Mr.Moto
Well-Known Member
Yeah, especially when the bladder is not working! Luckily youtube prepared me for the removal.
The DIY thread - DIYourself
- Thread starter Red Mosquito
- Start date
qclabrat
Well-Known Member
Now you can come down and show me how it's done.
This is my 30yo compressor - which stopped compressing.
Can't be too tough, so i pulled the cowling off (T20s, the guy on the internet used a jigsaw..)
Pulled the head, and the filler tube.
Rebuild kit not available on searspartsdirect, so looked on amazon.
$15 and it is overnighted. New cylinder sleeve, piston seal, and o-ring.
Sleeve drops in, Piston seal is held in by a simple cap, screwed down to the piston rod (there is no piston pin)
couple of reed valves in the head do the work.
$15 and about an hour to take apart, put back together - fills up fast!
now to find some filter material for the intake.
If you ever see an old sears/craftsman compressor being tossed - grab it.
Easy fix. Hopefully i don't die from diy.
Can't be too tough, so i pulled the cowling off (T20s, the guy on the internet used a jigsaw..)
Pulled the head, and the filler tube.
Rebuild kit not available on searspartsdirect, so looked on amazon.
$15 and it is overnighted. New cylinder sleeve, piston seal, and o-ring.
Sleeve drops in, Piston seal is held in by a simple cap, screwed down to the piston rod (there is no piston pin)
couple of reed valves in the head do the work.
$15 and about an hour to take apart, put back together - fills up fast!
now to find some filter material for the intake.
If you ever see an old sears/craftsman compressor being tossed - grab it.
Easy fix. Hopefully i don't die from diy.
rick81721
Lothar
Rational alternative - buy new one and don't worry about it for 10 years. Plus don't waste several hours!
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
As someone who systematically takes things apart just to know how they work I could not disagree more! To each their own I guess. I'm not always capable to put things back together the way they were, I'll give you that.
Also, that compressor is probably going to be good for another 10 years anyway. Or be in the garbage tomorrow.
I also wonder if compressor construction quality and reliability has gone the way of many appliances, where their life expectancy seriously decreased over time.
rick81721
Lothar
I look at it this way. Time is fixed - you only have so much. You can't buy more. A compressor is a tool. Why waste time futzing with a piece of crap old tool when you can buy a new one and spend the time actually using said tool?
JerseyPete
Well-Known Member
Please Google "air compressor exploded" and see videos of them less than 15 years old letting go due to rust.
@Patrick buy a new one.
moose35
Well-Known Member
Spoken like a true "moneyed man".
Some people actually struggle and can't afford to just throw it out and buy a new one. Or be able to bring the bike or car to the shop. If it breaks you either fix it yourself or have to go without.
As for time being fixed your right. I may need to work more hours to pay for the new one then the hours or so it may take me to fix it. That time can also be spend with my child showing them how to fix things and learning to be self-sufficient and not need to rely on others.
Mahnken
Well-Known Member
Why use a new tool, that's a waste of time. Just pay someone else to do it.
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
No, not really. Compressors that were formerly expensive are still expensive, and largely just as good (Ingersoll Rand, ie).
Makita makes decent mid-range compressors (to give you an idea of price, mind you...). Anyone's oil-filled compressor will last the lifetime of several oil-less compressors. I refuse to buy any of those portable battery powered compressors, simply because, while they're quiet, they're definitely not a lifetime tool...and I don't need quiet.
Shop compressors have two nasty failure modes: rust (as alluded to above, and why you need to purge the tank at the end of the day, if you want it to last a proper amount of time), and pressure sensor failure. For the second, you very much hopefully have a working relief valve, which will blow before the tank does--see above. Being in the same room when even a 5-gallon tank blows is...extremely unpleasant. You can simulate the kind of noise to expect by opening the dump valve...it's loud/the pressure wave can actually disorient, if it is in it's own separate closet. I wouldn't hazard where "the line" is, but anything rupturing is bad news, because they usually don't just rip open (see: rust). Mechanical failure is also a distinct possibility with neglected compressors, where a belt will snap/a pulley or flywheel may self-destruct.
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
It can happen to a much newer one. The issue is condensation inside the tank not being drained while the compressor sits unused. If not mantained properly, a new, cheaper and thinner walled compressor may last even less. Thinking of tools like something that can sit in a garage for years not being used and then just be ready to be used in a jiffy is not always true, mostly an idea entertained by who doesn’t use tools.
borrowed the neighbors extension ladder for the weekend, some of the boards under the dormer eves were peeling back and birds were nesting in there.
apparently the woodpeckers like 100+year old wood as well whodathunk?
apparently the woodpeckers like 100+year old wood as well whodathunk?
how much time would it take for me to buy a new compressor?
It has to be running the next day to match what i did in two hours (max)
mostly cause i had to watch the guy jigsaw the cowl cause he didn't have a T20 long enough to fit. couldn't look away.
i don't subscribe to anecdotal videos of exploding things - cause people explode them on purpose.
it is also more likely that rust will create pinholes - amhik.
It has to be running the next day to match what i did in two hours (max)
mostly cause i had to watch the guy jigsaw the cowl cause he didn't have a T20 long enough to fit. couldn't look away.
i don't subscribe to anecdotal videos of exploding things - cause people explode them on purpose.
it is also more likely that rust will create pinholes - amhik.
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qclabrat
Well-Known Member
Do you have a duct or some other mechanical function where they are pecking? In my place, they peck in a spot where we have a high mount heat vent as they hear a sound and think it's a bug. I hung some CDs in a tree nearby to deter them which worked till the CDs fell off the tree.
JerseyPete
Well-Known Member
You're right. I do tend to play things safer than needed. I've also had pin holes in old compressors, didn't blow up but I got rid of them anyway.
Nope not in either spot
Also holy fuck am i sore. Swinging around a 32 ft ladder is no joke
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rick81721
Lothar
That's my philosophy as well, but if someone is going to waste time using tools, it's even more time wasted fixing tools before using.
rick81721
Lothar
When was it painted last - 10 yrs ago?
before we bought it, so probably more. Yes its due for a coat of paint, but wasnt painting it before the trim got fixed.