Compressor trouble

[drummerboy]

Hello,

I hope someone can help me, I definitely need it! I don't know too much about compressors, because I have never had to repair one. There seem to be some very knowledgeable people here, so I thought I would ask. I will really appreciate any advice anyone can give me.

I have an old Sears compressor which has a crack where the coupler for the air line connects to it. The sears part comes up as a regulator manifold. This part has been discontinued. I called devilbiss, and they say the same thing. I asked if there was another manifold I could use, they said no. It just doesn't seem right that there is no other part that will work. This part is in line between my tank and the pressure switch. It looks like the tank line and the pressure switch are both 3/8" pipe. OD is about .675" so I think that makes it 3/8", right? It has both gauges on it, one for the tank pressure and one for the air line pressure distributed by the regulator. It seems so simple.

So I just need another regulator manifold that accepts 3/8" pipe, or some way to step up or down to that size, right? Am I missing something? I am handy enough to fix this, I just don't know what parts I can use being inexperienced with compressor repairs.

Here is a picture of the part, you can see where I had to put jb weld to keep the air from leaking. Very frustrating.

http://www.sterlingfive.com/hffu76.htm


I hope someone here is able to help, I am really stuck on this one.

Thank you very much,
Joe

 

[malcolm]

Does the manifold unscrew from the compressor? If so I'd be inclined to replace the manifold with a piece of pipe screwed to the compressor at one end and the pressure switch at the other. Could have a T piece to feed an external regulator and gauges, otherwise there might be tappings on the end of the cyliner you can use to feed a regulator.

If it's a fixed compressor it might be an advantage to have a filter regulator mounted either above the compressor or closer to where you work - that gets rid of a lot of the water thata you get in compressed air.

 

[rtbcomp]

I'd aggree with Malcolm, you should be able to make something up out of standard components.

 

[scarecrow]

There seems to be another outlet above the regulators if the second outlet is controlled by the regulator you could just block off the one you were using now and use that one
if it's not controlled by the regulator and you can block off the bottom more you can attach the new regulator to the top outlet with a bit of pipe

or just unscrew the regulator and the pressures switch then connect the pressures switch with the peace of pipe(with a tee junction) to the pipe coming out of the compressor the attach the new regulator to the tee junction

 

[shenion]

Hmm, that is an odd setup, most manifolds are just a block with holes drilled in it. That looks like some custom regulator.

You can build the whole thing out of standard parts. Use 3/8" NPT pipe and T-fitting. You will probably need a 3/8" to 1/4" reducer (or even 1/8") for the pressure switch and gauge.

Then off the tee, use a standard regulator. You can go cheap or do as I did and get a regulator/air filter/water trap/oiler combo.
Here's my setup:

As you can see I added a tee below the manifold. It is standard 3/8" and 1/4" NPT fittings. I also added ball valves to shut off what is not needed. The manifold only has 1/4" output fittings. I needed 3/8" for better flow and wanted two outputs, one with an oiler and a second without (second goes to separate regulator and water trap witha hose reel on opposite side of garage.)

I checked and my manifold is discontinued also. You can get generic manifolds. You will need one with 2 end ports and 3 middle ports for the output, pressure gauge and pressure release valve.

Here is an example manifold.

 

[rtbcomp]

That regulator is the same as the Aldi one mentioned elsewhere! Identical except that the flow is left to right on mine, the oiler being on the RHS of the regulator.

 

[Justme]

That regulator is the same as the Aldi one mentioned elsewhere! Identical except that the flow is left to right on mine, the oiler being on the RHS of the regulator.

Is Aldi selling a compressor reg?

I need one to fix my compressor as it got damaged.

Justme

 

[rtbcomp]

Is Aldi selling a compressor reg?

I need one to fix my compressor as it got damaged.

Justme

They were Thursday's bargain last week so you may have missed them.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4947

 

[Robotstar5]

They were Thursday's bargain last week so you may have missed them.

Our local Aldi usually have a few of the specials left for a few weeks, they don't seem to return them just wait for them to sell. It may be worth calling in on spec.

 

[Justme]

Ah so its a complete compressory. I just need the air presure control switch.

Dont just pop in to our "local" Aldi as its a 50 plus mile round trip.

Justme

 

[rtbcomp]

Ah so its a complete compressory. I just need the air presure control switch.

Dont just pop in to our "local" Aldi as its a 50 plus mile round trip.

Justme

Ah - you said regulator. Machine Mart do pressure switches.

 

[storm monkey]

That regulator is the same as the Aldi one mentioned elsewhere! Identical except that the flow is left to right on mine, the oiler being on the RHS of the regulator.

Hmm...... thought it looked familiar

 

[drummerboy]

Wow! I am overwhelmed with your responses! Thank you so much. I haven't had a chance to come back and write as I have been taking all the advice and trying what I could.

Does the manifold unscrew from the compressor?

Yup, got it off and started to work on it today.

There seems to be another outlet above the regulators if the second outlet is controlled by the regulator you could just block off the one you were using now

Thanks, I didn't even realize that was an outlet! Took a close look though, and noticed it's not regulated. It didn't look to promising to get the bottom outlet plugged up either. I cut off the cracked outlet past the crack hoping it might be salvageable, but the threads were screwed. (pardon the pun) Pretty much realized there is a reason they discontinued this manifold. LOL

Hmm, that is an odd setup, most manifolds are just a block with holes drilled in it. That looks like some custom regulator.

It's a Devilbiss part, I think. Unless it's not original, which could be the case. It's some sort of consumer quality with not much room for growth.

Awesome advice! I didn't realize it could build this with standard parts so easily until I saw this picture of your setup. Thanks a lot for throwing that up, it has really helped me understand that I can customize this thing however I want. This has really helped, thanks so much.


So, here is what I did today. I went and bought some tees, nipples, couplings, etc. And a regulator from the Depot. It's a husky, but it's all they had. I got my tee coming off the tank, out forward from the tee I have a nipple which goes to a full pressure quick coupler. Up from the tee I went to my regulator which has a gauge mounted on it. Up from the regulator I went to another tee which has a quick coupler out the front for regulated air, and out the top to my pressure switch. I didn't get a picture up yet, but I can tomorrow. It's pretty basic for you experts though. Only thing I still need to add is a blow off valve. The ones at the Depot were only 115 psi, do I need to get this somewhere else?

So the manifold works, sort of. I'm a little frustrated because I put a lot of hours into this today, and it is leaky. I hit every single connection with soapy water, didn't get any bubbles anywhere. I just finished working on it an hour ago, and it lost about 10 psi already. I just went out and checked again right now and noticed I didn't push the regulator know back in. Would that make it leak? It doesn't seem like it really does much of anything, but it's the only thing that is unchecked. I literally soaped everything, and it's not leaking anywhere else. Any ideas as to what else I can check for leaks?

So with the great advice everyone here provided I really got the confidence I needed to do this. Thanks a million for everything thus far. I am a real perfectionist though and I can see this is something that I am going to put a lot of time into making it just right. I already got in trouble with the wife for spending so much time on this today. Crap, this is just my first day working on this.....I'm gonna be in big trouble. Thanks a lot for opening this can of worms for me guys.

So I wouldn't mind investing in better equipment if the problem is this husky regulator, what do you guys think?

Y'all rock!

 

[shenion]

Heh, I have paid a fortune if fittings over this last year. Some for the compressor, most for setting up 4 welders.

You should be able to get pressure valves. I have one like these. I like the pull ring when you want to empty the tank.

It sounds like you have the pressure switch after the regulator. It should be connected to tank pressure.

Did you use teflon tape on all the fittings? Galv or black steel need something to seal.

Those cheap plastic regs tend to leak. I have 4 of them, after a lot of use they leak out the adjust knob. My reg/filter/oiler leaks some times. Cost $40 but still Chinese junk. A good one is a fortune.

Good to hear you working it out; post a pic of the setup.

<Scott>

 

[drummerboy]

Yeah, I'll grab a photo tomorrow. I put teflon tape on everything. Used galvanized, no black. It sounds like the switch is after the regulator, but it's on a tee. The regulator comes of one outlet of the tee, and the switch is on the other. It's off tank pressure for sure.

Yeah, it's plastic/metal. I guess it's cheap. Maybe that's where my problem is then? What would be a good regulator to get. I can just order another and return this one when it arrives.

 

[shenion]

If you find a good inexpenive reg, let me know.

HomerD, auto parts stors etc sell the same Chinese reg I have and theirs are $70. I wanted 3/8" for flow but most sell 1/4 regs.

Craftsman makes good regs. I had one of these but gave it away with my old compressor. I wish i had kept it.

If you get a reg, get one with a water trap and filter. The Craftsman one I ahd worked great; without it I had water oozing out my die fgrinder.

 

[rtbcomp]

I've had two Clarke regs that leaked from the knob, the second one wasn't that cheap either!

As well as the Aldi one I got one from Thorite so we'll see how those go.

Re my comment about the Aldi one being the other way round, the bracket is reversible and the gauge can be fitted to either side, so it's just the way it was put together.

 

[drummerboy]

Here is some new photos of what I did.

http://www.sterlingfive.com/hffu76.htm

Checked everything again, can't find the leak. I am wondering if the switch could have a leak inside, or the compressor. Would either of those be likely?

 

[malcolm]

Have you tried brushing on washing up liquid mixed with a little water (onto all the bits that don't have electrics inside them )? That's great for showing up leaks and good for making bubbles too.

Ought to be good for ruling out a lot of stuff to help find the culprit. Pressure switches can leak.

Oh - you can post photos on the forum too - save you the trouble of doing a web page - see here.

 

[shenion]

Could be the check valve on the compressor (usually located at the tank end of the line). See if any air is coming out of the unloader.

You could try eliminating the regulator to see if it is any better.

I bet you'll get better flow with that setup. Those stock manifolds are all 1/4 fiittings. Looks well done. Should work well as soon as you find the last leak