My new/old compressor project...

[Rickenbackerman]

Not sure if anyone has done anything like this before, but I'll share...

Anybody who has or had an oilless compressor will tell you how loud they are. My vertical 30 gallon craftsman gives me a headache in about ten seconds flat.

I picked up this speedaire off of craigslist last night for $100. Works fine, but the tank has been welded near the drain and is leaky.

I believe the pump is actually a champion pump, no longer available but I think I might be able to still get parts through grainger. It's a big old three-lung single stage, 9.9cfm at 120 psi.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/CHAMPION-Single-Stage-Compressor-Pump-3Z170

The motor is a 2hp Dayton spinning at 3450rpm. The pump data shows it needs a 2 or 3hp motor spinning at either 580 or 850rpm, but the cfm data just says 9.9 for both - not quite sure how that's possible? I will check the pump RPM with this motor and these pulleys to make sure it's not spinning too slow or too fast.

I've already pulled the **** off of the craftsman tank, and I'm going to mount this pump, motor, and pressure switch to it. So for 100 clams, I get more cfm and QUIET, and hopefully rebuildable if it breaks down.

 

[kams1973]

That is definately a practical and rewarding project to undertake. I ordered parts for a pump similar to that one (only two cylinders) a couple years ago through champion. Make sure to post pics of the final assembly.

 

[reinhardt]

I am in process of building a franken-pressor myself. I've got a Quincy 325 for $100 (18 cfm at 175 psi) in need of a rebuild, rebuild kit for $150. a 60 gallon horizontal tank for $40 (came as a complete running kellogg 320a, but i only need the tank). a free 4hp motor from a co worker. reuse pressure switch from 320a, and maybe $20 for miscellaneous piping. puts me around $300 for 18 cfm at 175 psi. in my book, definitely worth it to assemble your own.

ben

 

[sbin]

Building a compressor from parts that were traded for or free.A Quincy 216, 3 hp 220v 1ph industrial motor and an 80 vertical tank.Jusy need a good contactor and two belts.
Wish I could find a Quincy 325 that is a nice compressor head!

 

[Rickenbackerman]

This is definitely no Quincy 325, but it seems to work great and makes more air than I'll need down in my one-car shop. I've also got a three-car garage and am working on getting that set up - I'll probably spring for a BIG compressor out there someday.

The only thing I'm nervous about is the welds on the small mount plate on top of the tank. I cut the speedaire plate off the old tank and bolted it on - just gotta keep an eye on the welds.

 

[Greatbear]

That's a great little pump. I built my own frankencompressor using a two cylinder version bought new over 25 years ago along with a 2HP motor and it's still going strong.

 

[Rickenbackerman]

Just for grins I pulled the cylinders off last night - except for some sludge built up on the tops of the pistons and the bottoms of the heads, the guts of the thing look almost new.

 

[Kev442]

Doing the same Frankenpressor conversion myself now, a 2 lunger onto a oilless tank. I need 3/8" flexible copper tubing.

Anybody: Will the copper advertised all over as refrigeration tubing have the right thickness to survive on a compressor?

 

[Kev442]

Mostly done. Turning lemons into lemonade is kinda fun. The tank on the old compressor pinholed and the 60 gallon tank is a typical dead oilless that someone thought would paint cars picked up for $50. Total invested is about $135. The old twin cylinder is a '76 and the tank is a '96. Fills to 120 psi in less than 10 minutes and the sticker on the old tank said my SCFM is 10.0. A few details to do and I left a coupling open to add another of these old compressors down the road and make a real workhouse for under $200.

 

[reinhardt]

i am definately one for turning junk into gold myself. but that doesn't mean it has to be ugly! you gotta get a tubing bender and 'dress' that copper tubing in better. other than that, looks good.

ben

 

[Rickenbackerman]

If it's refrigeration tubing (I assume it is), you can just bend it by hand, a little bit at a time.

What kinda pump is that?

 

[reinhardt]

i say tubing bender because it will give 'cleaner', tighter bends.

ben

 

[Rickenbackerman]

Troo dat.

 

[Kev442]

The tubing isn't going to get much prettier. The pressure relief line on the oilless had 2 90 degree bends from the factory, so it's starting to oval after the amount of straightening so far. The refrigeration tubing was left in that huge easy arc to aid in cooling, I'm also going to put a small clipon fan in the area too.
The compressor is Sears branded, I believe a CH design. They can be found all day long attached to rotten tanks for $30-50.

It's going to be interesting to hook another compressor up and have some pretty good CFM ratings down the road, while cutting the run time in half.

If the unit runs too hot, I will bite the bullet and upgrade the copper line and check valve to the compressors original 1/2". I used 3/8ths for now because the check valve in the 60 gallon tank was 3/8ths. Things are still in experimentation mode (means cheap).
It felt pretty good to fill it up, shut it off and fill a couple tires, blowgun the dirt out of the building and still have 60-70 psi in the tank.