UGH Compressor died

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  • Jim Frye
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 1051
    • Maumee, OH, USA.
    • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

    #16
    I think you'll like it. If you only occasionally use one, the oilless, pancake models are a good idea since they occupy a small space. I bought mine in 2009 from Lowes because I was redoing all of the woodwork and doors in our previous home. It's a Bostitch model that came with an 18 ga. nail gun. It was on sale for $189 and has been trouble free. I do use the bottom tank drain each time I done with it and yes they are noisy. I think mine is louder than 73 dB. Note the high tech steel shop stool in the background.
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    Last edited by Jim Frye; 05-22-2022, 06:19 PM.
    Jim Frye
    The Nut in the Cellar.
    ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

    Comment

    • dbhost
      Slow and steady
      • Apr 2008
      • 9209
      • League City, Texas
      • Ryobi BT3100

      #17
      Fair enough. FWIW, I probably go further between oil changes than is recommended, but more or less once a year in March. And the oil and water trap / regulator is exactly for pulling any bypass out of the air...

      It is probably the former mechanics life that got me in the oil lubed habit, once set hard habit to break.

      I know the Central Pnuematic pancake compressors were pretty popular. I know a couple of guys at my church that use them for various trim projects and light duty work. My air needs are more or less none, a little bit, or a LOT. It jumpe especially when the DA sander comes out of the toolbox...
      Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

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      • LCHIEN
        Internet Fact Checker
        • Dec 2002
        • 20920
        • Katy, TX, USA.
        • BT3000 vintage 1999

        #18
        Tore into the compressor a bit today. Just getting the shroud off was a pain. THe air filter element was missing. no telling how long I've run it in the garage with no filter.

        So I heard some stuff rattling around... when I get the shroud off, I find the fan is shattered in pieces. AC-0108 same as the deVilbis, available for $9. After poking around on the internet I find this is a dead ringer for the DeVilbis 919-16735 which has some parts available. The parts lists and illustrations match and most of the part numbers are the same.

        But I find the rotor is stuck, it easily freed but it can only turn 270 degrees and its hitting something hard and won't make a full rotation. Probably why the motor stalled and tripped the breaker

        I think this machine has shot it's wad. It's toast. It's dead, Jim.

        May check in the morning and remove all the stuff from the shaft and see it the motor runs or not.

        Just hypothesizing maybe I left the compressor energized one day and it came on and the fan shattered, the unit overheated and there was some consequential damage.
        Of course, you should be able to leave it on for a long time. as long as the motor is not running continuously.
        Possibly my air system sprung a major leak and it did run continuously but I won't know until I get a working compressor.

        So I'll mess around a bit more for educations sake and then fire up the HF and see what its made of.

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        Why is it on 4x4's? To make it easier to drain into a container and not onto the floor. And to keep it from walking around the shop on its own when running which it did do.
        Attached Files
        Last edited by LCHIEN; 05-23-2022, 03:01 AM.
        Loring in Katy, TX USA
        If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
        BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

        Comment


        • Jim Frye
          Jim Frye commented
          Editing a comment
          Yep, you got your money's worth out of it.

        • dbhost

          dbhost
          commented
          Editing a comment
          Whoah. No loud bang when it let go? That looks like an impressive failure!

        • LCHIEN
          LCHIEN commented
          Editing a comment
          I wasn't there when it failed. I think I left the compressor energized. The Breaker was tripped when I went in the garage shop.
      • LCHIEN
        Internet Fact Checker
        • Dec 2002
        • 20920
        • Katy, TX, USA.
        • BT3000 vintage 1999

        #19
        Under the light of day the compressor motor is shot. Inside the cage I can see the plastic form is deformed and hitting the case. Turns freely but less than 180 degrees and hits hard on both ends of movement.

        Guess I'll salvage the gauges and regulator and power cord and ditch the rest.

        The new HF Fortress powered right up. When I opened the drain valve it still had air pressure inside. I guess I let some Chinese air loose in Texas. Ran it open to atmosphere for 15 minutes to break in per instructions and then ran it to pressure. This one is 175 PSI tank pressure vs 135 I think on my old one. The sound is louder and higher pitched than the old which was somewhat less objectionable at a lower frequency. OTOH, the higher frequency does not carry outside the garage as much.

        Saw at Lowes today they had some Craftsman 6 gallon oilless compressors for $129 same as this one but the unit was a little lower power and less CFMs. But it did have a 1 year warranty - I hope I don't regret it. The HF only has a 90 day warranty.

        I do like the ball cock drain on the HF, its a lot easier to use. My old Craftsman Had a twist to close screw valve that was too hard to close tight enough by hand so I had to use a pair of pliers.

        Its holding pressure now and I'll hook it to my manifold a bit later. I have a five way manifold because it was the same price as the four on Amazon when I bought it.
        I have one hose by the door for outside work and tires. One going overhead to a retracting reel and one by the router/table saw.

        Oh! Do I need an extra accumulator tank? It will increase the time it takes to come up to pressure but it will be more air and less cycling. On the regulated side of course. I'm not replumbing a new compressor! 4 Gallon + 6 = 10. And it was only a 135 PSI tank anyway.

        Anyway, plugged in the manifold and all seems OK.

        New Compressor in its "home"
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        Salvageable parts
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        Attached Files
        Last edited by LCHIEN; 05-24-2022, 08:08 AM.
        Loring in Katy, TX USA
        If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
        BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

        Comment

        • LCHIEN
          Internet Fact Checker
          • Dec 2002
          • 20920
          • Katy, TX, USA.
          • BT3000 vintage 1999

          #20
          I didn't see this before. But NAPA (the auto parts store chain) has the same Craftsman 6 Gal 1 HP unit for $99.99 that Lowes has for $129.
          Made in the USA, 1 Yr warranty

          https://www.napaonline.com/en/search...sor&referer=v2
          Free shipping available.

          2.6 SCFM @90 instead of 3 SCFM and 150 PSI tank instead of 175 PSI Made in USA instead of China. Really like .8 HP instead of 1.

          At the price this is worth looking at if you need a small oil less compressor. And made in USA might be worth something these days if you are into that. Overall a good looking unit. w/ two QC outlets.
          Looks very similar to the Porter Cable unit sold for about $129 elsewhere.
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          Last edited by LCHIEN; 05-26-2022, 02:10 AM.
          Loring in Katy, TX USA
          If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
          BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

          Comment

          • LCHIEN
            Internet Fact Checker
            • Dec 2002
            • 20920
            • Katy, TX, USA.
            • BT3000 vintage 1999

            #21
            Post mortem on the expired Air compressor
            Observations
            1. found dead with tripped circuit breaker after having been left charged and energized overnight. Normally this should not be a problem, it leaks a little and will run for a short time every 30 minutes or an hour.
            2. Found that the motor hummed when plugged in briefly but did not run suggesting a bad start cap
            3. upon disassembly the cooling fan attached to the motor shaft was shattered into pieces. The motor and eccentric bearing with the piston attached would rotate freely about 90 degrees, but was hitting something the prevented full rotation... thus the motor was apparently stalled.
            4. Observation through the cooling slots showed a deformed and melted winding cage that was hitting part of the motor case, preventing rotation
            5. when installing the replacement compressor, the air manifold and distribution was found to be intact without significant leaks.

            conclusion -
            1. the motor got overheated.suggesting it ran too long without the fan.
            2. But the motor is "thermally protected" says so on the case so it should have cut off before parts melted. Sad because the fan is one of the few parts you can still buy.
            3. Should not have run for really long since the air system turned out to be intact... a major leak could have sent it into continuous running but there was no leak.
            So I don't know what caused the failure except perhaps it was 24 years old and the fan failure was a contributing cause. The thermal protection did not do its job.
            Otherwise Inconclusive.
            Last edited by LCHIEN; 05-27-2022, 09:57 AM.
            Loring in Katy, TX USA
            If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
            BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

            Comment

            • dbhost
              Slow and steady
              • Apr 2008
              • 9209
              • League City, Texas
              • Ryobi BT3100

              #22
              Sounds like whatever "Thermal Protection" circuit is there failed as well as the fan. And that's all she wrote as it were.

              I've seen those manifolds in store, yours is the first one I have seen anyone use in real life. I have however seen a friend make one out of a couple of MPT tees and nipples, I bet yours is far less prone to leaking...

              With any luck you will be able to at least convert the old Craftsman tank to a reserve air tank to give you some more capacity if thaqt is something you'd want. Typically however if you are buying pancake compressors tank capacity is not high on your prioority list...
              Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

              Comment

              • LCHIEN
                Internet Fact Checker
                • Dec 2002
                • 20920
                • Katy, TX, USA.
                • BT3000 vintage 1999

                #23
                I already have an old Freon tank converted to an air tank with a regulator. More than 4 or 6 gallons I am sure. I could put 100 psi on it and fill several 10-speed tires to 72psi.
                Last edited by LCHIEN; 05-27-2022, 11:30 PM.
                Loring in Katy, TX USA
                If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                Comment

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