Ecnerwal wrote:

In article ,
Mike Spencer wrote:

PROBLEM: Starting torque is okay with either motor in warm weather.

For either motor, at winter temps (say, 20F to 0F or lower) I
have to turn a propane salamander on the compressor for maybe
15 minutes in order to start it. Once started, and with
medium air use, its own heat keeps it warm enough to restart
in the cold.

Does it have unloaders? If not, perhaps electrically unloading it would
help to start it.

Yes. The unloader works fine. It's just a very clunky old compressor.
Three pistons and crank with cold oil. Probably *should* have a
special motor designed for prolonged starting load.

Then again, gearing it down might also help - particularly if it
already has unloaders.

I use it so little in very cold weather that it's not worth the cost
of the pulley or the trouble or the reduced pump-up time in warm
weather.

The object of the post was to offer a possibly useful data point for
the OP who was thinking of gearing down in a similar situation,
i.e. that I get by without reducing speed except for extra bother in
cold weather.

--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada