Duty Cycle on air compressors?

[glassie]

I've got a 60 gallon single stage Dewalt air compressor. I am using it to power my siphon system sandblaster, which I need to operate at about 90 psi. How long can I run the air compressor for continually, and how long do I need to let it cool down before using it again.
My 2 primary concerns are:
1) long term care of my air compressor, I don't want to wear out the motor, pumps etc early
2) maintaining a steady 90psi pressure while I'm sandblasting for as long of periods as possible (30mins at a time prefferably).
Thanks!
Katherine

 

[930dreamer]

30 minutes non-stop might not be to hard on the compressor, performance of the blasting might fall off during that time frame. A compressor is made to work, giving it some time to cool off or place a fan in front of it won' hurt.

 

[PT Doc]

I believe a Quincy qt5 80 gallon 2stge 5 hp is rated at ontinuous duty. This is 6 on/off cycles in 1hour.

Hopefully someone can confirm if I am accurate recollecting the details.

 

[Elvenhome21]

Here are the biggest things to get long term life. Change the compressor oil occasionally. Put a box fan or something to blow at the head for extra cooling. And run a air dryer if possible.

Condensation is going to be your biggest killer, especially for sandblasting. I run a condenser right after the pump before the air goes into the tank to eliminate the water issue. Even with the cooler i still get a couple spoon fulls after a cycle. Then run a desiccant filter in the air line at the blaster to keep the sand as dry as possible.

 

[imtrublue]

Cycling the motor off and on more than 6 times an hour is what will shorten the life of your compressor (motor). If you want to run a longer session, and you don't have a compressor with a pilot valve and head unloaders, you can open the drain valve slightly to let some air escape and help keep the PSI below the pressure switch unloading value. This will keep your pump/motor engaged, running continually.