Snap-On HP12 Compressor Operation and Maintenance

[JonnyAlpha]

7 min to 10 Bar is quite slow for a 50L tank, that would indicate that's is only doing about 2.5 cfm free air delivery. Try and run it without the filter on see how long it takes. judging by the look of the filter and the motor fan the valves might well be covered in paint.

Do you mean running it without the Air Filter Fitted to the Main Motor?
If the valves are covered in paint can they be cleaned?
2.5 cfm no good for mine or anyones needs :-(

 

[JonnyAlpha]

Overall I would say it's had a hard life and might be tired out as it does seem a bit slow, depending on how old it is a new capacitor might liven it up a bit. Have you checked the belt condition, tension and alignment as it could be slipping? The pressure gauge on the regulator has probably had a knock looking at the rest of the machine and jumped a tooth on the rack & pinion, you can take them to bit for recalibration but they are cheap enough to replace. Undo and fit the gauge with a spanner, don't be tempted to turn the plastic body as they break quite easily if tight, there is usually a spanner square on the back adjacent to the mounting thread.

Where's the capacitor located?
Not taken the cover of the belt drive yet but will have a look now, what play should it have?

 

[rtbcomp]

The air filter is fitted to the inlet of the pump, that bit you washed out with soapy water. Chances are if it's blocked with paint soapy water won't do any good. Get some open-cell foam and make a new one.

The capacitor(s) is/are on the motor, if it's starting & running OK I would leave them alone.

The belt should be about as tight as a car fan belt, if it looks OK and doesn't squeak when the pump starts and reaches high pressure it should be OK. If the friction surfaces look ragged and shiny you may as well replace it for what they cost.

 

[JonnyAlpha]

The air filter is fitted to the inlet of the pump, that bit you washed out with soapy water. Chances are if it's blocked with paint soapy water won't do any good. Get some open-cell foam and make a new one.

The capacitor(s) is/are on the motor, if it's starting & running OK I would leave them alone.

The belt should be about as tight as a car fan belt, if it looks OK and doesn't squeak when the pump starts and reaches high pressure it should be OK. If the friction surfaces look ragged and shiny you may as well replace it for what they cost.

Ok so I ran it without the Air Filter fitted and the pressure build up timings were exactly the same :-(

The motor starts fine and cuts out at 150 PSI and kicks back in at 100 PSI all OK

The belt is pretty tight although I could find no adjuster?? and the belt friction surface is in good order (not shiny) and the belt does not squeal at all when running.

Had a play with the regulator and sussed out how it works, pull up to release and turn to adjust pressure and push down to lock all works OK I was able to set the working pressure to 8 BAR.

The Black DIANA Tap behind the PCL Connector closes the outlet allowing you to release pressure from the tool in use before disconnecting.

Had a tug on the safety valve and it works i.e. when pulled it releases the pressure in the Tank.

The compressor motor (that has the smaller of the two pulleys attached) is Italian, here is the pic of the ID plate:

What does the 2700 Oiri/min mean? And No 9187/89 does this mean this bad boy is 25 Years old?

And here's a pic of the stamp on the Pump Motor:

Also had a better look at the water drain tap, it spins around I thought like a ball valve however I have now found out it has a spring loaded lift up and lock lever and when opened a small amount (A few drips) of water was released, later after running up the pressure in the tank and the compressor was switched off I opened the water drain again, this time very little came out but I could hear a slow release of Air.

Here it is:

So in summary:

I'll be using this compressor for DIY spraying, (My Mini Restoration and later maybe an old Landrover), blowing up the odd tyre, I have no Air Tools as yet but who knows?

Can I / do I need to improve its performance at relatively low cost?

End state - is it worth £50 or what and should I still get it.

(I also have a couple of videos of it running but cannot seem to upload them)

 

[rtbcomp]

You adjust the belt tension by moving the motor.

There's nothing you can sensibly do to increase output.

It's easily worth £50, if you get another for the same price you'll have loads of air for £100!

 

[brightspark]

the 2700 on motor is rpm

 

[JonnyAlpha]

You adjust the belt tension by moving the motor.

There's nothing you can sensibly do to increase output.

It's easily worth £50, if you get another for the same price you'll have loads of air for £100!

Would stripping and cleaning the pump help? New rings? Its simply an Air Pump driven by a belt right? Is the head Torqued down?

Was not planning on two compressors so hopefully this will meet my needs, I can keep hold of it and fully test it out so I'll rig up my Air Line and do some sprain (my first) you never this may prove enough, time will tell I guess.

Oh when I leant it over to take a better pic of the water tap I lost most of the Oil I topped up yesterday out of the filler / breather DOH!!!

 

[JonnyAlpha]

the 2700 on motor is rpm

It was RPM in Italian :-)

 

[Wallace]

That filler breather needs covering to keep dirt from dropping in, is there much air coming out of it when running? As RTBComp says it's easily worth £50 but see if you can haggle it down because of all the work you've had to do, you could try giving the guy an invoice for £75 for work done!

 

[JonnyAlpha]

That filler breather needs covering to keep dirt from dropping in, is there much air coming out of it when running? As RTBComp says it's easily worth £50 but see if you can haggle it down because of all the work you've had to do, you could try giving the guy an invoice for £75 for work done!

The pump looks similar to a couple of other makes so I may be able to get a replacement. Otherwise I'll glue on something made out of a plastic screw cap whilst maintaining the airway.
Reckon I may be able knock him down, starting at £30 as its been garaged for a few years.

 

[Jim Davey]

You'll want to source a replacement fan for that motor. The motor will get pretty hot anyway in use but with over half the blades moving you'll get less than half the airflow you really need.

 

[JonnyAlpha]

You'll want to source a replacement fan for that motor. The motor will get pretty hot anyway in use but with over half the blades moving you'll get less than half the airflow you really need.

The problem is I don't know where from? The plate on the side of the motor (pic above) say's its Italian? Any idea of a parts supplier that could help? Someone suggested that as its a Snap-on it should have a lifetime guarantee??)

 

[Jim Davey]

The Snap-On lifetime guarantee only applies to tools they manufacture and even then it's limited to certain product lines, spanners and socketry for example.
A rebadged Italian compressor is only going to be covered by the original manufacturers warranty, probably 1-2 years at most.
Try googling the name on the motor and see if you can get in touch with the motor manufacturer. Don't attempt to remove the fan though until you find a replacement, they are pressed on and invariably break during removal and the remains have to be cut off the shaft.

 

[JonnyAlpha]

TBH I was pretty sure that the Lifetime would only apply to No Breakable parts such as spanners, just going of the advice from one of the staff at my local Taylors Fixings.
Just found an email address for ELD the Italian Company, but even if I do manage to get a new fan can it be self fitted?

 

[Jim Davey]

Yes, just clean up the shaft if it's rusty and tap it on with a soft faced hammer or a bit of pipe that snugly fits over the shaft, don't knock it on to far though. Make sure it's the right size bore before you start, it should measure up pretty close in size to the bit of shaft you can see poking out the end of the fan.

 

[eil]

Before you go spending money on it take the head off to inspect the reeds/valves seeing its air delivery is poor.

 

[Rig Pig]

I would switch off the compressor & drain the receiver then remove and clean out the water drain valve, air and water should blast out when you open the valve with pressure in the tank to dump the produced water. See how much sludge and rust comes out, if there is a lot it would be worth removing the end plug from the tank and looking inside with a torch to see how much corrosion there is.

 

[dannyp]

airflow your getting is si malar o my old compressor

thats a 3hp with 150 ltr tank but it takes over half an hour to build up pressure. tryed overhaul the pump with a few cheep bits but found it wasent really servicable seems everything is worn that littel bit to much. mine was used hen i bought it and it had a really hard life with me so no suprises. i found a new pump cheep so just swaped it out and the differance was quite impressive

 

[Jim Davey]

If it was me, I think I'd want to buy a compressor in better shape to begin with. After you fix all the faults it's still going to be a pretty beaten up unit, it really doesn't appear looked after, and there are loads about. Walk away would be my advice, too many faults on a cheap machine to warrant the time/money fixing them.

 

[JonnyAlpha]

Before you go spending money on it take the head off to inspect the reeds/valves seeing its air delivery is poor.

Will do, there ar 4 or 6 allen head bolts holding down the head, will it be torqued down? If so what Torque setting for when I re-assemble?