I bought one of these recently and mentioned it in the "Today I aquired" thread. It generated a bit of interest. I have finally got it set up and working in a fashion so here's a few a pics and a write up in case anyone is thinking that they might want to have a go themselves. I don't have a clue about this stuff so feel free to tell me if you see anything done wrong in the pics or description below.
Firstly, 116 quid of Ebay's finest. The Ebay picture is better than mine so I'm using theirs. Specifications are in the picture. It came full of oil which I didn't expect. There's also a 2 metre hose with a 3/8" NPT male fitting at both ends. The hose is long enough to reach the ram with the pump on the floor.
The pump also comes with a 3/8"NPT male to 1/4"NPT female reducer and a 3/8" NPT quick connect type valved connector. The quick connect was much bigger than what's fitted on my ram so it's of no use to me.
This is the quick connector and reducer that came with it.
My compressor. Don't laugh!
24litres 3hp.
This isn't my shop press but it's pretty much the same one. I don't have a full length pic of mine so this one off Ebay will have to do. My garage is too cluttered to get a decent shot of it. It is pretty much the same size the one that Machine Mart sell but their's is rated at 12 tons. You'll see mine in a minute.
The air inlet on the pump is 1/4"NPT so I had to buy a 1/4"BSP to 1/4"NPT adaptor off Ebay in order to connect my air line from the compressor. They are only a few quid (£2.99).
The hydraulic ram on my press has a quick connector in it. I managed to buy a few identical ones off Ebay to attach to the hydraulic hose. This allows me to swap from the hand pump to the air pump in a matter of seconds. The valves in the connector stops air getting in when you swap them over. (Thanks @Brad93)
These are the connectors I bought. An Ebay seller was selling them second hand, removed from Clarke/Machine Mart rams. They are scaled down versions of the one that came with pump. They are the same as what's already on my ram so I thought they would be ok to use. The three bits on the right of the picture are the component parts and the bit on the left is them assembled together. I only needed the middle bit of the three to connect to my hose as the collar and the other bit are already on the ram and they don't get swapped out.
The thread on the quick connector valve is 1/4" NPT. I also bought a 3/8"NPT to 1/4"NPT reducer (£4.19) in order to connect the hose to the valve which connects to the ram.
The top hose on the pic below is the valve connector on the handpump that the press came with. The bottom hose is the one that came with the air pump. 3/8"NPT male on the hose, brass reducer to quick change 1/4"NPT poppet valve I think it is called. The funny camera angle makes the bottom one look smaller but they are the same. I have spent a fair bit of time with thread gauges and the like making sure I had the right connections throughout. NPT 1/4" is 18tpi BSP 1/4" is 19tpi. They appear very similar to the eye.
This is the air/hydraulic hose attached to the ram. The knurled collar just spins off by hand in order to swap the hoses if needed.
Pump connected up
Not the best pic below but 20 Chinese tons showing on the gauge. All using the little compressor. It works! I had to stop just once and let the compressor catch up to get there.
I had a couple of teething faults. All the fittings needed PTFE so there were alot few drips until I disconnected it all and taped it up again. The joints are fine now. The ram operates well with the pump but the compressor kicks in to start refilling before I reach the bottom of the ram stroke. The compressor is too small which is what I expected. It will power the pump and the press but it is bloody annoying stopping and starting all the time. The compressor is full at 8 bar pressure and kicks in again at 6 bar which is only a few seconds pumping on the ram
This isn't a review or a reccommendation. I've only had it five minutes and it might break tomorrow. Seems OK so far though.
I've been hankering after a bigger compressor for a while.....
Firstly, 116 quid of Ebay's finest. The Ebay picture is better than mine so I'm using theirs. Specifications are in the picture. It came full of oil which I didn't expect. There's also a 2 metre hose with a 3/8" NPT male fitting at both ends. The hose is long enough to reach the ram with the pump on the floor.
The pump also comes with a 3/8"NPT male to 1/4"NPT female reducer and a 3/8" NPT quick connect type valved connector. The quick connect was much bigger than what's fitted on my ram so it's of no use to me.
This is the quick connector and reducer that came with it.
My compressor. Don't laugh!
24litres 3hp.
This isn't my shop press but it's pretty much the same one. I don't have a full length pic of mine so this one off Ebay will have to do. My garage is too cluttered to get a decent shot of it. It is pretty much the same size the one that Machine Mart sell but their's is rated at 12 tons. You'll see mine in a minute.
The air inlet on the pump is 1/4"NPT so I had to buy a 1/4"BSP to 1/4"NPT adaptor off Ebay in order to connect my air line from the compressor. They are only a few quid (£2.99).
The hydraulic ram on my press has a quick connector in it. I managed to buy a few identical ones off Ebay to attach to the hydraulic hose. This allows me to swap from the hand pump to the air pump in a matter of seconds. The valves in the connector stops air getting in when you swap them over. (Thanks @Brad93)
These are the connectors I bought. An Ebay seller was selling them second hand, removed from Clarke/Machine Mart rams. They are scaled down versions of the one that came with pump. They are the same as what's already on my ram so I thought they would be ok to use. The three bits on the right of the picture are the component parts and the bit on the left is them assembled together. I only needed the middle bit of the three to connect to my hose as the collar and the other bit are already on the ram and they don't get swapped out.
The thread on the quick connector valve is 1/4" NPT. I also bought a 3/8"NPT to 1/4"NPT reducer (£4.19) in order to connect the hose to the valve which connects to the ram.
The top hose on the pic below is the valve connector on the handpump that the press came with. The bottom hose is the one that came with the air pump. 3/8"NPT male on the hose, brass reducer to quick change 1/4"NPT poppet valve I think it is called. The funny camera angle makes the bottom one look smaller but they are the same. I have spent a fair bit of time with thread gauges and the like making sure I had the right connections throughout. NPT 1/4" is 18tpi BSP 1/4" is 19tpi. They appear very similar to the eye.
This is the air/hydraulic hose attached to the ram. The knurled collar just spins off by hand in order to swap the hoses if needed.
Pump connected up
Not the best pic below but 20 Chinese tons showing on the gauge. All using the little compressor. It works! I had to stop just once and let the compressor catch up to get there.
I had a couple of teething faults. All the fittings needed PTFE so there were a
This isn't a review or a reccommendation. I've only had it five minutes and it might break tomorrow. Seems OK so far though.
I've been hankering after a bigger compressor for a while.....
Last edited:
.
again...
.
