resto-mod vintage Sears air compressor

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Taking pictures under florescent lights helps make any paint job look better.

I actually flipped it over and repainted the bottom. After that I repainted the top again.

Now it looks better than ever; however, even after a full week of drying/curing in less than 50% humidity Rustoleum is not that "hard" or tough.

You really are going to have to let that sit for awhile, esp. this time of year. Meaning a couple months to fully cure.

 

[Old Faithful]

You really are going to have to let that sit for awhile, esp. this time of year. Meaning a couple months to fully cure.

I believe the OP is working from a heated garage But you are right, I checked the paint on the tank a couple days ago when I took the snowblower out and indeed, I could make dents into the paint with my fingernails.

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[bagged89s10]

Whenever paint with Rustoleum, I use an oven to bake the paint and cure it. I would recommend some heat lamps for this project. You can get some from a place like tractor supply.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-brooder-lamp-with-6-ft-cord

Then buy the heat lamp bulbs.

This will help bake and cure the Rustoleum and give it a nice hard finish.

 

[radrush]

The manufacturer's certification plate reads:

MELBEN PRODUCTS CO., INC.
HARRISON, OHIO
1973

The certification plate also has a faint "1" in the lower right corner. Possibility the QC person's identification stamp???

The tank, a pressure vessel, is cylindrical with torispherical heads or end caps on each end.

Torispherical head - These heads have a dish with a fixed radius (r1), the size of which depends on the type of torispherical head. The transition between the cylinder and the dish is called the knuckle. The knuckle has a toroidal shape.

Temp. 250 = ???
SH. .095" = shell thickness
HD. .094" = head thickness (domed ends)
Rad. E = ???
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[radrush]

Gave the tank a second coat of Rustoleum Sunrise Red.

I am liking this tank now. I'll let it sit for at least a week. If the weather is warm enough next weekend I'm considering a clear coat.

I also painted the belt guard. I think it looks pretty good.

 

[radrush]

I got the electric motor painted: Rustoleum matalic black.

Now how's this thing go back together??? This could be trouble...

 

[Old Faithful]

I got the electric motor painted: Rustoleum matalic black.

Now how's this thing go back together??? This could be trouble...

Nah, just take your time, take it part again and back a couple more for good measure and follow the color code and remember, never force something together

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[radrush]

Capacitor fit back in the right place and got both wires on that connected.

Some of these motors have two capacitors and some just one. I don't understand electricity enough to know why.

The original power cord connected to the motor with "flag" or right-angle connectors. Guess how many places in town stock flag connectors. I give you a hint: ZERO. OK moving to plan B on that...

 

[Old Faithful]

Capacitor fit back in the right place and got both wires on that connected.

Some of these motors have two capacitors and some just one. I don't understand electricity enough to know why.

The smaller one typically around 40 microfarads is oil based and is permanently connected to the motor, hence it's called a "run capacitor". It provides better efficiency for the motor especially if it runs off of its rated speed.The larger one, typically in the hundreds of microfarads (these figures are for 2HP motors) is the electrolytic start capacitor, providing the push to do the initial rotation, without which the motor would just sit and hum. Don't switch them, value and type are critical for proper operation.

Older motors like the one on my Sears compressor have just one capacitor and are usually larger and less efficient, it uses 12A at full power, the newer motor on my parts machine, although of same power output and rotation speed, is 2 inches shorter and with an extra run capacitor only uses 7.5A at full power.

Although I haven't seen any before, it stands to reason that single contact capacitors are basically grounded to the case.

The original power cord connected to the motor with "flag" or right-angle connectors. Guess how many places in town stock flag connectors. I give you a hint: ZERO. OK moving to plan B on that...

You should be able to find them at appliance repair stores (washers, dryers and the like)



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[radrush]

The smaller one typically around 40 microfarads is oil based and is permanently connected to the motor, hence it's called a "run capacitor".

You should be able to find them at appliance repair stores (washers, dryers and the like)

Microfaradswhatsamacallit????

Thanks for the heads-up on the flag connectors; I'll stop by the appliance repair place and see what they have.

 

[Old Faithful]

Microfaradswhatsamacallit????

Thanks for the heads-up on the flag connectors; I'll stop by the appliance repair place and see what they have.

If they're oldtimers like myself they'll probably be able to give you some pointers about the capacitors as well

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[radrush]

Installed a Husky Extended Tank Drain Valve Assembly on the tank.

Husky claims the 11-inch long braided steel hose is good for 175PSI maximum pressure.

HD about $19.99

Regular maintenance of the compressor tank is important. Each time the compressor runs, moisture in the air may condense in the tank. Moisture must be drained from the tank to prevent water buildup and potential rusting of the tank. This maintenance task is more easily performed with the extended tank drain valve.

The extended drain valve fits 1/4 in. NPT threaded drain holes and replaces the existing drain valve.

 

[radrush]

Started rebuilding the manifold. The old pressure gauge did NOT want to come off.

It will NOT be joining us for the remainder of the resto.

Once the guts of the gauge were demo'ed, an 8-point 9/16 socket did the trick.
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[radrush]

The old electric motor, although restorable, didn't make the cut. It was too heavy, and too inefficient.

Picked up this little gem of a motor at Northern Tool.

Leeson Air Compressor Electric Motor — 2 HP, Model# 116512
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200306763_200306763

Made in: USA

(The picture on the NT website is, of course, NOT the correct picture of the model.)

"This dependable and powerful LEESON compressor duty motor is designed especially for compressors which require high breakdown torque and rugged mechanical construction. Trust LEESON for high-quality compressor duty motors to get the job done."

Features + Benefits
•Pre-lubricated, double-shielded ball bearings to accommodate varying belt loads and tension
•High-efficiency designs for energy savings
•High starting and breakdown torque
•Reversible rotation direction adds versatility
•Continuous duty operation
•Manual reset overload protects against motor overload and automatic resets
•Capacitor start for increased motor starting torque, allowing the motor to be cycled on and off quickly
•Rigid base allows for mounting on equipment
•Open drip proof (ODP) housing allows for venting and prevents drops of liquid from falling into the motor liquid from falling into the motor


Key Specs

Item# 162491
Manufacturer's Warranty NTE 1 year RA/Exchange Policy
Ship Weight 36.0 lbs
HP 2
Rated RPM 3,450
Volts 115/208-230
Amps 9.6 @ 230V
Hertz 60
Motor Phase(s) Single
Shank Diameter (in.) 5/8
Frame Type 56
Rotation Direction Clockwise or counter clockwise
Manual Overload Protection Yes
UL Recognized
CSA Certified
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Got some really cool stainless steel bolts and acorn nuts for fixity.
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[StillTooManyHobbies]

Looks great and you are doing a superb job! Doesn't matter if it costs more than a new one, it will be the way you want it, and shop time is never a bad thing.

 

[radrush]

The replacement pressure gauge is a little bigger than the original 1-1/2" diameter no-name pressure gauge.

The new pressure gauge is an Ashcroft, USA , 45-1009-SL-04L-160# stainless gauge with a monsterous 4-1/2" diameter glycerin filled dial that reads (from clear across the garage) from 0 to 160psi.

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[Shady Oaks Garage]

I have one just like it but it is 110 volt and no belt guard all original purchased early 70s from sears and it still runs noting ever done to it

 

[radrush]

Got the compressor pump repainted and put back together. Had a minor disaster when putting the head-bolts back in; one of the 6 head-bolts sheared off right above the top of the block. Luckily there was enough bolt sticking out that I got a pair of vise grips on it and unscrewed it. I read some where that these head bolts need 125ft lbs. No way, unless that bolt was defective. It was at about 60ft lbs when it broke off. This requires more study...possibly 125in lbs.


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Follow-up ... Stopped by Tractor Supply and picked up six 5/16x5 grade 5 bolts. These were the longest that they had and of course they are 1/2" short.

 

[radrush]

Here are a couple of pics of the compressor pump painted and installed.

I used a smaller 2 1/2" diameter gauge for now. I'll work the bigger gauge into the system somewhere else.

Obviously the bolts are going to need some touching up with some additional spray paint.

 

[Old Faithful]

Wow... That's what I call Showroom Grade! Outstanding!!!

 

[nine4gmc]

That's pretty awesome.

 

[Hoss.A]

Very nice! Needs flames.

 

[Old Faithful]

I sold quite a few of those "back in the day" !

As long as the original owner kept oil in the pump crankcase and did not leave water in the takl to make rust, it will last another 50 years.

Revisiting this as I acquired yet another of these for restoration I second that vehemently!

I just bought another one of these with a bad motor, hoping the pump was good and although it turns after replacing the motor, after managing to remove the oil plug (an almost impossible job in this case) and finding there was almost no oil in there, the pump has a nasty knock, fortunately different from the other one I acquired previously with its hopeless crankshaft. I just hope this one still has a decent crankshaft and only has worn connecting rods and that I can make one good pump out of the two...

So I would strongly recommend to anyone looking at getting one of these extremely rare machines (in my parts at a decent price) to test it first, unless you get it for a pittance like I did (CAD30, or approximately US10 taking into account our dollar value and our overpriced used market). Oh, and it took almost a year looking daily at local ads to find another one with that pump.

Next step is to tear this pump apart and try to make a decent pump out of the two. If it turns out the parts are salvageable I'll take pictures and post a pump rebuild tutorial.

End goal is to make a dual compressor setup for a combined 10-15 SCFM output...

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[Ridjobradi]

I am interested in seeing the dual setup happen. I have two of the same Craftsman air compressors. One came from my father and another I found later. I went through the one my father gave me, but I need a new tank.

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[Old Faithful]

I am interested in seeing the dual setup happen. I have two of the same Craftsman air compressors. One came from my father and another I found later. I went through the one my father gave me, but I need a new tank.

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I'll be looking at one tomorrow morning - belongs to a mechanic - He upgraded to something with more capacity but he doesn't like the noise of the new one. I don't blame him! It's not super cheap but he says he overhauld it and everything works fine. I just hope the pump is running smooth with no bearing issues!

So far I've spent over CAD200 (that's about US130), got one good pump, one middling, a bad one, one good 30 Gallon tank, another that's about 6 and two good 2HP motors ;-) With this last one I hope to bring my capacity to 13-16 CFM and 40 gallons and have plenty of spare parts to keep them going until I go under ;-). And if I can get the third pump back in shape I could reach 20CFMs at 90PSI and should then have enough for sandblasting ;-)

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[Old Faithful]

So I finally did get that compressor and today was the first day I had time to check it out and test it. Simply installed a quick connect and it works great, no other repair required

I'll get back with some pictures and further test results tomorrow. Preliminary results indicate it produces air above original specifications of 7.4 SCFM@90PSI and fills the tank faster than my first one by about 10%

Tests conducted at
- 400 meters altitude (94% sea level atmospheric pressure)
- 15C
- 90% Humidity
- after 2 full cycles (pump warm)
- Tank is 20 US Gallons (2.67 CuFt) (this compressor is rated at 125PSI, my older 100)
- Pressure measured with two different gauges at the same time, <5% difference between the two, averaged.

Time to refill tank from empty to 120PSI: 138s (2 minutes 18 seconds)
Time to fill from 80PSI to 100PSI (maintaining 90 PSI working pressure): 25.6 seconds

I'm going to check my math tomorrow, but it would seem to indicate this compressor produces closer to 8 CFMs If in the meantime you would care to comment and check with yours (this is the 2HP model with the 2.5" or so pulley), I'd love to know what figures you are getting

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[Old Faithful]

I'll relay that info to the wife; she remains unimpressed since the electrician charged her $225 to run a new 240V-15AMP circuit for which this project would be ... uh ... functionless without.

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Just noticed the picture of that outlet looks like a 8-o emoticon as in "What, you had too pay that much for something you should have been able to do yourself?" :-D

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[Old Faithful]

So I finally did get that compressor and today was the first day I had time to check it out and test it. Simply installed a quick connect and it works great, no other repair required

I'll get back with some pictures and further test results tomorrow. Preliminary results indicate it produces air above original specifications of 7.4 SCFM@90PSI and fills the tank faster than my first one by about 10%

Tests conducted at
- 400 meters altitude (94% sea level atmospheric pressure)
- 15C
- 90% Humidity
- after 2 full cycles (pump warm)
- Tank is 20 US Gallons (2.67 CuFt) (this compressor is rated at 125PSI, my older 100)
- Pressure measured with two different gauges at the same time, <5% difference between the two, averaged.

Time to refill tank from empty to 120PSI: 138s (2 minutes 18 seconds)
Time to fill from 80PSI to 100PSI (maintaining 90 PSI working pressure): 25.6 seconds

I'm going to check my math tomorrow, but it would seem to indicate this compressor produces closer to 8 CFMs If in the meantime you would care to comment and check with yours (this is the 2HP model with the 2.5" or so pulley), I'd love to know what figures you are getting

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So I've spent last week studying the physics of compressed air and based on existing gauges (although they reacted in almost exactly the same way, I've ordered new ones with better resolution just to be sure), this compressor produces 8.3 SCFM at 90 PSI ( my other one produces 7.6 at 90 PSI).

Yes, I've taken into account barometric pressure, temperature and humidity and even calculated the quadratic regression of my data points to smooth errors out and confirm correlation to get the most accurate figures.

Pretty darn good for such an old machine especially for a true 2HP motor

Next test, timed compression with amperage draw. It will be interesting to find out how many watts this motor really consumes under standard conditions (running @90 PSI).

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[yyonline]

My dad has a Campbell Hausfeld VT-5185 compressor, which has identical specs to the 3 horsepower model in the Sears ad. The compressor, made in 1976, looks virtually identical to yours. I have all the original manuals and documentation from CH. He saved everything, including the original receipt from JC Penney for $499. If you're still looking for info, I can see if I can find some time to scan the documentation. It's likely that most of the documentation applies to your compressor as well as they're similar vintage and CH made them for Sears.

My dad's compressor still sees regular use (at least once a week), as I've taken over the family's car repairs as he gets older. Aside from leaking oil around the crankshaft seal (been meaning to fix that...), the compressor still works flawlessly after 40 years.

 

[donbottaro]

i am new to the forum; I could not find the "introductions" area, so here goes my first post. in 1972, when i was a high school sophomore, my father bought one of these Sears compressors, model 106.153781. Maybe as a backup for a much older compressor we had. Last month I was cleaning out my parents' garage and found it, still in the box, sadly I think it was never called to duty. But I can certainly use it. But I cannot find the manual (looked at Sears support site but found only diagrams) and would like to know how to check/change the oil and what oil specification to use, before attempting to start it for the first time in 45 years. Thanks in advance, Don.

 

[nine4gmc]

Hi Donbottaro, I'm not sure but there should be a dip stick on the side of the compressor pump, some had a viewing window. There should also be a square head pipe plug near the bottom edge of the pump that will drain the oil. Most standard pumps require 30w NON-DETERGENT oil, I get a gallon of Air Compressor Oil at Oreilly's for about $12.

 

[donbottaro]

nine4gmc - thanks I will check that out, and drain the air tank in case there is condensation. There is no rust visible on the outside.

 

[donbottaro]

OK. figured out oil fill, drain and type, thanks again.
I am missing some parts that are absent from the parts diagram on the Sears site. In Radrush's photos, it appears to be the compressed-air-out assembly, consisting of a clear filter bowl (water capture i am guessing), pressure gauge, something that might adjust final pressure out (?) and quick disconnect hose coupler.
Any recommended sources for these?

 

[COL911]

Does anyone have an extra handle or advice for making a replacement? I got this one for $25, no handle, extra hoses and only needed to replace the draincock-runs great, just heavy to lug around using piece of straight pipe as handle

 

[COL911]

Did anyone offer up a manual for the original model to the OP? I could use a copy too, if there's one out there. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ridjobradi]

I believe that Sears still has handles available. If not PM me and I will see if I still have my extra handle.

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[Old Faithful]

Did anyone offer up a manual for the original model to the OP? I could use a copy too, if there's one out there. Thanks in advance.

I have a manual, but it's for a newer model, if you're looking for inspiration. I have another for a very recent model that is great for diagnosis and maintenance. I also have several schematics you could get inspiration from - yet again nothing exactly for what you are looking. Altogether it makes for good info, though.

Now truly, did you REALLY get it for only $25?! I guess your dollars are worth much more than mine ;-)

For the handle - It's simply a steel tube about 5/8", but it's bent to shape so perhaps you could get one made cheap at a local muffler shop. You could also do it yourself out of a piece of rebar ;-)

BTW folks, I've prepared a couple of Excel worksheet to determine CFMs, one for rough determination before buying and another one for precision testing, let me know if you're interested.

 

[Old Faithful]

OK. figured out oil fill, drain and type, thanks again.
I am missing some parts that are absent from the parts diagram on the Sears site. In Radrush's photos, it appears to be the compressed-air-out assembly, consisting of a clear filter bowl (water capture i am guessing), pressure gauge, something that might adjust final pressure out (?) and quick disconnect hose coupler.
Any recommended sources for these?

The original ones are very hard to find, at least in my area (Montreal), but you could install modern equivalents . IIRC, one is an oil mist and moisture filter, the also made oilers for use with power tools. None of my two compressors had it either and I've been looking for two years now on kijiji without any success. If you want to get it going right away, you could install an aftermarket filter and regulator.

In use I have found that if you use the compressor with power tools for less than 15 minutes at a stretch you should be OK, but more than that and you'll get moisture sputter unless you live in the desert ;-)

Oh, and how is the belt after all these years motionless? I can't imagine it's still intact! What's the diameter of the motor pulley on your model?

BTW, has anyone here successfully used one of these for painting? Everywhere I look around these days they recommend airless spraying ;-)

 

[Ridjobradi]

The original water / oil separator assembly would work better further away from tank. If you are for an original setup, it's worth finding. If you want better performance, use a larger one that is remotely mounted.

My tank was bad, so my entire upper platform with the compressor, motor, and gauge has been removed from the tank. It was used when my father bought it in '70's. The tank was on its way out when it was given to me, but it was my dad's, so I kept the main components and use it as a stationary compressor.

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[COL911]

Old Faithful, I really did get it for 25 USD, including one ten foot hose and a twenty five foot hose with tire chuck/filler. I forgot to post this, included in the deal as well, some sort of separator, not sure how to use it, hoping it's a water separator of some sort.