Quincy Compressor Quality Control (or Lack Thereof)

[gatewaysysop]

Figured I should pen a separate thread here regarding my recent Quincy Compressor purchase and the numerous problems that I had with them. Obviously this is just my experience and you measurements may vary, but I am no longer a fan, to put it mildly.

Where to begin? So back in April I ordered an 80-gallon, 5hp, 2-stage QT-54 for delivery in upstate NY. The first compressor arrived and it was the wrong model (60-gallon), determined by Quincy to be the result of human error on their part. Had to have this unit picked back up and await the arrival of a replacement unit, which arrived about a week later. Unfortunately the saga does not end there, but only gets worse.

The new 80-gallon unit has an obvious air leak, not being able to hold pressure. Given the size of the leak it was pretty easy to pinpoint, and was coming from the ball valve at the top right of the tank, shown below:

Here's a close up of the obvious leak at the threads, with the help of some soapy water. In addition to the leak, take note of the worn down flats on the the upper part of the valve, and the obvious scratch and grip marks from wrench usage. :

Since Quincy's employee in the service/warranty department (Erik) indicated it would not void the warranty, we removed the valve, thinking it just needed more teflon tape or such. Nope!

Take a look at the threads on the removed valve:

After cleanup, you can see how mangled it was :

And the inside of the bung. Little wonder that all the thread sealer oozed out from the get go and made that mess all over the outside:

After cleaning up what was left of the pipe debris, you can see a bit of what appears to be welding slag, on the first couple threads of the bung:

Seems pretty clear to me that some assembler at Quincy failed to notice the buggered threads and just forced the valve in, despite what must have been a ridiculous amount of resistance (hence the worn flats from reefing on it with a wrench), destroying the threads in the process and creating a leak.

The worst part is that this unit supposedly passed their QC process, see the green sticker in the shot below:

How did this possibly pass QA with an obvious leak, and why do the folks assembling these things see nothing wrong with what they did here? Do they not know enough to realize it's going to leak as a result, or do they just not care?

I sent all the above photos to Quincy, but I have to say that I am honestly disgusted at this point. Not only are they unable to ship the right compressor the first time around, but now after all that delay, we find the replacement compressor is also useless. The folks at Quincy asked if we could try cleaning up the threads with a tap or some such, but for more than a grand and a half retail, why on Earth should the customer have to leak hunt and do thread repair and valve replacement on their nickel?

I have sent emails to one of their operations managers (Brad Camp), but wanted to share here on the forum as well, since experience tells me I may not receive any reply from Quincy, even when one is promised.

For what it's worth, this forum is where I first heard of Quincy and their solid reputation for quality, so it is surreal to have to come on here and share this kind of experience. I bought this unit hoping for the best, but this experience has been a complete waste of time, energy and money, which I would not wish it on anyone else. If I had seen an account like this, I would have never spent this kind of money for their products, so I felt obligated to put my experience out there for anyone else that might be considering a purchase.

If anyone else has had similar issues, please chime in. I will also be updating this thread if/when I hear back from Quincy and if they make good on this issue.

Update: Quincy resolved the issues to my satisfaction, and then some. Please see updates in the later pages of this thread, in particular post #53, found here.

Update 2: Possibly having issues with compressor #3 now. See here.

Update 3: Issues with 3rd compressor resolved as faulty tank check valve, which was replaced. Details found here.

 

[Flyordie]

Quincy Compressor is no longer based in Quincy, IL. A private company bought them and moved production to a low quality factory in Georgia I think.

The Quincy, IL factory cycled these compressors before they left the factory. The new owners in an attempt to squeeze more profit out of the brand doesn't do QA.

If you can find an older Quincy, IL built unit, it will be grade A quality. I am sorry a private vulture capitalist firm ruined a good company. :-(

(I live 30 miles from the original factory in Quincy, IL.. Those compressors are all over around here..)

 

[Dagny]

I would expect that from a chineseium one. Seems things from there need to be remade before you use them. I don't know what I would want from them. couple hundred would probably make it right for me.

 

[Flyordie]

I'd ding em for at least $100. Cause your time is money and they cost you at least that much.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I'd ding em for at least $100. Cause your time is money and they cost you at least that much.

At least $100? For a $1700 unit?

The compressor is unusable with slag on the threads of the bung, a new valve would suffer the same fate. We are seeking complete replacement, which Quincy (who also got the photos) claims they are going to do.

Giving them a chance to make it right, updates to follow but probably not until early next week.

 

[bsaint]

Its a consumer level product. Quincy sells them to compete with black pump IR units and Campbell Hausfield units, etc. Its not the QR line. The quality sticker is probably on there from pre assembly inspection. Not to play down the amount of hard earned money you spent on it, the profit margin is little to nothing on these units they are practically a commodity. If you dropped rotary screw money, people move differently. I would've just ran a tap through it and moved on it. Warranty only pays a field tech $60/hr on a $25,000 compressor, how much do you think they will give you for a $1700 compressor?

 

[Flyordie]

At least $100? For a $1700 unit?

The compressor is unusable with slag on the threads of the bung, a new valve would suffer the same fate. We are seeking complete replacement, which Quincy (who also got the photos) claims they are going to do.

Giving them a chance to make it right, updates to follow but probably not until early next week.

Well, if thats what you want to do. Jeeze. That unit when it was made up here was only $1100 shipped to your door.

Tank was made locally and all that too though. Who made the tank on yours?

 

[bulletpruf]

Quincy Compressor is no longer based in Quincy, IL. A private company bought them and moved production to a low quality factory in Georgia I think.

The Quincy, IL factory cycled these compressors before they left the factory. The new owners in an attempt to squeeze more profit out of the brand doesn't do QA.

If you can find an older Quincy, IL built unit, it will be grade A quality. I am sorry a private vulture capitalist firm ruined a good company. :-(

(I live 30 miles from the original factory in Quincy, IL.. Those compressors are all over around here..)

That's interesting. I did a google search to find out more.

In 1980, they started manufacturing compressors in Bay Minette, Alabama. They started manufacturing in China in 2004.

I have a consumer quality 80 gallon two stage 5 hp compressor that I bought in 2011 or so. Pretty sure it was made in China. No issues so far.

 

[anndel]

Sorry for your heartache. That's a real pisser an American company with Made in USA clearly marked on the tank passing this kind of poor quality product at such a cost. I expected problems with my 30 gallon Husky that's assembled in the US with chinese parts but after 5 years, no issues.

 

[reader2580]

Well, if thats what you want to do. Jeeze. That unit when it was made up here was only $1100 shipped to your door.

How long ago was that? Compressor prices have gone through the roof in the past 15 years or so.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Sorry for your heartache. That's a real pisser an American company with Made in USA clearly marked on the tank passing this kind of poor quality product at such a cost. I expected problems with my 30 gallon Husky that's assembled in the US with chinese parts but after 5 years, no issues.

Thanks for the kind words.

And yes, this was a big disappointment. I really wanted to support domestic manufacturing if I could, and (correct me if I'm wrong here) I believe Quincy is one of, if not the last, 100% US-made compressor brand out there. I had really hoped to avoid exactly this kind of shenanigans by paying for a premium brand, as opposed to going cheap import junk. The irony of the situation is definitely not lost on me.

 

[anndel]

FYI, Quincy Compressor is owned by Atlas Copco, a Swedish industrial tools company who also owns Chicago Pneumatic.

 

[The Cobbler]

I would be happy to make a deal on that compressor, get some $$$ knocked off & run a tap thru ,replace the valve ... as long as they will still full warranty .
They might be willing to do that instead of all the shipping costs etc.
heck, probably they'd even get their service guy to do the work.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I would be happy to make a deal on that compressor, get some $$$ knocked off & run a tap thru ,replace the valve ... as long as they will still full warranty .
They might be willing to do that instead of all the shipping costs etc.
heck, probably they'd even get their service guy to do the work.

I get where you're coming from, but this was a birthday present for my retired father, who is nearly 70 years old. I don't expect the recipient of a brand new tool to have to send it back and then have to try and repair the replacement when that arrives.

Add to that, my old man is not confident that a tap would work. Believe me, he's the type that would try before bothering with replacement, and already would have had he a large enough tap on hand. Beyond that, he doesn't want to go out and buy a new valve, buy a large enough tap, spend time on it and then hope it all works out. He was also concerned about debris getting in the compressor more than it probably has already from assembly at Quincy. And yes, voiding the warranty is another concern we both had as well.

To their credit, as I said above, Quincy at this point, having seen the photos, would rather replace the unit. I think that's fair, considering the hassle we've already been through and with this already being the second compressor. Brad at Quincy was kind enough to take my call on a Saturday and really wants to make this right for us starting Monday morning, so I am giving him that opportunity.

 

[Tom Vermont]

I just went through this with Quincy two months ago. My 80-gallon 7.5 HP had an obvious leak from the large bung under the pressure switch. Obvious hiss the first time I pressurized it, no soap test necessary, I could feel the leak with my hand. No way any real QC inspector could have missed it.

I'll say this, though: Quincy went to General Quarters to make things right after I brought it to their attention. Their engineering department determined that the tank was not field repairable, shipped a replacement, and sent a rep to "field destroy" the leaking unit.

Of course it was still a red-*** to remove and reinstall a 750 pound compressor, but these things happen. The question that we can't answer on the inter-webs is "how often?" A thousand non-leaking units can be delivered with no online trace, but one or two failures get their own high-visibility thread. FWIW, the Quincy engineer told me their failure rate was very low, but who really knows?

I just built a well-equipped garage. I could start a list of all the things I bought, from reputable name-brand manufacturers, that were **** right out of the box, from ball valves that had pinhole leaks in the body that we found after installation, to fiberglass sinks with rough, unfinished exposed surfaces, to leaky compressors, and much more. QC isn't what it used to be in our brave new world of internet price transparency. No one pays extra for it after hitting the "compare" button.

If it's any consolation, my second Quincy compressor has been trouble free, and I'm proud to have it in my garage. You'll get to a good place, even if the journey ***** right now.

Cheers, Tom

 

[PCustoms]

FYI a 5hp motor cannot be plugged in (using that cord) you nwed to hardwire it.

 

[seber]

FYI a 5hp motor cannot be plugged in (using that cord) you nwed to hardwire it.

That's only about 20 amps. As long as the cord is rated for it there should be no problem. My welder runs far more than that and by nature they always run on plugs.

 

[6PTsocket]

Sorry for your heartache. That's a real pisser an American company with Made in USA clearly marked on the tank passing this kind of poor quality product at such a cost. I expected problems with my 30 gallon Husky that's assembled in the US with chinese parts but after 5 years, no issues.

A lot of lesser compressors have "Made in USA on the tank because the tank may be the only part that is made here. Even the 60 gal HF has an American tank.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[PCustoms]

That's only about 20 amps. As long as the cord is rated for it there should be no problem. My welder runs far more than that and by nature they always run on plugs.

The plug isn't rated for 5hp (none are), it can't be used.

 

[Handyandy23]

The plug isn't rated for 5hp (none are), it can't be used.

Aren't plug ends just rated for amps and not a HP rating? Why would the horsepower matter if it draws a specific amount of amps max?

 

[gatewaysysop]

The plug isn't rated for 5hp (none are), it can't be used.

That's only about 20 amps. As long as the cord is rated for it there should be no problem. My welder runs far more than that and by nature they always run on plugs.

Aren't plug ends just rated for amps and not a HP rating? Why would the horsepower matter if it draws a specific amount of amps max?

Pigtail is rated for something ridiculous like 50 amps. Draw is only something in the 20s. Quincy doesn't have a problem with the setup and they've seen it for themselves too, so I think fair to say the point is moot. In any case it's off topic so if possible, can we not further derail the thread? Thanks.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I just went through this with Quincy two months ago. My 80-gallon 7.5 HP had an obvious leak from the large bung under the pressure switch. Obvious hiss the first time I pressurized it, no soap test necessary, I could feel the leak with my hand. No way any real QC inspector could have missed it.

I was told unequivocally by Quincy themselves that they do not pressure test as part of QC/QA. Why is a question I cannot answer.

I'll say this, though: Quincy went to General Quarters to make things right after I brought it to their attention. Their engineering department determined that the tank was not field repairable, shipped a replacement, and sent a rep to "field destroy" the leaking unit.

Of course it was still a red-*** to remove and reinstall a 750 pound compressor, but these things happen. The question that we can't answer on the inter-webs is "how often?" A thousand non-leaking units can be delivered with no online trace, but one or two failures get their own high-visibility thread. FWIW, the Quincy engineer told me their failure rate was very low, but who really knows?

I was also told they are trying different QC approaches during assembly. I was quoted a fail rate of 10% under one of the former systems, and supposedly doing a tad better now. How this is measured and what constitutes failure in this context was not shared with me, so take that with the requisite grain of salt. At face value though, it seemed high to me, even if we're just talking issues on the line that get fixed and never seen by a customer before it ships.

I just built a well-equipped garage. I could start a list of all the things I bought, from reputable name-brand manufacturers, that were **** right out of the box, from ball valves that had pinhole leaks in the body that we found after installation, to fiberglass sinks with rough, unfinished exposed surfaces, to leaky compressors, and much more. QC isn't what it used to be in our brave new world of internet price transparency. No one pays extra for it after hitting the "compare" button.

If it's any consolation, my second Quincy compressor has been trouble free, and I'm proud to have it in my garage. You'll get to a good place, even if the journey ***** right now.

Completely agree. Definitely hoping the third compressor is problem free, because this is getting to be an absurd waste of time and energy. Time is money, and if I had charged my hourly rate for the time I spent on calls with Quincy, I could have bought the compressor several times over by now.

 

[Citation]

Aren't plug ends just rated for amps and not a HP rating? Why would the horsepower matter if it draws a specific amount of amps max?

The issue is if the cord is disconnected when the motor is running. That can result in a large back EMF induced current spike which results in big sparks. In theory it would be fine in you never unplugged it when in use. My feeling is code wants it to be same for all foreseeable conditions and unplugging in use is one of those. So they say no.

 

[gatewaysysop]

There issue is of the cord is disconnected when the motor is running. That can result in a large back EMF induced current spike which results in big sparks. In theory it would be fine in you never unplugged it when in use. My feeling is code wants it to be same for all foreseeable conditions and unplugging in use is one of those. So they say no.

I kind of figured it was a code thing, for that kind of reason. Thanks for the clarification, hopefully we can collectively get back on topic now.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I have sent emails to one of their operations managers (Brad Camp), but wanted to share here on the forum as well, since experience tells me I may not receive any reply from Quincy, even when one is promised.

....

If anyone else has had similar issues, please chime in. I will also be updating this thread if/when I hear back from Quincy and if they make good on this issue.

As an update, I spoke to Brad Camp by phone on Saturday and he assured me that Monday morning he would tackle this and give me a call to update me on the status and what they were going to do to get a replacement compressor sent out.

Thus far, no call back, even after leaving a voicemail earlier this afternoon with Brad to remind him I was still waiting to hear back.

I'll say this, Quincy folks are pretty consistent about not calling customers back as agreed.

 

[Flyordie]

I was told unequivocally by Quincy themselves that they do not pressure test as part of QC/QA. Why is a question I cannot answer.

Up here, when they were made in Quincy, IL.. They pressure tested them. Manchester Tank (also in Quincy, and still in Quincy..) also pressure tested them before they sent them over to Quincy for painting and assembly. You can even pay extra to have them NDT'd for QA.

Who made your tank?

 

[gatewaysysop]

Up here, when they were made in Quincy, IL.. They pressure tested them. Manchester Tank (also in Quincy, and still in Quincy..) also pressure tested them before they sent them over to Quincy for painting and assembly. You can even pay extra to have them NDT'd for QA.

Who made your tank?

No idea and I did not ask. If I connect with Brad again, I will see if I can find out.

 

[Flyordie]

No idea and I did not ask. If I connect with Brad again, I will see if I can find out.

There should be a manufacturers tag on the tank somewhere. Federal law requires it. Even my Craftsman air compressor has one.

Manchester for example uses this..

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

I feel for you and your dad and Quincy should be ashamed of turning out products in that condition!

I wholeheartedly believe in the saying 'A company is only as good as it's employees'... unfortunately, there are far too many employees that have no pride in their work. Couple that with the 'pencil pushers' working for that bonus by pushing workers to hard and not allowing enough time to do their job correctly and the consumer suffers.

Greed and 'the bottom line' has hurt quality, not only in the USA, but worldwide. Back in the day when the president of a company had his last name proudly displayed on his product, things were different. Nowadays, too many CEO's only interest is to make the BOD happy...by raising profits. Because it's easier, instead of focusing on improving their product, making it BETTER than the competition which raises demand, they choose to cut corners to save a buck. It's unfortunate that they can't see the forest for the trees, that in the long run they are hurting the company.

Okay, I'm climbing down off of my soapbox now...carry on.

 

[American Locomotive]

I was also told they are trying different QC approaches during assembly. I was quoted a fail rate of 10% under one of the former systems, and supposedly doing a tad better now. How this is measured and what constitutes failure in this context was not shared with me, so take that with the requisite grain of salt. At face value though, it seemed high to me, even if we're just talking issues on the line that get fixed and never seen by a customer before it ships.

10% failure rate is absurdly high. They shouldn't be anywhere near that.

 

[bulletpruf]

10% failure rate is absurdly high. They shouldn't be anywhere near that.

Yeah, I was wondering if that was a typo. Sure hope it is. If not, that's pathetic.

 

[Farmall450]

That's disappointing that the employee would do that...You're lucky that thing didn't shoot out and hit you in the head.

 

[gatewaysysop]

10% failure rate is absurdly high. They shouldn't be anywhere near that.

Yeah, I was wondering if that was a typo. Sure hope it is. If not, that's pathetic.

As I said, I don't know the context for the number, so take with a grain of salt. Venturing a guess, it is probably not customer facing but more along the lines of "this needs to go back for something," which might even include trivial things like cosmetic issues.

I agree, it sounds high, but as with all things, it's relative and I was not told "to what".

 

[gatewaysysop]

I feel for you and your dad and Quincy should be ashamed of turning out products in that condition!

That's disappointing that the employee would do that...You're lucky that thing didn't shoot out and hit you in the head.

Agree with you both. I tried to impress upon Quincy that an employee doing their job like this should be held accountable for such hackish and potentially dangerous work, but I don't think I made much of a dent on that front.

And yes, it was ridiculously loose. You couldn't remove it by hand straight away, but after slight bump with a wrench, it spun out by hand, far easier than it should have, for obvious reasons.

 

[Handyandy23]

As I said, I don't know the context for the number, so take with a grain of salt. Venturing a guess, it is probably not customer facing but more along the lines of "this needs to go back for something," which might even include trivial things like cosmetic issues.

I agree, it sounds high, but as with all things, it's relative and I was not told "to what".

I can't speak for Quincy either, but I do work in a vehicle manufacturing plant where we track first time quality. We just recently improved from around 90% first time quality to 95%, and that last 5% was really difficult.

First time quality in our context is building in each station in the allotted time with no hiccups. A lot of times that comes more down to time / line rate and getting everything done, and less to do with things that are actually put together wrong or need repair. That means the production line is moving and you have 30 seconds to do your job, which entails the proper material being delivered to you on time to install, no issues installing it, no issues with the part, bolts and equipment reaching torque, etc.

There's definitely differences in the complexity of building a car versus an air compressor, but I can also see that 90% figure being somewhat true. It doesn't mean that 10% of their products are broken or ship defective or need major repair. Could be as simple as the lift truck driver was a minute late dropping off the next box of parts, or an employee flagged a little paint chip to touch up, or felt some resistance on a bolt and stopped the line to run a tap in the threads.

Ironically you wish your compressor was actually in that 10% instead of the 90%. Because if the employee had flagged those threads as having slag in them, stopped the line, and fixed the threads, it would have been a first time quality failure. But for the customer, that's what you want - employees that care enough to flag things and fix them right.

 

[TTA89]

Any updates?

 

[gatewaysysop]

Any updates?

Hopefully by end of week I should have some updates and pictures to share. Compressor #3 is slated to arrive tomorrow and I'm hoping to do one big update shortly thereafter.

 

[IndyGarage]

I'm not sure why you would want a new compressor for a buggered up valve.

It's a five minute fix. Just ask them to send you a new valve and a pipe tap and some teflon tape. Why keep shipping compressors across the country?

 

[G-ManBart]

Thanks for the kind words.

And yes, this was a big disappointment. I really wanted to support domestic manufacturing if I could, and (correct me if I'm wrong here) I believe Quincy is one of, if not the last, 100% US-made compressor brand out there. I had really hoped to avoid exactly this kind of shenanigans by paying for a premium brand, as opposed to going cheap import junk. The irony of the situation is definitely not lost on me.

Saylor-Beall still makes compressors in St. Johns, MI and many people consider them the best available right now, but I'm not sure they offer anything in a similar price point to the one this thread is about.

I have both a S-B and a Quincy and am trying to decide which one to keep...wound up with two in one day.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I'm not sure why you would want a new compressor for a buggered up valve.

It's a five minute fix. Just ask them to send you a new valve and a pipe tap and some teflon tape. Why keep shipping compressors across the country?

Quincy's operations folks deemed it not repairable after seeing the pics and opted to replace the unit. Folks at TP Tools, who sold it to me, also saw the pics and doubted a tap would work. The recipient who saw with is own eyes also lacked confidence that a tap would clean up hardened welding slag that big. That was enough consensus for me.