Bird wasn't joking!!

[Richard]

Bird wasn\'t joking!!

In past times, regarding air compressors and how some are easier to fix (and more likely to need fixed...), Bird has said "why is the plastic cowling on the unit?... to keep it together when it blows apart" (Bird, pardon if I don't have it exactly /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif )

Now why might this come up?

Well, my old Campbell Hausfield has been around for a while and starting to make QUITE a racket and seeming to need longer and longer to recharge, so I thought it might be near time to put new rings (or whatever) inside.

Fair enough, can't be too difficult to take apart, so I started at it. Got the cowling off, head, copper pipe and was down to loosening the piston. The allen screw holding the piston onto crank came undone easily enough, however the allen screw holding the fan onto the end of the crank is absolutely stuck.

There also seems to be a gasket with a metal strip on top of it (similar to a reed valve). This gasket was STUCK to the top also.

(insert my ignornace here that the gasket is ATTACHED to what is in fact, the REMOVABLE "cylinder", or sleeve. I could not get the gasket off so I turned the machine on for a moment. The machine seemed to be pushing the gasket away from the "head" (which was actually the permanant attachment to the cylinder sleeve). I turned the machine on again, "whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

BAM

WHAM

CLANK

flipity flipity flip

chingggggggggggggggg

then silence..............


Well... seems the piston had moved the sleeve up some (unknown to me that it was a sleeve and easily removable), then on a downward stroke, the piston came OUT of the sleeve and on the next blink of an eye upstroke rocketed the sleeve out of the head, breaking the piston rod in half, sending the piston itself across the room, the sleeve flew about 5 feet up in the air and yes, of course, none of this happened perpendicular to the crank, but at an angle, so it also cracked the head into about 14 pieces /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. ok..maybe not 14, but 3 /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

So now, because one little screw prevented me from easily removing the piston from underneith, I don't have a seal to replace, but pretty much the entire pump assembly /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Guess I'll have to price it out against a new machine since luck doesn't seem to be with me this week on servicing things.

Sigh, since it's Sunday, perhaps I'll just kick back and drink some home made lemonaid. (I'll probably blow up the juicer too /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif)

 

[Darren]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

Not to make fun, but you should have setup a video camera. You'd have made enough from America's funniest Home videos to have bought a much better compressor. We've all done stuff like that.

 

[Bird]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gifRichard, I never had nerve enough to turn one on when it was partially disassembled. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Since they're a direct drive off the electric motor, they do run at high RPM. And at least the only one's I've seen the inside of actually do use reed valves (that was the first thing that broke on mine; would have cost about $13, but Sears gave me a new one on warranty). At a later time, I didn't have to worry about the screw holding the fan on being too tight; the plastic simply broke around the screw and it threw the fan. That time, the cowling was on it, and got cracked pretty severely when the fan hit it from inside. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Noisy little suckers when they blow up, aren't they? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Richard]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Noisy little suckers when they blow up, aren't they? )</font>


Yep /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Egon]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

Ahh-- everyone has one of those days. There's another day awaitin when all goes well.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[KiotiJohn]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

I'm just glad to hear you didn't get HIT with that flying shrapnel. Rather like a brush hog thowing the heck out of something. John

 

[DiskDoctr]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

Richard,

I'm with Bird on this one. I've turned over engines by hand or momentarily touched power to it to change piston/crank position before, but never turned one on when disassembled- always thought is was a bad idea /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Guess now we know why... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

BTW, considering your other recent posts, I personally think you deserve a short vacation. When things aren't going your way, just turn off the key and the lights, lock up the shop, and take a break.

It'll all look better after you step away for a little while. Keeps one from getting frustrated. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Just because we should try to learn something new every day doesn't mean we should expect to learn everything all at once /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Tomorrow will be a better day /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Good luck with everything...

-JC

 

[Richard]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm with Bird on this one. I've turned over engines by hand or momentarily touched power to it to change piston/crank position before, but never turned one on when disassembled- always thought is was a bad idea )</font>


Now that I know what I didn't know I didn't know ( /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif) lol, you are absolutely right. However, prior to knowing what I now know, I would have equated it with taking your heads off your engine, and using the battery to crank the pistons over (with no heads on top).

I don't see anything untoward about doing that...at least, I'd never expect the enging block to blow up...after all, all the pistons are contained inside the bores right?

Little did I know that I had an easily removable bore!! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[MicroPilot]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

Experience is a harsh teacher, first comes the test and then the lesson.

Glad you weren't hurt.

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Bird wasn\'t joking!!

Don't feel too bad. I just had last week off work ( off my day job anyway ).

I figured I would do a little maintenance on some of my antique tractors.. you know.. put fuel stabilizer in the ones that don't see much use.. then run them to get it spread around etc.

By the end of the week, I had replaced a carb on one tractor ( gummed up.. that was what started this whole thing with putting 'stabilizer' in the fuel... ), and ignition coil ( I was putting a new wire harness on it and broke the corner off the coil.. go figure. ). On another tractor I was in a hurry to start it and get it out of the barn, and the starter kicked out, and I didn't let it spin down before trying to start it again.. got the bendix hung in the flywheel.

Took me about 3 hours to disassemble the starter, get the bendix and armature free from the flywheel, and then re-assemble the starter.. was hard to ge tthe brushes back in.. Anyway.. now I need to reinstall the starter, and refill with coolant.. as you have to remove the block drain to get the starter out... see where this is goin... not threw yet either..

Last tractor I'm getting ready to be my new brush hog machine for the 5' mower. All I needed to do was attatch a ORC to the pto.. attatch the mower, and get it greased.. etc.

Well.. The battery was low from sitting.. so between jumping and recharging it.. I managed to finally kill the starter... no biggy.. I bought the tractor 2 years ago, knowing that it needed a starter... most of the time you had to bang it with a hammer to get it to run anyway.

Sent the starter to the shop for rebuild... had it converted to 12v, as it had been 6v, and the tracor was already converted when i got it.. so wasn't a bad deal.

Shop finished the starter the next day.. I went and got it.. put it on.. nothing.. had to take it back the next day.. They had painted all the parts.. that the field wasn't grounding thru the case.. so they wire wheeled all that new paint off.. and I took it home and installed it.

spun over good.. but no start.. hmm.. I fiddled with the wires.. and while I was at it found a 6" hornets nest under the front cowling. Now there wasn't much room in the barn to run.. but i made a good show of it.. didn't get stung either. Ran to the store and got a bottle of enforcer spray.. hornets were toast..

Found a loose wire from the ignition switch to the ballast resistor.. wiggled it... BROKE the ballast resistor.. figures.. Well.. it was a 6v coil and dropping resistor setup the previous owner had setup after the 12v conversion.. so i did away with the resistor and put a real 12v coil on it.. and a new wire harness... started and ran fine...

I finished all this about 9:30pm last night... soooo... My whole vacation was pretty much 'busy' work.... go figure...

so don't feel bad... lots of us takes a few steps back for every step forward! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Soundguy