Technical NEED NEW SHOP AIR COMPRESSOR

Was just in Tractor Supply restocking some grade 5 bolts. The I/R 80 gallon 2 stage compressor is on sale for $999.99 $100.00 off. Big sticker says assembled in USA but compressor is made in India and the motor is made in Mexico. Couldn't find where the tank was made.

 

I purchased a 80g 7.5hp Quincy last year. Before I purchased it I looked at what my air demand would be for large blast cabinet, air impacts, paint sprayer ECT. I am a " made in the USA" kind of guy so most box store stuff was out of the question. The largest single motor I could find in 220v single phase was 7.5hp. The price difference between the 5 and 7.5 was a no brainer.

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I am looking at this same compressor - what electrical breaker is your on. My current service is 50 amp - with two 25 amp breakers "locked" together - pardon the lack of home wiring knowledge. My home garage / shop is maxed out for electrical service and new un-used breaker.

 

Hi - what type of electrical breaker / AMPs does your compressor have. My service is 50 Amps.
Thanks - Mike

 

That would be a 25 amp breaker.
The 220 -230 volt breakers a double pole. Meaning they take power from both sides of the panel...that is how you go from 110 to 220 volts. A 50 amp would have 50 on both halves as a 40 amp would say 40 on both halves.
My 5 H/P 80 gallon Ram Air compressor runs on a 40 amp 220 volt breaker.
This compressor has a Quincy pump that I had to replace the valve plates once since over 20 years of use.

 

I like Quincey 2 stage 80 gallon.my next purchase! I've had a CH 80 gallon two stage for 15 years but it's time for a new one!

 

For figuring supply breaker size if all you have is horsepower, use 750 watts per HP, then divide by supply voltage; this will give you running amps. Multiply that number by three to get breaker size. This is to allow for current inrush when starting the motor. Generally speaking, supply breaker size is 300% of the nameplate running amps; a 5 HP motor will require a 50 amp breaker (and 50 amp wire). This will be true for all single-phase motors.

There is a caveat attached to this; a lot of electric motors these days aren't rated in 'true' HP (particularly in the 'consumer' market), but rather use a 'developed' HP number. The 'true' HP number may be considerably lower. Best bet in that case is to look at the manufacturers recommended breaker size if that info is available. If the running amps shown on the motor nameplate is lower than the calculated amps, they're using a 'developed' HP number. As an example, if your '5 HP' motor nameplate shows 13 running amps, true HP is about 3.8 HP, not 5. Running a smaller breaker may work for you, but if you have nuisance tripping be aware that the breaker will probably fail eventually and may damage your panel when/if it does.

One last thing; if you're using the breaker as the disconnecting means/shut off when not in use, make sure to get a switch-rated breaker. Most breakers are not rated for switch use, and using a non-rated breaker for this can cause breaker failure.

 

One place I work at had a 3 phase compressor that they used the breaker to shut it off.
Well one morning using the breaker to turn it on it only made contact with two legs and promptly burnt up the motor.

 

when I burned up the pump on my shit Craftsman "60 gallon 5 HP" (it was NOT 5HP) I bought a used Quincy pump. the Craftsman "5 HP" motor didn't even have the balls to fill the tank without popping the breaker on the motor. ended up with a Baldor 3 hp motor which worked just fine. I never have to wait for the air to catch up no matter what I am doing.

 

I have a 5 hp. "Black Max" (Sanborn) 2-stage, 80 gal., 18 cfm @ 100 psi - 16 cfm @ 175 psi compressor that I bought from Sam's Club in 1994. Other than changing oil (about twice in 23-years) and cleaning the air filter (first time this week), I've used the hell out of it, especially since I retired 16 years ago, and never have had a problem with it. I've painted and run air tools a LOT. I make it a practice to ALWAYS drain the air/water out of the tank every day after use. Amazing how much water those things take out of the air.

 

All of those words just to say; CFM is important.

 

I am looking at the quincy 5 hp runs 3450 rpm 15.2 cfm at 175 psi - 60 gal tank - model # 2v41c60vc - 230 volt single phase - full load amp draw is 24 and circuit breaker size is 50 - this is a upgrade from my existing old compressor - I am hoping the house electrical service will work - I have a 200 amp box - garage is attached and has a single circuit with "2 50a BREAKERS tied together " do you think THIS service will work with the above Quency compressor?

 

Sounds like it would work.
A picture of what you have may help.
The size of the wire and how far the wire runs has a big play in if it will work safely.

 

I'm in the market very soon for a new compressor too. Keep the personal experiences coming fellas. I'm looking for an 80 gallon vertical, 220v, two stage. I've got no idea on the best brand or vendor though.

 

Using PVC for air lines is kind of like paying Russian roulette, when PVC fails it blows out chunks of material that fly thru the air with great velocity which can be deadly! You may get away with it, but is it really worth taking the chance with your well being in order to save a few bucks? https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60109

 

I will need to take a pic - the distance from service panel to this 220 plug in the garage is only about 15 feet or so.

 

Years ago when I worked at a Mobil gas/service station the shop compressor had an automatic drain feature that automatically drained the water from the compressor tank. Don't know how it worked but I think it drained whenever the power was killed to the compressor but this was a long time ago and I do suffer from CRS.

 

We had a boss one time that decided to run PVC in the shop, tore out all of the black iron piping and junked it. One week later after multiple PVC breaks, luckily no one was seriously injured it was all replaced with black iron pipe. That is what I put in my own garage, some recycled as I have a pipe threading tool and a little new with almost all recycled fittings.

 

I have had two shops set up with PVC pipe......one never a problem the other was nothing but problems and the same guy set both of them up....go figure.

 

Back to compressors shopping if I have to buy another one I would look for lower RPM units.
I have a Black Max 5 H/P 60 gallon that works fine but is high RPM lets you know when its running.
The other one I have is a Ram Air with Quincy pump 5 H/P but only runs 1745 RPM and it is loud but not as annoying to listen to and just think that a lower RPM may last longer. JMO

 

If a 50 amp breaker is what's recommended, go with it. If what you have is two single 50A breakers tied together with a home-made 'tie', I would very highly recommend replacing that with a factory-built 50A 2P breaker for safety reasons if one is available. The 'home-made' breaker 'assembly' isn't legal as per the NEC (National Electrical code) for this reason among others.

 

Probably should use a magnetic starter also.
Electrical has never been my strong suit so I'll let Steve way in as I'm sure he can articulate it better than me.


Magnetic starters.



http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/magnetic-starter-145691/

Good read
http://www.onallcylinders.com/2013/04/25/air-head-how-to-pick-an-air-compressor-for-your-shop/

 

Don't use PVC water pipe for air plumbing, even if the pipe is rated at higher PSI than you'll be using from your air compressor. Compressed air and compressed water act differently. Air will compress, and water won't. A break in a PVC line with 100 PSI of water will be a spray of water. A break in a PVC line with 100 PSI of air will be more like an explosion, shooting shards of hard plastic into your soft skin and eyeballs.

 

Back in the early 90's I got tired of dragging air hoses all over the shop and put in 3/4"schedule 40 PVC, not knowing it wasn't the "proper" thing to do The only trouble I had in 20 years with that was once getting something hot up against it and melting a hole in it and once ramming it with an engine stand with an engine mounted on it, which shattered the pipe. Then about 2 or 3 years ago it started popping once in a long while. Not the pipe itself, but the elbows and tees. By then I had learned it wasn't supposed to be correct to use PVC and about OSHA, etc.
But I had also learned that since my shop had no employees and wasn't open to the public, OSHA had no jurisdiction. And I had learned about schedule 80 PVC, which is twice as strong as the sch. 40 which had lasted me about 20 years, so since I was 78 or so at the time I reinstalled the sch. 80, I think it will outlive me But to be totally open on this, I do limit pressure to 125psi.
As to compressor pump, I'm using a big old 2 cyl. single stage Gardner Denver originally powered by a great big B&S single cyl. gas engine, now a 7.5 hp 3ph. elec. motor. I've had the pump over 50 years myself and it was old when I got it, having been removed along with the 80 gallon tank from a road construction company's field service truck. I'm overdriving it just a bit because I'm using the 7.5 hp motor with pump rated at 5hp requirement plus the low pressure setting. I put new rings and reed valves in it plus refitting the rod bearings before I set it up about 25 years ago. Now it's getting tired, and a little slower pumping and I plan to replace soon with an Eaton compressor I bought online after a good bit of research, cast iron 3cyl. single stage, made in USA, good reports and reviews, fair price.

 

I have a Quincy. In 30 years someone will be posting about the great used compressor they bought that still works great.

Andy

 

Generally speaking, if a mag starter is needed on a single-phase motor it will be included with the compressor and already be wired in. Most 'consumer' motors of 5HP or less these days come with built-in overload protection, it will be a push button sticking out of the end bell on the motor. If the motor is larger and/or lacks the built-in overload protection, or if the pressure switch isn't rated for the inrush current, then a mag starter is required. If the starter isn't furnished with the motor, you'll have to purchase the properly-sized 'heaters' for the starter/motor combination using the chart included with the starter.

If you have a three-phase motor, a mag starter is required as that will be your overload AND single-phase protection. With three-phase, if you lose one leg out of three (single-phasing), the motor can continue to run but will burn up without overloads in place, and a mag starter also protects against this. If you're using a single-to-three-phase convertor, some of these have 'single phase' protection built in but still may lack overload protection.

 

The IR compressor works well. But the Hankison refrigerated air dryer is the best


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If I was in the market for a compressor, I'd probably buy a Champion. I think Champion and Saylor Beall are some of the best American-made compressors out there right now, but I'd give the edge to Champion because the Champion produces the same delivered CFM at a lower pump RPM. But both are cast iron pumps, 100% duty cycle, come with magnetic starters, you can even deck them out with automatic tank drains. Both are comparable in price. Not sure of your budget, but you can get the Champion as a pressure-oiled unit as well for around $3000. Yes, that's a lot of money, but an air compressor is a staple tool, and frankly costs less than a decent TIG. You usually get what you pay for.

 

one small thing to add
cordless tool improvements have greatly reduced some of the wear and tear on compressors
I visited my old shop recently and all the technicians were using cordless impacts, drills, ratchets, and even variable speed sanders. I love my electric DA.
Just something to throw out if you may be struggling with CFM and may want to look at some of these improved tools.