Old champion compressor

[dieselman966]

I called the customer service number and they had me talk to a guy named Jessie. What are the number on your pump? It might be a model that they sent me information for already. I'm pretty sure the model pump will be on the flywheel side some where.

 

[AJ1978]

Do you feel this is slow to come up to fill still? I believe this was your concern or did I misread

 

[dieselman966]

Yeah it seems really slow. It took 33 minutes to build up to 150 psi from 0. I'm gonna time it from 0 to 100 psi and see how long that takes.

MD the pump it self doesn't get very hot but the discharge tube coming off of the head does. I checked the temp with a temp gun and the last 5 minutes the discharge line was running about 280*. The head/cylinder was about 110* I know there are better option out there but I figured I could replace my craftsman 2hp 33 gallon compressor with this. All I want to do is run my impact and die grinder with it. My craftsman can't keep up with the die grinder but I can get about 3 minutes of continuous use out of it before I have to let it catch up. Oh and the whole unit is cast iron. Head and all.

Aj I think it pump slow still but I am comparing it to my craftsman that has half the size tank on it. I'll post how long it takes to get to 100 psi tonight. Where would the check valve be on something like this? I don't really see anything that looks like it might be one.

 

[md21722]

I am pretty sure there is a check valve. Some don't have them but even the old Champions I've seen do have them. In your case if the check valve was leaking it would likely be leaking out the front centrifugal unloader. I have seen that on some Champions. You would hear this when it shutoff but since the tank holds pressure I didn't raise that problem.

Die grinders usually require true 5-7.5 HP horse for continuous use. If you can get enough tank to suit your needs, that is another option, and just let the compressor catch up when you are done. I have 10 HP / 240 gallon and that is a happy medium for me. I could use more air as my angle grinders keep the compressors running non-stop when grinding, but at the same time I just put on ear protection and rather than let them cycle on/off all the time they just run, which is better for the motors. Single phase motors have more moving/wear parts than 3 phase....

 

[dieselman966]

I'm guessing one of these must be the check valve. It hold pressure other than the pin hole leak on the bottom and that is very little if any. It definitely leaks more once past 120 psi.

MD the build up time from 0 to 100 psi too 17 minutes 23 seconds. That's not gonna work to well. The second picture is the compressor I'm trying to replace. It works ok for what I use it for. Impacts work pretty good and like I said earlier I can run a die grinder for about 3 minutes before it doesn't have enough air to make it worth running anymore and I have to let the compressor catch up. I was gonna buy a sanborn around Christmas that claimed 11 cfm at 40 psi and had a 60 gallon tank. It was on sale for $360. I'll probably just keep an eye on Craigslist for on of these old champions to pop up again. One the re10 would be nice. It's funny the I'd plate on my craftsman motor doesn't give a hp number.

Would hooking these two pumps up to one tank make much of a difference? The craftsman just needs a new reed valve $60. Maybe that would hold me over till I can find something else suitable.

 

[redmondjp]

I'm guessing one of these must be the check valve.

Yes, the round-bodied part with the hex cap, on the left in the picture, is the check valve. It might be worth opening it up to see how clean the valve seat is. You can also replace it with a new one if need be.

 

[md21722]

Based on those numbers you are getting about 3 CFM. I understand why that's not great for you. You can connect in series your C-man pump. Just watch out for the duty cycle. The Champion is probably rated at a 80% duty cycle which means 48 minutes run time in a 60 minute timeframe. The C-man might only be 50% which is 30 minutes out of an hour.

 

[dieselman966]

Well be took apart the check valve. it was pretty clean but now when it shuts off I have air leaking out the intake. I must have put the valve back together wrong. Is there supposed to be air coming through the unloader the whole time the pump is running? Or does this have something to do with the check valve now?

 

[redmondjp]

Well be took apart the check valve. it was pretty clean but now when it shuts off I have air leaking out the intake. I must have put the valve back together wrong. Is there supposed to be air coming through the unloader the whole time the pump is running? Or does this have something to do with the check valve now?

Many older compressors used a tiny air leak in the line between the compressor output and the check valve as the unloader - during operation, the amount of air that comes out is negligible. So if yours has this feature, then it is normal.

Can you post a picture of exactly where the air is coming from?

 

[dieselman966]

There is a grease fitting on the bottom of the unloader cover that has no ball on the end of the tip so it can vent. It does not vent there though. It gets returned to the intake from the line that goes there from the unloader. I took this line off while the coppressor was running and there is air coming through it the whole time. The arrow is the vent from the unloader and I circled the line that the compressor bleeds through after shut down and while running.

Does anyone have any experience with the 60 gallon sanborn compressor from Menards? Claim 11.5 cfm @ 90 psi. My wife is ok with me spending $500 on a new compressor. I'd still like to find an old comerical unit to run but I think the wife just wants me to get something that I don't have to tinker with lol.

 

[redmondjp]

The Menard's compressor would be a good one to get you started and will meet your needs unless you are trying to use a high-flow continuous-use air tool for more than 5-10 minutes at a time. Bang-for-the-buck wise, it's a great value, when compared to what people are asking for the equivalent compressor that is 20 years old on CL.