Air Compressor Performance

[wwidmer]

This got me thinking again about my 60 gallon compressor, a ChargAir 1 bought used 38 years ago. The 5 HP GE Tri-Clad motor had a faulty centrifugal switch which I replaced and has been fine ever since. It's a bit different in that it is a direct drive rated for 1730 RPM rather than a belt drive. I remember after I got it (in 1987) the Ingersall Rand representative had a hard time finding an exact manual for it and was only able to supply a similar model manual. I'm just a hobby guy and don't use it often. Anyone know when it was manufactured by the serial #?
Edit: Just found the tank plate and it's dated 1983, rated for 200 PSI WP.

 

[oneal hicks]

I have a MAC tool 60 gal. 5 hp. came with a Sandborn single stage compressor, When it bit the dust I replace the compressor with a Harbor Freight two cylinder / 2 stage compressor and it was off to the races, still doing great these last few years.

 

[big bubba]

i use Mobil1 10/30 per manual recommend of my CH compressor
Question: mine sits on my covered porch w/outside ambient temp. the manual recommends no operation below 40F or excessive wear, etc
my application is occasional use. your thoughts?

 

[eKretz]

i use Mobil1 10/30 per manual recommend of my CH compressor
Question: mine sits on my covered porch w/outside ambient temp. the manual recommends no operation below 40F or excessive wear, etc
my application is occasional use. your thoughts?

Probably splash lubed. Oil doesn't splash so well when it's cold.

 

[WinterDeere]

Just found this great thread. Lots of lamenting older USA made compressors, and one thing I didn't see mentioned was how much quieter the ones from 60 years ago are, versus anything made in the last 30-40 years. It seems like all of the manufacturers went to smaller displacement compressors at higher RPM on their larger tanks, sometime in the 1980's, and now they're all loud enough to startle the hell out of anyone when they fire up in the middle of the day. Most of the compressors from the 1960's just huffed along, slow and quiet, by comparison.

Of course, tank rot and safety is a major issue on anything real old, and most don't want the expense or trouble of having the tank checked for pitting or thickness, or having it re-pressure tested.

I have a 30 year old 60 gallon 7 hp C-H Industrial, although the FLA = 15A @ 240V 1Ø cap run induction motor tells me it's really just 3 hp... a victim of the creative spec'manship in which all motor manufacturers have played the last 30-40 years. It does 10 - 12 CFM over the useable pressure range, plenty enough for all of my air tools, painting, and even sandblasting... yeah, it runs hard during sandblasting. Like anything built after 1980, it's louder than I'd like, but not nearly as bad as most built today.

No one has been talking about air line treatment, and some of the rigs I've seen here could really benefit from more than a hose plugged into a tank. I'm actually re-plumbing the air lines in my shop now:

1. 3/4" hose from tank to 3/4" copper type L hard line
2. 3/4" Cu type L up to joist bay in ceiling
3. Tees off to 3 parallel 1/2" Cu type L spaced within a joist bay
4. 14 feet run of 3x 1/2" runs from compressor in corner of shop to hose rack in middle of shop, and provides air cooling for better separator performance
5. Tees back into 1x 3/4" manifold
6. 3/4" run down to regulator and separator, with tee off an additional 1/2" line to run upstairs
7. Multiple 3/8" AT and 1/4" IM female quick couplings
8. Second 1/2" regulator and separator upstairs, for small blast cabinet, or misc. usage with single 1/4" IM coupling

The name of the game is "cooling", when trying to separate water and oil out of a line. I see too many put their separator right onto the hot tank fitting, no thermal gap and no chance for the air to cool. Then they wonder why they have water shooting out of their air ratchet exhaust, or crinkling paint from HVLP. Water will only condense out of the air after cooling, and preferably after any major pressure drops (eg. regulator), as the pressure drop causes further cooling and condensation. This is why I'm running three parallel 1/2" lines, rather than just a single 3/4", and why you should always install a separator downstream of the regulator.

The large line size is not for continuous capacity, you can push 10 - 12 CFM thru a much smaller line with acceptable pressure drop, but it gives a better impulse capacity for tools that draw a lot of air for a short burst of time.

 

[5030]

My entire shop is in custom cut and threaded black iron. Far as condensate in your compressor, get yourself a Tsunami auto drain and I have a refrigerated air dryer as well. An IR cycling unit and I use Motorguard point of use 5 micron cartridge filters just in case. No wa-wa here. Dry air is mandatory for me with my plasma table.

Finally, all direct drive compressors are short life noisy units. My Quincy is belt drive and it's cast iron and quiet. So is my rotary screw compressor but most home shops cannot afford a screw or a Quincy for that matter.

 

[WinterDeere]

My entire shop is in custom cut and threaded black iron.

I've done both, and favor copper for my home shop, as it cools way better and doesn't get rust in the condensate. But in each of the manufacturing shops I've worked, we went black iron, since it can take a serious hit better than copper, from clumsy employees or even fork lift operators.

Far as condensate in your compressor, get yourself a Tsunami auto drain and I have a refrigerated air dryer as well.

I just bought an electronically-timed auto drain last week, will be installing it soon. I only wish I'd done it 30 years ago, as I'd usually have water in the tank, and often forget to drain it for weeks at a time. I had looked into auto drains back then, but the only ones I found were pressure operated, teeing into the unloader valve on the regulator, and couldn't be easily rigged onto my compressor given where it was installed before. I don't think anyone had packaged up a nice little electronically-timed version, like the ones sold on ebay now.

An IR cycling unit and I use Motorguard point of use 5 micron cartridge filters just in case. No wa-wa here. Dry air is mandatory for me with my plasma table.

In my last shop, I actually had some 50 foot coils of soft copper line, arranged like a long coil spring inside lengths of Ø8" PVC pipe upstream of the separators, which I could pull air through using a duct fan, or cap and fill with ice water, when I needed super-dry air. I was spraying linear polyurethane and some moisture-sensitive varnishes back then, and wanted to be sure the air was absolutely bone-dry. That paint was so expensive, and prep time for a re-do so many days long, that any little bit of moisture in the line would have been absolutely catastrophic.

Finally, all direct drive compressors are short life noisy units. My Quincy is belt drive and it's cast iron and quiet. So is my rotary screw compressor but most home shops cannot afford a screw or a Quincy for that matter.

Agreed. My old C-H is belt drive, but even so, not as quiet as those we owned from the 1960's and earlier. It's all about RPM they have to spin that little compressor, to hit the delivery volume targets. Manufacturers have found they can do the same with a smaller compressor at higher RPM, since most buyers are shopping CFM numbers only, and ignore the audible noise spec... until it's living in their shop!

 

[murphy1244]

My Quincy uses no oil and like my tractors, it gets serviced regularly and I run an K&N air filter on both compressors. I use Mobil Rarus compressor oil btw. Never had the Quincy apart but it probably could use a Swedish valve de-carboning and cleaning and the poppet valves cleaned as well. I'm a Quincy and Saylor Beal fan, always have been.

Lets see some pics of them please

 

[5030]

Lets see some pics of them please

As a rule, I don't post pictures.

 

[5030]

I just bought an electronically-timed auto drain last week, will be installing it soon.

I have a Tsunami drain on my Quincy. It's not electric, works off the pilot valve when the compressor cycles. Made by Suburban Manufacturing here in the USA.