Sealey trips out

[tigler]

Absolutely agree and there is nothing to apologise for. This discussion process has been invaluable as you rightly say.
The main dificulty, IMHO, was to suppress the natural tendency to think that because the compressor was relatively new it was unlikely to be a manufacturing defect in the motor.
It proved that fault finding must be a ruthlessly logical process !!

 

[the snooper]

result at last, now yo can catch up with whatever you wanted to do a few months ago

 

[bigtip]

glad to hear it's running well again..now you'll actually have to do some work!

this has been a good thread and i'm still interested to know why compressors tend to struggle in the cold weather.

 

[eil]

Absolutely agree and there is nothing to apologise for. This discussion process has been invaluable as you rightly say.
The main dificulty, IMHO, was to suppress the natural tendency to think that because the compressor was relatively new it was unlikely to be a manufacturing defect in the motor.
It proved that fault finding must be a ruthlessly logical process !!

I second Tiglers views there, and I'm glad you've finally got it sorted.
(I think it was the centrifugal switch, I know, I know let it go )

 

[alfapat]

Well bought two capacitors and it certainly livened things up , but still the compressor throws the trip switch.
I have been advised to up the amps setting , this is supposed to be under the black box holding the capacitors, I cant see this so has anyone any knowledge of this amp setting somewhere please?

 

[brightspark]

Well bought two capacitors and it certainly livened things up , but still the compressor throws the trip switch.
I have been advised to up the amps setting , this is supposed to be under the black box holding the capacitors, I cant see this so has anyone any knowledge of this amp setting somewhere please?

what trip switch does it knock out ?? and where

 

[alfapat]

It's a overload switch set in the wiring box situated on top of the motor, this also holds the large capacitors, the motors are a lot livelier than before fitting new ones but the set up still not happy as any cooling down say in a couple of hours it throws the black button out .

 

[tigler]

Looking at an earlier post someone suggested increasing the trip current on the trip, the safety trip in the motor terminal box cannot be adjusted.
Either the trip is faulty or the motor is. In the motors case, it could be damaged windings or a centrifugal switch that is not cutting out the start cap. The current draw needs to be checked to determine which. That can only practically done with a clamp type amp meter.

 

[Cret]

From the sound of things, and if you've tried the valves and stuff that I've already tested on mine then it could be the motor, just like mine turned out to be.

The symptoms are exactly the same aren't they? Ie it runs when the tank is empty, restarts when warm & part filled, but will not run when cold & part filled?

Fault batch of motors or something would be my guess, but after getting the motor replaced by sealey mine is perfect and it's obvious it was struggling from the day I bought it now & must have been faulty all along.

 

[alfapat]

The motor sounds fine , but from what you say this could be the overall fault.
How much was the Motor to replace ,can I ask?

 

[Cret]

Didn't cost me a penny as it was under warranty from new still.

As I say I'm pretty sure it was faulty from day one because even when it did start up successfully it was always slow sounding, and with a noticeable lag from very slow for a second or two before running at full speed.

After replacing the motor it's more or less instantly at full speed as soon as I switch it on. Huge difference and it feels/sounds as if there is no effort at all for it to start now, compared with what always seemed like it was struggling previously.

 

[asahartz]

Really useful thread. I have a similar Sealey, a bit older. When I bought it I found the compressor bearings were shot and replaced it with a Clarke pump. It was fine at at the tim.
Now the unit has been throwing the trip for a while. Reset the trip and away it goes again - until today. Today the motor tried to turn and the plug fuse blew. Twice.

A mate who works for a compressor company had a look, but couldn't be sure. He couldn't find any obvious signs of any fault. He has suggested that it may be the caps and as they're relatively cheap I'll try them first. Strange though how Sealey's values of 55uF and 65uF can only be found from Sealey stockists at £66 each! and I can get a generic 60uF for £12.

However this thread has got me thinking motor. If it is, looks like I may be after a new compressor!

 

[asahartz]

Well I got the compressor running again today. I replaced the 13A fuse with a piece of 15A fuse wire - knowing the startup current of these motors, and it's still protected by the RCD and MCB as well. I ran the motor with the belt off and it was fine, so I replaced the belt, a little less tight than before. It worked pretty well and pressurised up to 9 bar before the cutout dropped out again. It wouldn't reset immediately, but within 30 seconds I could reset and it went right up to 10 bar.

I did notice that the open cutout seemed a bit slack. I managed to spray a couple of coats, but it did trip again a couple of times. I'm now not convinced that there is anything wrong with the caps or motor, and I've going to change the cutout as I suspect it may be dodgy. If it works at least it's a cheap fix, and at least the unit is in some sort of working order for now and I can get spraying over easter!

 

[asahartz]

Well the compressor has behaved itself perfectly since I did this - the only time it's tripped was after an hour or so's hammering with my Bluepoint DA sander, the most air-hungry tool I've ever met.

So yes, cheap fix.

 

[tigler]

I would still be a little wary if it tripped out, feel the motor after it's had a good run to make sure it isn't running hot, just to be sure.

 

[asahartz]

It's only tripped the once in three weeks. I think it's decent enough.