Tweet
I thought I would throw this out here so maybe it helps someone else down the line.
I have a 20 gallon sears compressor i had bought from a friend for $50 and it was working fine. Then one day it quit working so fine. If it had 10 psi or less it would start slowly and come up to speed and run fine. If it had more than 10 psi it would try to start very slowly, straining, then pop the breaker after a few seconds.
First I took apart the backflow and pressure relief assembly and checked them. O rings were good but replaced anyway and the seats were fine. Reassembled and still had the same problem. The pressure relief was working so it wasn't head pressure stalling the compressor.
The only things left were a bad motor or capacitor(s). Since the capacitors were much easier to deal with then disassembling the motor I selected that as the next possible culprit. I pulled both the start and run caps and went to eurtonelectric.com and order a set (they come in 2 packs so you get a spare set) for $32. After I installed them (make sure you know note which goes where) the problem was fixed and it now runs like new.
It was much cheaper than getting a new compressor and I barely got my hands dirty.
I have a 20 gallon sears compressor i had bought from a friend for $50 and it was working fine. Then one day it quit working so fine. If it had 10 psi or less it would start slowly and come up to speed and run fine. If it had more than 10 psi it would try to start very slowly, straining, then pop the breaker after a few seconds.
First I took apart the backflow and pressure relief assembly and checked them. O rings were good but replaced anyway and the seats were fine. Reassembled and still had the same problem. The pressure relief was working so it wasn't head pressure stalling the compressor.
The only things left were a bad motor or capacitor(s). Since the capacitors were much easier to deal with then disassembling the motor I selected that as the next possible culprit. I pulled both the start and run caps and went to eurtonelectric.com and order a set (they come in 2 packs so you get a spare set) for $32. After I installed them (make sure you know note which goes where) the problem was fixed and it now runs like new.
It was much cheaper than getting a new compressor and I barely got my hands dirty.