Help ID Old Champion Compressor

[Nez02]

I found this Champion compressor today locally and left a small deposit to hold it. The compressor ran a DA sander, die grinder, and ratchet great. Cycled fine and ran quiet and smooth. The only issue is the flywheel seems to be bent, installed on the shaft crooked, or the shaft itself is bent. He stated it has been this way since he bought it and hasn't had an issue.

From what i can tell the pump is a R15 with a GE continuous rated motor with a magnetic starter. The previous owner removed the inspection plugs, pressure washed the tank, then sprayed the inside with Rustolem rust stop. I couldn't see any oil leaks from the pump.

Anything I should look out for when i go to pick it up?

Pics and video to follow.

 

[Nez02]

 

[md21722]

The pump is either a R10 or R15. We would need bore measurements or at least a ruler from the block to the top of the fins to identify it one way or another. The motor is a 3HP which is a configuration Champion no longer sells with a R15 pump. The air filter looks wonky, but is present. Champion has long painted everything green so this is a replacement pump. The Tri-Clad motor should last forever as they are some of the best ever made. The wiring looks questionable. I wouldn't pay more than $500 delivered.

 

[930dreamer]

Are you sure its not a Kellogg American pump? maybe not.

 

[md21722]

Are you sure its not a Kellogg American pump? maybe not.

It's definitely a Champion R10/R15.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Wow that flywheel is wonky! If the shaft isn't bent maybe you can shim the flywheel straight?

 

[Lelandwelds]

Isn't it cool how old iron just keeps on working? Looks pretty low rpm. Cast iron does not bend. It breaks. It would take a lot to bend an 1.125 inch medium carbon steel shaft that is only 4 inches long.

I bought one once like that. It was missing the keystock. It was hard to get off but an easy fix. The "bent shaft" and extension cord wiring should be good negotiating points. The tank condition is the big scary question mark.

 

[Nez02]

The pump is either a R10 or R15. We would need bore measurements or at least a ruler from the block to the top of the fins to identify it one way or another. The motor is a 3HP which is a configuration Champion no longer sells with a R15 pump. The air filter looks wonky, but is present. Champion has long painted everything green so this is a replacement pump. The Tri-Clad motor should last forever as they are some of the best ever made. The wiring looks questionable. I wouldn't pay more than $500 delivered.

Thanks for the great info. It’s good to hear the motor is a good design. We settled on 250 which i though was very fair. I can tell the pump and tank have been painted as there were some chips and it was green underneath. We’re heading to get it in the morning. I’ll take more measurements when I get it home.

 

[Nez02]

Isn't it cool how old iron just keeps on working? Looks pretty low rpm. Cast iron does not bend. It breaks. It would take a lot to bend an 1.125 inch medium carbon steel shaft that is only 4 inches long.

I bought one once like that. It was missing the keystock. It was hard to get off but an easy fix. The "bent shaft" and extension cord wiring should be good negotiating points. The tank condition is the big scary question mark.

That’s a great point. I’m hoping is just a keystock. Two of my best friends are electricians so we’ll get the electrical cord wiring taken care of.

The tank condition does worry me since it’s so old.

 

[Packard V8]

The tank condition does worry me since it’s so old.

Old? It's newer than most of the compressors we've used over the years.

jack vines

 

[md21722]

Thanks for the great info. It’s good to hear the motor is a good design. We settled on 250 which i though was very fair. I can tell the pump and tank have been painted as there were some chips and it was green underneath. We’re heading to get it in the morning. I’ll take more measurements when I get it home.

$250 is a fair price. Looking again at the pictures on my desktop device, it looks like it may very well be a R15 which means you can adapt it to 5 or even 7.5 HP if you wanted. 5 HP is the sweet spot for R15 pumps. Champion stopped selling the R15's in 3 HP because they found they were running into the service factor of the motor. Probably a non-issue for that Tri-Clad as they are built like tanks.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Thanks for the great info. It’s good to hear the motor is a good design. We settled on 250 which i though was very fair. I can tell the pump and tank have been painted as there were some chips and it was green underneath. We’re heading to get it in the morning. I’ll take more measurements when I get it home.

Green underneath may mean it is mostly stock. That is great news.

That’s a great point. I’m hoping is just a keystock. Two of my best friends are electricians so we’ll get the electrical cord wiring taken care of.

The tank condition does worry me since it’s so old.

Old? It's newer than most of the compressors we've used over the years.

jack vines

If a flat screwdriver operated with one hand will not penetrate under hard tapping, you're probably ok. Pinholes equals ticking time bomb. Most of the old tanks are triple the thickness of new tanks. Don't forget "industrial" means world class.

It does not need to stay in the format you purchased. The pump and motor are the key components.

 

[finn]

I picked up one like that a couple of years ago, except with a good flywheel and a recently rebuilt pump.

I initially planned on getting a 5hp motor and appropriately sized pulley (the higher power motors spin the pump a little faster via a pulley change), but the old 3hp motor keeps chugging along, so I doubt that I’ll ever upgrade it. It’s nice and quiet with the cast iron pump and low speed.

I paid about the same price, something like $267.

There should be a date on the tank certification tag.

 

[Nez02]

I picked up one like that a couple of years ago, except with a good flywheel and a recently rebuilt pump.

I initially planned on getting a 5hp motor and appropriately sized pulley (the higher power motors spin the pump a little faster via a pulley change), but the old 3hp motor keeps chugging along, so I doubt that I’ll ever upgrade it. It’s nice and quiet with the cast iron pump and low speed.

I paid about the same price, something like $267.

There should be a date on the tank certification tag.

Just realized I had a pic of the tank cert.

 

[EOC_Jason]

1967... a 50 year old tank.... Hmmm....

I guess I can't talk, I was using a 20 gallon horizontal on my quincy that was from the 70's up until last year it developed a pin hole leak...

 

[Nez02]

$250 is a fair price. Looking again at the pictures on my desktop device, it looks like it may very well be a R15 which means you can adapt it to 5 or even 7.5 HP if you wanted. 5 HP is the sweet spot for R15 pumps. Champion stopped selling the R15's in 3 HP because they found they were running into the service factor of the motor. Probably a non-issue for that Tri-Clad as they are built like tanks.

We got the compressor home. Where should I measure to determine if it’s a r10 or r15

 

[md21722]

We got the compressor home. Where should I measure to determine if it’s a r10 or r15

With a 3 HP motor, it should be a R15 turning around 440 RPM.

I double checked my manuals and apparently the only real difference between the R10/R15 is in the rods. I thought the cylinder body was shorter because of the shorter stroke but they are using the same cylinder body. My manuals do not show the R10 running any more than 2 HP (had thought it was 3 HP). With a 1750 RPM motor, the sheave should be 4.3" at 175 PSI or 4.75" at 125 PSI for 440 or 490 RPM. If you wanted to verify the pump, you'd need to remove one of the valves and see if the stroke is 2" or 3". Doing that will cost you a couple of bucks for the gaskets you should change.

Delivered CFM should be about 9.7-10.9.

If you time how long it takes to go from zero to shut off and let us know the shut off pressure, we can calculate the delivered CFM.

CFM = (Tank size in gallons) * (Pressure Shutoff) * 60
-----------------------------------------------------
(11.7)(14.7)(time in seconds)

This formula works at sea level. If you are in higher elevations then an altitude adjustment is required.

It's nice to hear that pump turn <500 RPM.

Good score!

 

[Nez02]

With a 3 HP motor, it should be a R15 turning around 440 RPM.

I double checked my manuals and apparently the only real difference between the R10/R15 is in the rods. I thought the cylinder body was shorter because of the shorter stroke but they are using the same cylinder body. My manuals do not show the R10 running any more than 2 HP (had thought it was 3 HP). With a 1750 RPM motor, the sheave should be 4.3" at 175 PSI or 4.75" at 125 PSI for 440 or 490 RPM. If you wanted to verify the pump, you'd need to remove one of the valves and see if the stroke is 2" or 3". Doing that will cost you a couple of bucks for the gaskets you should change. I wouldn't bother.

It's nice to hear that pump turn <500 RPM.

Good score!

Thanks for all the info. I’ll replace the filter with a solberg set up and get the wiring cleaned up. Any maintaince I should perform on the compressor other than oil?

 

[Nez02]

With a 3 HP motor, it should be a R15 turning around 440 RPM.

I double checked my manuals and apparently the only real difference between the R10/R15 is in the rods. I thought the cylinder body was shorter because of the shorter stroke but they are using the same cylinder body. My manuals do not show the R10 running any more than 2 HP (had thought it was 3 HP). With a 1750 RPM motor, the sheave should be 4.3" at 175 PSI or 4.75" at 125 PSI for 440 or 490 RPM. If you wanted to verify the pump, you'd need to remove one of the valves and see if the stroke is 2" or 3". Doing that will cost you a couple of bucks for the gaskets you should change.

Delivered CFM should be about 9.7-10.9.

If you time how long it takes to go from zero to shut off and let us know the shut off pressure, we can calculate the delivered CFM.

CFM = (Tank size in gallons) * (Pressure Shutoff) * 60
-----------------------------------------------------
(11.7)(14.7)(time in seconds)

This formula works at sea level. If you are in higher elevations then an altitude adjustment is required.

It's nice to hear that pump turn <500 RPM.

Good score!

Compressor is installed and wired. I removed the flywheel and used a dial indicator on the shaft. It is bent about 60 thousandths. Must have taken a hard fall in the past. I placed the flywheel on a truing stand and it was perfect.

I did the math and the compressor is putting out 9.8 CFM. Not to shabby for a 67.

The wiring has been updated, Sanborn filter installed, but I cant for the life of me find the correct cover for the magnetic starter. I've decided to 3d print one.

Thanks again for all of the help. If anyone has a nice straight R15 crank laying around I would be interested.