Tale of two compressors

[winchman]

We have a small portable Aldi type compressor mainly for tyres or blow gun, but I picked up another one that appears to be a pub compressor for beer dispensing? Blows tyres up just like the other one though.
So which should I keep and why?

 

[ajlelectronics]

Keep both and link them.

 

[winchman]

Keep both and link them.

Its only occasional use so no need for both thinking of the smaller one as its more portable but this looks to be a better made machine and its quieter

 

[timgunn1962]

I'd probably keep the pub one if it does what you need it to do and you can't keep both.

It doesn't look like the primary objective of the designer was to make it cheap. I'm guessing it has a 4-pole motor (about 1500 RPM) and probably runs a fair bit quieter than the other one, which I assume has a 2-pole motor (about 3000 RPM)?

It will be better built and will almost certainly outlast the Aldi one. The only caveat is the condition of the receiver. If you can get a cheap USB endoscope in there and check it out, it's worth doing.

 

[Hopefuldave]

I'd keep both, handy having one you can tote about out visiting mates in need (or lend out if you're SURE they're trustworthy) and one permanent in the workshop.

 

[not done it yet]

One is portable and one is not? Keep the one that suits your modus operandi?

Are the tyres remote from the non-portable? What are the comparable specifications?

Personally I have both - which is probably like the majority on here? But my usage is wider than your (current) requirements.

Another alternative might be to fit wheels to the one in the pic to make that easily movable, if not so very ‘portable’. At 40kg, I would have easily ‘ported‘ it to a reasonably nearby position - but not now (too old).

Bicycle tyres or commercial/ plant sized tyres? Top up or fill from scratch?

Your choice basically, so don’t ask me! ‘Cos I don’t really know all the facets of the choices/alternatives for your usage.

 

[frank horton]

just remeber that the pub one has prob been running 24x7 by how long???????
def keep both.......
perhaps make her a coffee table out of theothe n then u got a spare.....plus brownie points...lol....

 

[hotponyshoes]

The pub one will have been used for pumps that run on compressed air.
The punps don't have a very large air requirement so unless it was a particularly busy pub it's probably not been worked to death.
Might well have spent its life in a beer celler at 5degC but I don't know if that would actually cause any problems??

You might well find it has a 50psi prv on the outlet somewhere or the regulator is locked off at around 30psi but both can be removed/adjusted.

If it seems to be running funny check the high/low pressure switching adjustment. A lot of publicans love to fiddle with the beer kit but don't have a clue what they are doing..

 

[winchman]

The pub one will have been used for pumps that run on compressed air.
The punps don't have a very large air requirement so unless it was a particularly busy pub it's probably not been worked to death.
Might well have spent its life in a beer celler at 5degC but I don't know if that would actually cause any problems??

You might well find it has a 50psi prv on the outlet somewhere or the regulator is locked off at around 30psi but both can be removed/adjusted.

If it seems to be running funny check the high/low pressure switching adjustment. A lot of publicans love to fiddle with the beer kit but don't have a clue what they are doing..

From memory it went to 8 bar then cut off last night

 

[hotponyshoes]

From memory it went to 8 bar then cut off last night

Sounds about right for a compressor that size.
You might find that you can't get more than 50psi from the outlet. I've seen ones that have a normal regulator fitted but they have spacers under the adjuster to stop you winding it all the way in. Cut/snap the spacers off and it will go further. You could possibly unscrew the adjuster completely and unscrew the rings but I've never tried it.

You may well find it's just a bog-standered set-up and the prv & regulators were all wall mounted in the cellar. That's quite a common was of doing it as you can then put the compressor somewhere else to cut down the noise.

 

[voipio]

The ex-pub compressor is likely to be oil free, so better for jobs where oil mist, or odour, might be an issue e.g. an air-fed mask.

Dürr Technik's strength seems to be oil-free compressors.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Looks like there is an hours meter fitted to the black plate in-between the tank and the pump?

 

[cheb]

I'd be keeping the quieter one.

 

[not done it yet]

The ex-pub compressor is likely to be oil free, so better for jobs where oil mist, or odour, might be an issue e.g. an air-fed mask.

Dürr Technik's strength seems to be oil-free compressors.

Personally, I can't think of what for, or how, it would have been used in a pub for dispensing beer. Air would need to be oil-free - as mentioned above - and likely ‘food grade’. Most beers would use CO2 for pulling pints? Air contact is a death knell for beer (gravity-fed beer, from a cask, has a very limited life span before it goes off).

Cleaning the beer pipes might have been its only use? Or maybe an air-hoist?

It has a pressure regulator fitted, but the pic is not quite clear enough to read.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Personally, I can't think of what for, or how, it would have been used in a pub for dispensing beer. Air would need to be oil-free - as mentioned above - and likely ‘food grade’. Most beers would use CO2 for pulling pints? Air contact is a death knell for beer (gravity-fed beer, from a cask, has a very limited life span before it goes off).

Cleaning the beer pipes might have been its only use? Or maybe an air-hoist?

It has a pressure regulator fitted, but the pic is not quite clear enough to read.

It would have been used to power pumps that push the beer from the cellar to the bar.
No air would be in contact with the beer.

 

[DanZac]

Personally, I can't think of what for, or how, it would have been used in a pub for dispensing beer. Air would need to be oil-free - as mentioned above - and likely ‘food grade’. Most beers would use CO2 for pulling pints? Air contact is a death knell for beer (gravity-fed beer, from a cask, has a very limited life span before it goes off).

Cleaning the beer pipes might have been its only use? Or maybe an air-hoist?

It has a pressure regulator fitted, but the pic is not quite clear enough to read.

I originally thought the same but it definitely has a use in beer dispensing. Google knows all.

Drive of beer pumps for beer dispensing - Oilfree compressors by Dürr Technik

Höchste Luftreinheit für Ihre Bierschankanlage mit ölfreien Druckluftkompressoren von Dürr Technik

duerr-technik.eu

 

[hotponyshoes]

These are the sort of pumps.
Beer in and out
Then compressed gas in and out.

They are useful as beer is quite sensitive to the pressure it is dispensed at. The system needs to be balanced to get a good pour.
With these pumps the beer pressure is basically the same as the air pressure going into the pump so you can add a regulator for each pump to set each beer up correctly.
They also uses them for larger and soft drinks etc.

Smaller pubs won't use a compressor, they will just run the pumps from a c02 bottle. If you are doing that then you need to vent the outlet of each pump to the outside to stop gas building up in the celler so it's sometimes easier to use compressed air.

 

[brightspark]

Personally, I can't think of what for, or how, it would have been used in a pub for dispensing beer. Air would need to be oil-free - as mentioned above - and likely ‘food grade’. Most beers would use CO2 for pulling pints? Air contact is a death knell for beer (gravity-fed beer, from a cask, has a very limited life span before it goes off).

Cleaning the beer pipes might have been its only use? Or maybe an air-hoist?

It has a pressure regulator fitted, but the pic is not quite clear enough to read.

i do work in a pub and there using the ingersol rand upright v twin compressors on a couple of the pumps others are bottled c02

 

[hotponyshoes]

i do work in a pub and there using the ingersol rand upright v twin compressors on a couple of the pumps others are bottled c02

If you drive the pumps with air you still need beer gas connected to the kegs. That is needed to fill the space as beer is drawn from the keg

You can mix & match.
Some places may have added a compressor (or more pumps) at a later date and might have just set them up differently.
Or you might have the big selling beers on air pumping to save gas costs (or the slow selling beers on air to save compressor mantainance costs & noise)

I've never worked out what's cheaper to run, would mainly depend on the servicing cost of the compressor I expect.
I know a couple or really tight publicans who run the pumps on the dregs of the bottles that don't have enough gas left to run the coke machine...