting, a petcock, on the bottom. The picture of your gold tank shows a petcock fitting.

As far as using the red tank with the setup of the 220 motor and compressor, you would have to compare the specs on the red tank with the specs on the the gold tank and see if they are similar.

Should you mount he motor and compressor separate from the red tank? Since that weld on the bottom of the gold tank makes it unfit for service you could separate the motor mounting plate from the tank. Leave the electric motor and compressor motor in the same configuration on that plate and place it any where in the shop you like.

If you mount the motor and compressor off the tank, can you move the motor closer to the compressor and use a shorter belt? Not sure, but I would not do this; Campbell Hausfeld spent years calculating that motor separation.

 

[nine4gmc]

Be major careful with any used horizontal tank, they rust at the seams and since that one was welded up, personally I would not even use it. Did you see the thread where a horizontal tank exploded and blew the room up?

 

[bagged89s10]

Be major careful with any used horizontal tank, they rust at the seams and since that one was welded up, personally I would not even use it. Did you see the thread where a horizontal tank exploded and blew the room up?

That's exactly why I haven't just put it to use. I have read of many tank exploding stories. I guess my best bet is to use my red tank, cut off the top plate from the old tank, and mount the compressor/motor assembly separately from the tank. I want to keep my tank in the cabinet. Maybe I can make a wall bracket and mount the motor/compressor above the white cabinet so it's not limited on air flow.

 

[radrush]

That's exactly why I haven't just put it to use.

Did you decide what to do with the tank? Use it? Rebuild it?

 

[RESCUE-K9]

The distance between the pulley and motor won't change the speed as long as you don't change the pulley sizes

 

[G_P]

I'd pass on using the welded tank. Its probably fine and would last another 30 years if drained regularly, but since you have another tank that has not been repaired, play it safe and use that one.

Use this calculator to figure out what size belt you will need after you determine how far apart you want to space the motor and pump.

http://www.blocklayer.com/pulley-belteng.aspx

 

[bagged89s10]

Did you decide what to do with the tank? Use it? Rebuild it?

I'm going to ditch the old welded tank. I'm going to use the compressor and motor with my newer red tank.

 

[volaredon]

wish I could blow up the pic of the gold tank as it don't look too bad to me..
probably 5-6 years ago, I bought an Emglo gas powered wheelbarrow style twin tank compressor that had been sitting, unused in the original owner's garage for a couple years (he was a retired carpenter selling off his stuff so he could sell the house and move)
Got it home, got the engine running, and discovered the left tank to have pinholes in it... did try to fix them, but I'd fix one hole then 2 more would pop...
so I cut the motor/pump mount plate from the old tanks and took all the popoff valves and such from that old set of tanks. old set of tanks were 8 gallons combined.

I then went back to craigslist and found one like your red unit with a dead motor (surprise huh those were junk) and welded the pump mount plate to the top of the red tank. been using that unit for all this time since, now have 25 gallons of air storage.
I bought that Emglo for one side job, didn't expect it to have a junk set of tanks.
I didn't wind up using my compressor for that side job (painted a barn, wound up back to CL for an airless sprayer) but I have been using it as a backup to my 5hp/80 gallon upright unit when it bit the dust and while not as powerful as my upright, it has filled in better than expected. now that I have my upright almost back in service, I will probably hang onto this unit for those times I need air away from home, just wheel it into the bed of my Dakota and go... I have since replaced the 5hp Briggs that came with the unit, with another 5hp Briggs.