Compressor pressuring problems

[tomfc]

Well i have been given a Clarke compressor model no. SE7AR.

The motor all seems to power up correctly and the pump spins freely, but as soon as theres any pressure in the tank the part circled in this picture just lets the air out. If i put the top of the part circled it will stop the air being released and the tank will continue to pump up, however it is extremely slow to get pressure (it took about 25minutes to get up to 6bar, then wouldnt pressurize any further...

Now obviously the valve that i ha to push the top of will need to be sorted, can this be repaired of will a new valve need to be brought? if a new please could someone tell me what its called?

But i think there must also be a more serious problem for it to take so long to pressurize and not pressure further further past 6bar.

Just as a side not the pressure cut of switch is not stopping it from going further than 6bar, it will continue pumping but not pressurize further...

Any help would be great.

 

[brightspark]

thats the safety presure relief valve they can be redily bought machine mart ect .there generaly a spring and ballbearing inside. and adjustable . are u sure your presure gauge is reading ok tank presure that is . if its reading low that might be part of the trouble other than that the pump valves or the bore and rings probably worn out

 

[tomfc]

Oh ok, ill strip that off and have a look to see if i can solve that problem atleast.

Yes iv tried two different pressure gauges, so im sure that is correct. Ah sounds like a different pump then i did try and search for parts, but i cant seem to find anything under my model or serial numbers...

 

[shenion]

Looks like that gauge is on the output side of the regulator, so it will read what that is set at (90 PSI is common, near 6 bar.) Is there more than one gauge?

The pressure relief valve can easily be replaced.

 

[brightspark]

Looks like that gauge is on the output side of the regulator, so it will read what that is set at (90 PSI is common, near 6 bar.) Is there more than one gauge?

The pressure relief valve can easily be replaced.

as said presure gauge is on the output not on the tank realy u need to know what the tank presure is / the safety valve is ajustable just screw it down on the threads .only if u know the proper tank presure though otherwise its dangerous and not a wise thing to do

 

[tomfc]

Im not sure what side the gauge is on, i just tried both gauges from that same take off... Theres only one gauge on the unit itself...

Not sure to be honest the only think that makes me think it isnt on the output side of the regulator is it took such a long time to get up to that pressure also the pressure cut off never cut in, i know this could be faulty, but i would expect to see more pressure sooner...

 

[rtbcomp]

As said the gauge is on the output of the regulator, you can confirm this by screwing the knob on the regulator down and the reading should increase.

If the cut out is faulty get a 4 port one from Machine Mart and a pressure gauge to stick in one of the spare ports. You'll need some 1/4 bsp blanking plugs for the redundant ports,

 

[tomfc]

ill go and adjust the regulator tap now and see, but it still doenst make sense to me why it takes so long to get up to that pressure...

I guess there is the possibility of it pressurizing past 6 bar, but i got bored of waiting, as it was taking soo long to even get up to 3 bar...

 

[brightspark]

ill go and adjust the regulator tap now and see, but it still doenst make sense to me why it takes so long to get up to that pressure...

worn pump

 

[rtbcomp]

One step at a time!

You said the pressure switch didn't work - maybe it has a perforated diaphram.

Can you feel air leaking from anywhere?

 

[the snooper]

a guy in the next workshop to us just had to repair a clarke that wouldnt reach full pressure.
turned out to be a broken reed valve

 

[tomfc]

One step at a time!

You said the pressure switch didn't work - maybe it has a perforated diaphram.

Can you feel air leaking from anywhere?

No im unsure weather the pressure switch works as it takes so long to get to pressure.

Iv just been out and had a little play with it, iv adjusted the valve i circled in the first picture so that no longer has to be pressed down to stop the air leak.

I also adjusted the tap, but it still wouldnt pressure further that about 6.2 bar. I had another look at the pressure gauge and it appears to be working directly off the tank, and the output taps are after the gauge, i didnt know if that makes sense, sorry im new to compressors.

It did take 9 minutes to get to 3.5 bar, and just over 20 to get to 6bar.

There is a very small leak coming from where the airline plugs in.

 

[the snooper]

if you cant get it pressurised you may have to remove the cylinder head and check the reed valves they have been known to crack and fall apart

 

[tomfc]

cheers buddy, ill get it off tomorrow and have a look, the only problem is, i cant even find my model compressor online let alone any parts to fix it...

 

[brightspark]

cheers buddy, ill get it off tomorrow and have a look, the only problem is, i cant even find my model compressor online let alone any parts to fix it...

its still worth a nosey to see weather its the valves or the bore

 

[the snooper]

if a reed has gone take it to machine mart and get them to match it

just had another look at the photo usually if the rings or bore are shot, or at least the ones Ive come across the pumps and base plate are usually covered in oil from back pressure

 

[tomfc]

Ok ill take it off tomorrow and see whats what.

Im not really sure how pumps work, is a reed like for example a head gasket of a car? or is there also a gasket?

 

[the snooper]

there is a gasket just like a car and the reed valves are just flat pieces of spring steel that seal the inlet and outlet ports ie on compression the inlet vales needs to be closed or the air will be pumped straight back out of the air filter instead of being compressed into the tank equally the outlet needs to be sealed on induction so it pulls air through the filter and not from the delivery pipe

 

[rtbcomp]

........I had another look at the pressure gauge and it appears to be working directly off the tank, and the output taps are after the gauge, i didnt know if that makes sense, sorry im new to compressors.

........

I have that same regulator in my hand as I type and the gauge definitely connects to the outlet.

The reg has 2 outlets, one each side of the gauge.

If it was mine I would remove the reg and check the pressure in the tank. The reg may be faulty (which is why mine is no longer connected to
my compressor)

It would be a shame if you took the head off and everything was OK, but you couldn't get it back together again due to lack of parts.

The tank may be overpressurising which is why you had to adjust the safety valve, a bad thing to do as you don't know what the pressure is in the tank.

 

[tigler]

Could also be faulty valves , or remotely , a blocked air intake filter or restricted intake. I've encountered that before on a compressor a mate was using for paint spraying ,paint mist had gradually blocked the filter , but it could also be years of dust accumulation from neglect. Compressors are just expected to continue working forever with no maintenance by some users , even when suffering abuse !!