Quincey Air Compressor Keeps Tripping!

[Musicinabottle]

So let me lay the ground work here. I'm working in a shop where they have a large Quincey air compressor. It's large. It's on a 100 amp breaker, possibly shared with other machinery, but I don't believe it is, and the owner says it's a stand alone. It literally is 6 feet away from the panel, on what appears to be 10 guage wire. This compressor is single phase and draws 32 amps. The breaker doesn't trip but the breaker on the compressor itself does at each charge up. So to be clear, you have to push the button each time to get it to charge. This has been going on dozens of times a day for over a year now. Specifics as to the model and Hp rating are unknown by me, but it looks to be about a 60 to 80 gallon compressor with a huge motor. I looked to see if the HP rating was present, but no info. Just the amps. I believe the compressor cuts out before charging completely, because it needs to be reset every single time, in other words it NEVER starts on its own and the compressor was bought new and looks new. It's an owner applied wire up. Any ideas?

Side note here.... It appears that over the weekends they cut off the breaker. It does fire up after being drained for the weekend, but often the ret on the compressor needs to still be pushed in.

 

[driz]

Just a thought on a cheap try. Make sure all the wiring is tight / clean at the visible connections. Is it really getting 220? Check to see if both power wires are hot all the way to the switch. Try changing the breaker. They’re cheap and flipping them on and off constantly can wear them out, also you just might have a bad one. Buy one at HD /Lowe’s and return it if that’s not the answer.
Is the unloader working? Does it make a hiss and take the pressure off the motor when the motor stops? If it doesn’t that’s probably your source of trouble. You’ll hear the motor struggling when it tries to turn on because it’s fighting against all that air pressure in the cylinder. Those are cheap and easy to change to Iget the parts right off eBay or Amazon. They fail frequently and are always suspect!
Beyond that you could hopefully easily pull the electric motor off the unit and take it to your local mom-and-pop electric motor repair shop. Of course that’s if any still exist in your area. But they can throw it on the bench and tell you in a couple minutes if the motors OK if the starting capacitor’s are working and all that good stuff that no one ever seems to have to contend with anymore. But you still could have one with something defective inside or even a wire unhooked, making poor contact, shorting randomly. Starting capacitors are always suspect when motors start having start problem and they’re cheap and easily changed. A minute on the electronics bench will give you all information you need to know. At least around here they don’t charge much if anything and could check a motor for the basics and it’s a walk-in deal in and out in five minutes.
If it comes to it and you can’t get the warranty to work for you that electric motor shop is probably going to be your cheapest place to buy a replacement motor if it comes to it. It’s been my experience I could get my hands on a Dayton for less than 2/3 of the price of one made well you know where like everything else comes from.

I’m betting it’s the hookup wiring, ( low voltage), or unloader pressure switch (. No hiss and struggling startup) so check those first. Good luck...

 

[sberry]

If this is being reset daily and by some description of this you need to get someone that knows wtf they are doing to take a look. If this is a place of employment the owner needs a shove.

 

[pcmeiners]

Agree with Sberry, this could be caused by a couple dozen reasons, without being there posters could spend hours guessing what the problem is, whereas someone with a VOM could do the same in 10 minutes.

 

[fatfillup]

Yes, amps and voltage need to be checked.

If its an overload attached to the contactor, some are adjustable and you can set it for higher amps provided you watched an ampmeter while the compressor is getting up to pressure.

Have to agree with the first response and check the connections, that is simple and quick.

 

[PCustoms]

Sounds like the unloader valve is not working, and the pump is essentially bound up everytime it tries to start.

Or more likely the pressure cutoff is set to high, overloading the motor before it shuts itself off properly. Reset the motor, and it runs until it tris again.

 

[redmondjp]

Sounds like the unloader valve is not working, and the pump is essentially bound up everytime it tries to start.

Or more likely the pressure cutoff is set to high, overloading the motor before it shuts itself off properly. Reset the motor, and it runs until it tris again.

And the running current being drawn by the motor should also be checked - it won't be a constant number, with the highest running amperage being right before the pressure switch cuts out.

 

[monkeyspanners]

Worth checking the capacitors, if they are out of spec the motor will draw more current.

 

[dnschmidt]

What the hell are you doing using a 100 Amp breaker with 10 gauge wire which is rated by the National Electrical Code for 30 Amps.

If your boss is this stupid you need another job.