air compressor question

[revg62]

hi all,i picked up an ingersoll rand 2545 10 hp compressor with 120 gal. tank for free yesterday.the compressor pump is locked up,i tried to turn it by hand & it won't budge.would it be cheaper to buy a replacement pump or try & overhaul this one? i know it depends on how much is wrong with it,what i can tell so far is that it's 10 yrs. old & used daily.just wondering if any of you have attempted anything like this & your experiences.my intent is to convert it to a gas engine since i don't have 3 phase power.thanks in advance & either way,the price was right! revg62.

 

[bobodu]

For free you have lots of room to play with. If it were me,I'd just get one of the big ones from Harbor Freight. I found that I really only use the big one for maybe 10 hours a year so if I had to buy one,a cheapie would do fine.
I got a free tank and pump from work and built a gas compressor and my biggest expense was the unloader and pilot valve.I bought a Chinese clone to run it . I paid more for the controls than the engine. If you do some shopping around...I'm sure you'll do much better. You'll also need some type of throttle arrangement. I got a small air cylinder from work and hooked that to the throttle so it idles down when the unloader pops. I also used plastic lines for the controls because copper always seemed to leak or come off due to the vibration.

 

[have_blue]

HF has a nice heavy duty belt drive 5hp compressor head for ~$169. They also have a 6hp horizontal shaft engine for ~$110. It would take some creative mounting and control work, but then you would have a valuable compressor for under $300.

 

[Egon]

Open it up and see whats wrong. Then make a desion!

 

[gizmo]

Oh please! You just got an IR compressor. Don't fudge it up with HF stuff. At least take a look at what is locking it up. Complete rebuild kits which include all bearing rings and seals should be available for under $200. I rebuilt my Kellogg-American for about that much and it runs like new.

 

[bobodu]

Try $522 for the kit...aftermarket to boot.

OK-2545 Ingersoll Rand Equivalent

By the time he buys an engine and controls...he's gonna have $900 in a free compressor......

 

[Scooby074]

Pull it apart and see whats wrong. IR makes a good compressor. Instead of putting money into a chicom head, id rebuild the old one for the same (or less) cash. Check your local industrial compressor repair places for parts prices / part numbers.

Add a 10 Hp single phase motor and starter and it'll be good for years.

 

[bobodu]

Just looked on ebay for a 10 hp single phase....$500!!!

By all means ...open her up...but don't expect something on the cheap.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Hey that sounds like a fun project for the price. If you are careful about not tearing the headgaskets just pop off the heads and squirt some oil down the cylinders. Let it soak over night. Then tap on them with a wooden dowel or something. You might free it up and get a lot of use out of it without spending much $$$. Or if you don't need something that big trade it off for a smaller functioning unit on Craigslist.

 

[revg62]

thanks for all the responses! i plan on opening it up,i'd rather rebuild the t-30 if it's worth it.i already have a 20 hp gas engine so spending some $ on the pump is ok.i guess what i should have asked is what to look for when i open it up? i'll post some pics,this should be a worthwhile project! revg62.