Which Clarke compressor pump is best?

[gasket999]

Hi folks. A few years ago I rebuilt a compressor and posted the full rebuild on this site, https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/clarke-se16c150-pump-rebuild-tips.56393/

I’m still planning on doing a rebuild of a classic IR Type 30, but in the meantime I need a working compressor and the clarke one in the link is long since sold. I’ve just bought a lovely Sealey SAC1153B for peanuts - £50 (the red one in the picture above)And although it’s a recent unit, the pump is scrap - both con rods sheared! So must have been run without oil.

The rest of it is fine though. So I need to either rebuild the damaged pump or just buy a new pump - I’ve quickly priced up the parts for a rebuild and it’s over £120. The existing pump has cast iron cylinders and an aluminium crank case and heads.

Learning from my first rebuild, I can’t justify the time and cost of a rebuild when I can get a new pump from machine mart on a vat free day for the same price - so a new one it is.

As a 3hp unit, I have a choice of a few:

1. The NH3CV: V-twin cylinder and (what looks like) all cast iron, though not confirmed in the description. £120.
2. The NH3AP: Twin cylinder mixed aluminium and cast iron. £129.
3. The NH3APP: as above but a more modern design. £169.

They’re all in this link: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/c/air-compressor-pumps-pumpmotor-units/?s=pricelowhigh&minimum-motor-required-hp=3.0|3

is one design better than the other? I would have thought the V-Twin would have been more expensive, but it’s actually cheaper.

key things to me are: noise (neighbours), spares availability (Clarke are OK in this respect, but not as easy to order as Sealey), reliability and... whether it’ll fit the footprint on my compressor without interfering with the fan-guard and (ideally) letting me retain the stock drive belt.

I had great advice on my last rebuild thread so thought I’d see if there was any guidance here before I part with my cash.

thank you.

 

[chris pruteanu]

Why not order the same pump from sealey if its meant to go on a sealey compressor or i was skim reading ? Clarkes are ok to use tough...best call their tech department and ask for advice imho...

 

[eddie49]

This one might be worth a punt at 20-odd quid - and it is in Manchester:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/used-240-V-air-compressor-pump-TWIN/264620949183

 

[pedrobedro]

The NH3AP pump looks the same as the one on the Wolf compressor I bought last year. The whole compressor was only £40 more than that pump. It does the job with the 100 litre tank it has and is quiet enough. Those pumps all seem to make about the same pressure and the two V twins look the same except for the paint colour and the price. The ebay one is a gamble, it sounds like someone has taken it off something they broke, how is the pump 240v when the motor is not attached ?

 

[MoreWellie]

How much is a complete Sealey replacement pump as you would know it would fit and possibly have better resale value if you sell in future

failing that
NH3AP as it has an after cooler which NH3CV doesn't
I think the NH3APP is just an NH3AP painted blue for an extra £40

best to make sure the motors run at the same speed and that the pulley is a similar size to the sealey BEFORE you buy

 

[brightspark]

sealey = badged up product made by someone else look on the pump to see who makes it some are italian

 

[gasket999]

Thanks guys.

I did look up the price for the Sealey pump - from the cheapest reseller it is £240, double the price from machine mart and, as bright spark says, it seems to be identical other than the price.

I suspect the NH3AP will be largely identical to the one it replaces, so I’ll go with that one based on the advice above.

 

[gasket999]

Thanks for the link to the eBay one. I’ve had a good look but the pulley is damaged and broken - no issue in itself, but tell-take sign that the whole compressor’s has a fall.

 

[gasket999]

Small update: I bought the NH3AP from machine mart on Vat Free day for £129.99. It’s not a straight swap, but I could make it work.

remember the Sealey replacement was £240 from the cheapest reseller I could find.

But, I took Brightspark’s advice and looked at the old pump: it’s a Fiac AB 360. These are available for around £180 - so the Chinese made Clarke version will be going back to MM and I’ll be ordering the Italian direct replacement.

interestingly, I checked out the motor: it too carries a Fiac part number and the tank has an Italian plate welded on too. So guess the Sealey compressor is just a rebadged Fiac unit.

 

[gasket999]

Ok - it gets better. Finding the parts has been a pig, I keep coming back to the importers Wilkinson Star: but they’re trade only.

Only it turns out they’re less than a mile from my house! So going to call them tomorrow to order the parts into the nearest distributor.

I’ll still order a new pump, but I’ll rebuild the old one in quiet time to go with a 3hp motor I know Of to build a semi-tandem system.

 

[gasket999]

Ok - here’s a query that I’m hoping the metallurgists among us may be able to help with.

the crank in the damaged pump is the expensive bit.

It has molten aluminium smeared over the journals where the aluminium conrods have spun and overheated. Some of it flicks off, but the only way to really clean up the journals would be to heat the aluminium.

assuming it physically comes off without using steel tools that risk scratching the steel crank, is it possible to save the crank?

aluminium melts at 660-degrees, so I’m assuming that the steel (even though the component is much heavier) has been hardened to a degree.

If I can get the aluminium off, would it be worth tempering the steel while I’ve got the gas torch out? (heating it red and then letting it cool) Or just polish the journals on the mop and fit it? This pump would only ever be used as a backup for when I go twin motor/pump for more CFM.