rwhite692
Well-known member
I figured I would post a couple of photos of my latest "side project" which is keeping me distracted from other projects that I SHOULD be working on...you all probably know how that goes...
Anyway, In my new shop I plan to have an abrasive blast cabinet, and I know that my existing compressor (Which is a Craftsman Pro "6.5 HP" Oil-less 60 gallon upright) would not be able to keep up with the demand. It puts out around 10 CFM @90 PSI. It has been performing well, but I have never gotten used to the really loud and annoying racket it makes.
I remembered that at our plant (semiconductor fab) we have a back room filled to the rafters with all kinds of plant equipment. I got to talking with our facilities manager, and he remembered that they had a compressor pump with not much time on it which had been removed from service when one of the wafer fab areas was shut down. (That's a nice way of saying, wafer fabrication was outsourced, to China).
He scrounged around for a while, and came up with this:
It's a Curtis D96A, Two-Stage, 190 pounds of American-made, cast-iron goodness.
According to Curtis literature, it puts out 18.2 CFM at 175 PSI when run at a nice, slow 755 RPM, with a (True) 5HP motor. It has a centrifugal unloader, and is pressure-lubricated, as well.
I parked a beer in the pics for scale
A call to a friend of a friend, then netted me a really nice 120 gallon vertical tank, for $100:
The tank is a compressor tank, has cert plate, etc, but never has been used for that purpose; It's never had a pump mounted on it. It was used as a storage/surge tank.
I already have a near-new Dayton 5HP 1725 RPM 220V single phase motor that I will use to drive it. I need to find a mag starter, I'm not too keen on the full 32 Amp draw being switched by the pressure switch alone.
I will have to fabricate a belt guard for it...I have some expanded metal screening around...somewhere...
All I have done to the pump thusfar is to give it a bath with some gunk engine cleaner. I will definately change the oil.
I will post some more pics here as things move along and I start putting it all together! -Rob
Oh and my wife asked me, "So, what color are you going to paint this thing when it's all done?"
Any ideas?
Anyway, In my new shop I plan to have an abrasive blast cabinet, and I know that my existing compressor (Which is a Craftsman Pro "6.5 HP" Oil-less 60 gallon upright) would not be able to keep up with the demand. It puts out around 10 CFM @90 PSI. It has been performing well, but I have never gotten used to the really loud and annoying racket it makes.
I remembered that at our plant (semiconductor fab) we have a back room filled to the rafters with all kinds of plant equipment. I got to talking with our facilities manager, and he remembered that they had a compressor pump with not much time on it which had been removed from service when one of the wafer fab areas was shut down. (That's a nice way of saying, wafer fabrication was outsourced, to China).
He scrounged around for a while, and came up with this:
It's a Curtis D96A, Two-Stage, 190 pounds of American-made, cast-iron goodness.
According to Curtis literature, it puts out 18.2 CFM at 175 PSI when run at a nice, slow 755 RPM, with a (True) 5HP motor. It has a centrifugal unloader, and is pressure-lubricated, as well.
I parked a beer in the pics for scale
A call to a friend of a friend, then netted me a really nice 120 gallon vertical tank, for $100:
The tank is a compressor tank, has cert plate, etc, but never has been used for that purpose; It's never had a pump mounted on it. It was used as a storage/surge tank.
I already have a near-new Dayton 5HP 1725 RPM 220V single phase motor that I will use to drive it. I need to find a mag starter, I'm not too keen on the full 32 Amp draw being switched by the pressure switch alone.
I will have to fabricate a belt guard for it...I have some expanded metal screening around...somewhere...
All I have done to the pump thusfar is to give it a bath with some gunk engine cleaner. I will definately change the oil.
I will post some more pics here as things move along and I start putting it all together! -Rob
Oh and my wife asked me, "So, what color are you going to paint this thing when it's all done?"
Any ideas?
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