Old Sears air compressor question:

[54FordPanel]

I got an old Sears air compressor for free that I'm cleaning up to give to my SIL.

It has no air cleaner. (?) The reed valves are just sitting there, and it looks like there are no threads to attach a air cleaner. Was that how it was made? Didn't they just **** all kinds of **** past the reed valves and muck up the cylinders?

I haven't tried to run it yet, supposedly it runs. I was just curious if that air intake was normal?

 

[454ragtop]

Suspect it had a couple blocks of foam, with some sort of cover, probably plastic, that went to those 2 bosses on each side between the fins.

 

[54FordPanel]

I could probably rig something up. It looks like the head has been off a time or two, with some home made gaskets.

I know the guy never drained it, because it has no drain petcock......sigh.

 

[Citation]

Looks like a Campbell Hausfeld pump (also sold as Speedaire)
http://manuals.chudov.com/Speedaire-2Z499-2Z499C-Compressor.jpg

Here is a similar pump with the filter in place

 

[jakemac]

Stick some foam over the valves, then a piece of screen. There should be a V shaped holder that goes on top to keep them in place. It gets bolted in the middle.

 

[54FordPanel]

Yes, that's it Jake, that looks familiar from back in the day. I remember cleaning those fiber things out on my old compressor. Thanks.

Edit: just remembered, my old compressor was a Sanborn, and it had those fiber filters.

 

[Marinegrunt]

I have what looks to be the exact same one. It was left at the current house we recently bought. Atleast the pump looks the same. I'll post some pictures later. The tank has a leak. Someone tried to repair it by using a rivet with an o-ring on it. Didn't work because the tank was too rusted in a spot. I took a chip and hammer and punched a few holes in about a 2" area. It didn't have a filter either. Just a small piece of screen. It's a 1 hp but after doing some research i found a manual that listed like 5 model numbers. The biggest of those models had a 3 hp. I bet the 3hp has a bigger pulley for my cfm's while using the same pump. That's just a guess tho. Mine has the cfm's listed on the side but can't remember what they were. I'll include that in the pictures too. I'm still contemplating on whether to buy a new 12 gallon tank for it or getting rid of it. Might fix it and give it to my sister.

 

[Farmall450]

Cut two squares of scotch bright.

That's what I do on a similar one, only need one though.

 

[redmondjp]

Cut two squares of scotch bright.

That's what I do on a similar one, only need one though.

Yes, or you can do the same with a 3/8" to 1/2" thick piece of open-cell foam - you can buy a chunk disguised as a lawn mower air filter and cut it down to size.

 

[Marinegrunt]

Here are some pics of the one I have with a bad tank. It's a 1 hp 12 gallon.

 

[54FordPanel]

That's the one, MG. This one's a little bigger, 2hp and a 20 gallon tank.

This is after I pressure washed it good.

I'm tempted to take the head on and look at the cylinders and the condition of the reed valves and maybe clean it up. I don't know if the head 'gaskets' will stand up to being taken off. Maybe I'll just leave it alone, and it will last for him however long it lasts.

No wonder they rusted out, with no provision to drain the tank

 

[redmondjp]

No wonder they rusted out, with no provision to drain the tank

Are you sure about this? My grandfather had the gas-powered one and my dad still has the electric version like yours, and they both had a petcock on one end at the bottom of the tank. Not that anybody bothered to ever drain it.

 

[54FordPanel]

Are you sure about this? My grandfather had the gas-powered one and my dad still has the electric version like yours, and they both had a petcock on one end at the bottom of the tank. Not that anybody bothered to ever drain it.

You're right. I should have said, this one doesn't have a petcock, but it does has a square plug at the bottom. If they came with a petcock or a square plug, I don't know. I doubt the original owner changed out the petcock for a square plug, but I don't know.

I'm gonna go open the plug now and see what comes out. I think I can hear water sloshing around in there.

 

[54FordPanel]

Yea, at least a quart or two of black **** with chunks in it. I had to keep sticking a coat hanger in the hole to keep the flow going. Jeez......

It was still trailing goo when I rolled it over a ways.

I tried to get the big plug off, but even with a 4' cheater bar and my wife sitting on the compressor, it wouldn't budge.

I can't believe somebody used this thing since the 1970s and didn't think it needed a petcock.

LOL, this might be hopeless. No filter on the intake, tank never drained......

 

[American Locomotive]

I have an old Speedaire with the single-cylinder version of that pump. It had the same exact missing filter setup with the visible valves. Mine still had the little metal tab to hold a filter in place however.

I got a little foam "pre-filter" for a lawnmower, cut it into a rectangle and put it over the valves. Seems to work good.

I took the pump apart, and the cylinder still looked good despite having been sucking unfiltered air for who knows how long.

 

[Farmall450]

I doubt it is hopeless. Might have to try it out first before saying that, lol

 

[redmondjp]

What I did on this unit that my dad now has - I piped the drain out just to beyond the end of the tank with a small ball valve at the end.

I also installed a ball valve shutoff on the end of the tank where the air output is. His unit will hold pressure for a year (I get over to the house where the compressor is about once or twice a year - it's a vacation home). He has a tire chuck and a blow gun for it. We use it for airing up tires and blowing off the lawn mower, vacuum cleaner filter, etc.

 

[bulwnkle]

Here's the one I picked up a few weeks ago. It isn't as new as the others posted on here but I do like it 100x quieter than my current shop compressor and once I get it up and running it should be more than ample for all but my impact and air chisel. The motor is a little weak and now that I see what the hold down for the filter looks like I'll just make one.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Jp267]

I had a similar one a little newer. The Frost King window air conditioner filters cut to size worked in mine.

 

[knotsofast]

I have the same problem. I sent for the filters but unable to find the retainer. I'm going to try loosening the bolt next to the filters and cut a wire coat hanger and loop it around the bolt. I'm thinking that would provide enough spring tension to keep the filters in place.

 

[jakemac]

For those of you looking for OEM filters, here's a link :
http://www.ereplacementparts.com/filter-p-963874.html

 

[dkroth]

Wonka wonka wonka.






.

 

[JohnDeere1]

I'm in the same boat and just painted the pump motor and it got in there but works perfect I need to find something my is different than yours as it's on Thu side and it's like a big rectangle.

 

[yamahauler99]

Looks like Im late to the party here, I am wanting to find out if you guys have had any luck finding replacement parts for the compressor listed in this thread?

I have one that came from a small town service station that was made back in 1979 I believe

 

[Citation]

Looks like Im late to the party here, I am wanting to find out if you guys have had any luck finding replacement parts for the compressor listed in this thread?

I have one that came from a small town service station that was made back in 1979 I believe

That's very similar to one my father was offering to me. The pump is likely a Campbell Hausfeld unit. If so the whole head can be swapped if you can't find parts for that one. You might look at the Speedair catalog. The compressor my father had didn't have the original pump. The replacement was a Speedair/CH that was rated for around 8CFM. The motor could drive more and I was tempted to look at upgrading it to a Harbor Freight "3hp" pump since my father thought the old one was going bad. I'm not sure if the old pump was bad but it wasn't quiet. However, for the time I've passed on this compressor. I don't have the space, my garage currently doesn't have the needed wiring (my planned upgrade will just be two properly wired 20 amp 120V circuits vs 1 questionable circuit) and there is rust on the bottom of the tank so I don't really know the condition of the near 40 year old tank.

 

[fatheroftwo]

rehash of this old thread, I also have one of these in a 1HP model, the motor was stolen and I want to get a replacement. Do any of you fine folks have the specs or numbers off of the 1HP motor? The pulley also seems to be missing. Thank you in advance.

 

[The_Geologist]

rehash of this old thread, I also have one of these in a 1HP model, the motor was stolen and I want to get a replacement. Do any of you fine folks have the specs or numbers off of the 1HP motor? The pulley also seems to be missing. Thank you in advance.

I have one of these...and it has to be at least from the 70's, so it might be older than you are looking for.

Please see the attached pic that I took of the motor's label...hopefully it is clear enough to read once you open the attachment.

 

[fatheroftwo]

It is the right color! lol Is the pulley still on it? Do you have an image of the whole unit or is the motor all you have? Would you want to sell it? (motor/ pulley) Thank you for the reply. F O T

 

[Packard V8]

The tank has a leak. Someone tried to repair it by using a rivet with an o-ring on it. Didn't work because the tank was too rusted in a spot. I took a chip and hammer and punched a few holes in about a 2" area.

For true. Sears must have specified the cheapest tank possible. I've seen more tanks rust through on these than any other. Of course, Sears sold so many, there are more of them out there than any other.

jack vines

 

[fatheroftwo]

Mine was well cared for, lucky for me.

 

[pmhinatl]

My uncle gave me his old 3hp version of this unit. Apparently one piston had seized in its cylinder, causing the rod to shatter. The crank journals are scored badly (one worse than the other). I was considering taking it to have it welded and ground, but I can’t justify spending a ton of cash on a questionable restoration.

All that said, I have all of the parts broken down I’m thinking about parting it out. Can’t decide if there’s a market for the stuff tho. I hate to take what was a decent US made unit to the metal recycling, but that might be the most responsible thing to do at this point.

 

[The_Geologist]

It is the right color! lol Is the pulley still on it? Do you have an image of the whole unit or is the motor all you have? Would you want to sell it? (motor/ pulley) Thank you for the reply. F O T

Actually, this is the main compressor that I currently use. As such, I am not interested in selling it.

Do you need a pic of the pulley on it? I can pull the guard off mine and snap a pic if so desired.

I might even have some parts diagrams on my computer if you were interested. I obtained them directly from Grainger, I believe.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The pulley is odd. It uses a flat ribbed belt.

Mine is slightly newer (bought in the late 70s). 2hp 20 gallon. Runs good. It did a couple of big jobs in the past year or two. Chipping ceramic tile and mastic off of concrete *ran for about 8 hours continuous). Sand blasting. I had to be paralleled with another compressor as neither had the SCFM to run the blaster. Multiple 8 hour days.

 

[The Cobbler]

The pulley is odd. It uses a flat ribbed belt.

they are 5j or 6j pulleys just forget

 

[The Cobbler]

here is a motor & pulley for sale . not sure if it's what you need https://www.ebay.com/itm/SEARS-PAIN...rentrq:bd3a31771690a68d5671f05cfffb262c|iid:1

 

[fatheroftwo]

That is very close "the cooper", No flat pulley and not 1HP though..

My apologies "the geologist"

Still looking. Thank you, your help is appreciated.

 

[DARK AGE 53]

I have a friend who has the same compressor as the OP, he'd like to know if 120 PSI is too high before the compressor shut off.....if so anyone know how to adjust the switch? Thanks

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have a friend who has the same compressor as the OP, he'd like to know if 120 PSI is too high before the compressor shut off.....if so anyone know how to adjust the switch? Thanks

The "standard" pressure was set to a maximum of 100 PSI. If you are running it on a 15A circuit, you will likely trip the breaker if you try to adjust it to a higher pressure.

 

[metlmunchr]

I bought the 3 hp version of this compressor in 77 or 78. The pump pulley came loose about a month ago and destroyed the end of the crankshaft. Didn't worry too much about it though as it had been taking longer and longer to build pressure over the last year or so.

There are some parts available for these pumps, but they're priced like gold. I wanted to fix the compressor though, as the tank, motor, etc is good and I still use it regularly even though I've got a 5 hp 80 gal Quincy in my detached garage. No interest in rebuilding the old pump as that would've cost 4x what the compressor is worth.

So, I bought the 3 hp HF pump. It has a larger pulley than the Sears pump, and is made for an A section belt rather than the original poly v. It's designed to run at 1050 RPM, so, with a 3450 motor, the motor pulley needs to be 3.75" diameter. Tractor supply has a 4" pulley that will take either an A or a B section belt. With the A belt obviously sitting lower in the groove, the pulley is effectively 3 5/8 dia, or about as close as you'll get without going to an adjustable pitch sheave. The TS pulley has stamped steel sides and a machined steel hub so it will hold up far better than a die cast one.

You do have to drill new mounting holes in the plate to mount the HF pump, but positioning the pump so that it will align with the motor shaft without relocating the motor is easy enough.

So far, I'm impressed with the HF pump. It has a decent air filter and is much quieter than the original. I've got it set to cycle between 95 and 125 psi, and it will consistently refill the 20 gal tank and shut off in 25 seconds. When you do the calculation for CFM, it's doing about 12.5 CFM at an average pressure of 105 psi, which is significantly better than HF's claimed performance. I changed the oil after about an hour of runtime, and saw no evidence of leftover trash from the casting or machining operations.

You do have to bend up a new discharge line from the pump to the tank connection, but the HF pump is set up to use 1/2" OD copper tube, same as the Sears pump.

Cost was $140 for the pump (no 20% coupons on the pump), $20 for the motor pulley, $15 for the v belt, and maybe $10 max for miscellaneous fittings, fasteners, etc. I might be able to modify and use the original belt guard, or else fab up a new one, but I'll take care of that once a couple more pressing projects are out of the way.

 

[DARK AGE 53]

The "standard" pressure was set to a maximum of 100 PSI. If you are running it on a 15A circuit, you will likely trip the breaker if you try to adjust it to a higher pressure.

I did a poor job of explaining myself, my friends compressor shuts off at 120 PSI. He thinks it should shut off at 100 PSI like you said, he'd like to know how to lower it to 100 PSI. Thanks for the reply.