[oldred]

Grouch-You will have to drop the RPM on that pump down quite a bit to get by with a 5 HP motor but it can be done it just will not be as efficient as a pump designed for 5 HP and running at rated RPM but it probably will work. Try Compressor world for tanks as they have much better prices than you quoted from Grainger, etc.($245 for a 60 gal vertical if this catalog is up to date) I am not sure about a distributer near you, shipping could be expensive.

www.compressorworld.com

If you are trying to salvage the pressure switch from the "dinky CH" it will not work since it will probably be much to light to handle the amps of a real 5 HP motor and I would also be wary of the safety valve, good ones are inexpensive and need to be capable of dumping more air than the compressor makes. Your very life could depend on that safety valve.

You touched on something I have griped about for years--replacement parts cost. Did you ever price a replacement engine for a lawn mower? 5-6 HP lawn mower replacement engines are easy to find but you can go to Wall-mart or about any big retailer and buy a complete new mower with the EXACT same engine for about 20 bucks less than the engine by itself, how do they figure?

[grouch]

Originally Posted by oldred

Grouch-You will have to drop the RPM on that pump down quite a bit to get by with a 5 HP motor but it can be done it just will not be as efficient as a pump designed for 5 HP and running at rated RPM but it probably will work.

By my calculations I'm running it at 345 RPM right now by using the approximately 1.5 HP motor. Not sure what the original diesel engine was governed at. It has a 4.5" double groove pulley and the compressor has a 10", so if the governed speed was 2500, that would yield compressor speed of 1125 RPM. If it was 2000, it would yield 900 RPM.

With roughly 3 times the horsepower, I'm hoping to be able to increase both the RPM (some) and get above that 40 PSI stall it's doing now.

Originally Posted by oldred

Try Compressor world for tanks as they have much better prices than you quoted from Grainger, etc.($245 for a 60 gal vertical if this catalog is up to date) I am not sure about a distributer near you, shipping could be expensive.

www.compressorworld.com

If you are trying to salvage the pressure switch from the "dinky CH" it will not work since it will probably be much to light to handle the amps of a real 5 HP motor and I would also be wary of the safety valve, good ones are inexpensive and need to be capable of dumping more air than the compressor makes. Your very life could depend on that safety valve.

Oldred you did it again! That URL didn't show up in any Google or Dogpile search I tried: ASME air tanks, air compressor tanks ASME, ASME air receivers, and I don't remember the rest. Half the time I think all that comes up are sponsored links or hundreds of aliases for the same place.

That price means I can bump the motor to a 7.5 HP, get a new tank, switch and safety valve and still not go over the cost of a decent pre-built system. It was a gamble at 5 HP and the salvage. The tank cost was making me pull my hair out.

Originally Posted by oldred

You touched on something I have griped about for years--replacement parts cost. Did you ever price a replacement engine for a lawn mower? 5-6 HP lawn mower replacement engines are easy to find but you can go to Wall-mart or about any big retailer and buy a complete new mower with the EXACT same engine for about 20 bucks less than the engine by itself, how do they figure?

That makes me gnash my teeth and fits this situation.

Reading all the things in this thread that people are able to do with their systems just kept me determined to get something going. I made what I guess is a classic mistake with compressors -- compared the minimum CFM my sander needs, to the maximum shown on the side of that Campbell-Hausfield and thought I could sand my Olds. It was a minute of sanding and ten minutes waiting. Now I'm looking forward to sanding as long as I want.

Thanks loads and if you're ever in KY, give a yell! We can sit in the shade and NOT listen to an oil-less compressor shake the landscape, just an occasional bloopitabloopitabloopita.

[oldred]

Grouch-In order to get the most from that set-up you could use a multi-meter with a clamp on amp pick up and adjust the pulley ratio so that the motor is pulling optimum amps(running amps not start-up) at just before cut off pressure. which ever motor you decide to use do not exceed max amp draw or you will burn out the motor in short order. That 7 1/2 sounds good to me as I am sure that pump can make use of that much power but don't guess at the power draw check it with a meter. If you don't have one Harbor Freight has some cheap ones that work decent or a Craftsman is a lot better if you want to spend more on a really good one. I would not pull the motor power to the max since I think it would be a good idea to leave a little room for error. From what you have described, if you can get the RPM up to an efficient range, you could be looking at around 20 CFM or better-not bad!

[grouch]

Oldred:

I ordered that tank last night. Next will be the motor, pressure switch and safety valve (have to check local prices; rather support local jobs when possible). It will have to connect to my welder's outlet until I can run a new dedicated line for it.

Thanks for the tips on adjusting the pulley ratio. I hadn't even thought about checking the power draw.

I can't (yet) vote in ChevelleSS_LS6's poll, but should be able to in a week or two. Check out my insane test setup in the attached image. It works well enough to inflate a tire and was sufficient to show me that it's just a tank and power away from being truly useful. "Deathtrap" was not one of the selections available in the poll.

[oldred]

Grouch-I have no doubt that with the ingenuity and determination you have shown you will have a very useful compressor and braggin rights too!

[grouch]

Well, I don't know about that ingenuity part but I thank you for the kind words and encouragement. It sure increases the odds of success to have a place where good folks share what they know.

[ChevelleSS_LS6]

Originally Posted by grouch

Oldred:

"Deathtrap" was not one of the selections available in the poll.

I don't think that even looks like an air compressor, wow. Just build it safe.

[theHIGHLANDER]

I have a 10HP Speedaire 4cyl air compressor. It has a vertical balast tank attached of 125gal capacity as well as the horizontal 80 gal base unit. It's 35cfm @ 150psi. I have it running on a single phase 10 HP motor from Grainger. It takes about 3-4min to fill both tanks from empty to 150psi. It runs for 1min 15sec to refill from 120 to 150psi. It will catch up to a DA sander and orbital airfile in less than 2 min.


Since I already had this get-up it made sense to take it home when I closed my shop. For what I could have sold it for I couldn't replace it with anything "home sized". It's definately my "Tim Allen" corner of the home shop.

[ChevelleSS_LS6]

Originally Posted by theHIGHLANDER

I have a 10HP Speedaire 4cyl air compressor. It has a vertical balast tank attached of 125gal capacity as well as the horizontal 80 gal base unit. It's 35cfm @ 150psi. I have it running on a single phase 10 HP motor from Grainger. It takes about 3-4min to fill both tanks from empty to 150psi. It runs for 1min 15sec to refill from 120 to 150psi. It will catch up to a DA sander and orbital airfile in less than 2 min.


Since I already had this get-up it made sense to take it home when I closed my shop. For what I could have sold it for I couldn't replace it with anything "home sized". It's definately my "Tim Allen" corner of the home shop.

Forget Tim Allen, it'd be Rat Fink of Air Compressors

[THE BRONC]

I have an 80 gallon 5 horsepower Champion compressor. It is a 2 stage with a mag starter intended for industrial use. I got it through a barter deal by doing some bodywork on a guys Fiat. I really appreciate having all of that air power when I am using my sandblaster. Thses compressors are available through Granger and sell for about $2,000.

[Bugs]

I now have two compressors , one oil-less that no longer works(see the "Mud Dobber and tools don't mix" post of mine) and the new one I had to buy, it is a 30 gallon twin that uses oil in the crank case, it don't put out near the amount of air as the Oil-free did but I get by with it

[Bugs]

I have just read this entire thread and found out a lot of useful info, like mounting your compressor out side of your shop, I have total respect for what damage compressed air can do,I have a hard headed Brother in law, he claims he had seen a 14 inch tire mounted on a 14.5 inch mobile home rim before, he used to use mobile home axles and tires on his boat trailer(he is a commercial fisherman) he got tired of haveing to look for decent 14.5" tires and decided he would run 14" tires on it and like I said he claimed he had seen this before and it could be done, there was no talking him out of it, so I went to the hardware store and bought an air chuck that clamps on, we mounted the tire on the rim without any problems and put enough air in it to hold it on the rim, I had an old Rambler here in the yard that was upside down from where my son and I where stripping it, I slid the tire and rim up under the engine compartment and clamped the air chuck to it, I then went and turned on the air pressure and hid behind a wall with my B.I.L.

I don't know how much air was in it at the time but when it let go ,It let go, that tire (a radial) blew out from underneath and it actully lifted the old Ramble off the ground just a bit and bent the inside fender well where it connected with the car, you could hear the boom for a long way because a freind of mine from down the road came to see what in the world it was,

So anyone that thinks air can't blow up under the right pressure is just plain wrong, My silly brother in law still swears he has seen them mounted on the 14.5" rims, he decided it must have been a bias ply tire that they used and wanted to buy one(used) and try it again, needless to say I didn't want any part of it,I don't think he really did either, he went out within a week of this stupid thing we did and bought regular axles and 14" tires from a place in Ocala Fl. So don't try this at home

[bcrebs2]

I have a snap-on 80 gal high recovery.

[oldred]

Bugs, I am not surprised at what happened with that tire and unless they see it happen first hand a lot of people just cannot grasp the amount of force that can be released when a tank or tire lets go all at once. But really if you think about it it is easy to imagine if you just look at a toy balloon with it's tiny amount of air and next to no pressure even it can burst with enough force to leave your ears ringing. Now multiply that many,many times in volume and increase the pressure a 100 times and Boom! But still I see some old tanks that should have been replaced years ago still in use and the owners always say "it's lasted this long it will be ok" Probably it will be since massive tank failure is rare but it does happen and when it does the damage is usually severe. You would have no trouble at all convincing the guys at a truck tire repair shop!

[grouch]

Oldred:
I swear I'm not following you. Just happened to land in Garage - Tools right after you did.

I worked my way through high school and part of college at a tire shop. Anyone caught airing a big truck tire outside the cage got sent home. The cage was made of close set, heavy walled steel pipe arches connected by heavy plate. The pipes, IIRC, were about 4" outside diameter. When one of those things let go, people knew about it for miles around. The clang of the split ring from the truck wheel hitting the cage was not nearly as bad as the boom from all that air blowing the tube out the side. The cage was kept in a corner of the concrete block building and a heavy chain was used to both keep the tire & wheel in it and keep the cage from leaving the area if a blow-out happened. There's a lot of energy trapped in those big tires.