I heard a new noise in my old Champion air compressor on Saturday.....a
clicking noise I assumed was a valve going south. Well this morning I
confirmed that fact and did a search for Champion. I found Champion had been
bought by Gardner Denver. I found a number for parts and called it. I got
Cindy's voice mail and she returned my call in about ten minutes. I gave
Cindy the numbers off my compressor knowing full well the chances of them
carrying parts for such an old compressor were slim to none. She told me
they no longer stock parts for the RE8 pump I have and it was last built in
1956. Cindy went on to tell me to call Phillips Air Compressor in Chicago,
She said if any one had parts for my pump it would be them. I called them
and low and behold Fred in parts had the Z100 valve set I needed.
This compressor came with a 3hp 1750 motor which I swapped out for a 5hp
3450 using the same pulley bored to fit the larger motor and it has been
running this way for 6-7 years, the last three on a daily basis. I have
been using the old girl to supply air to my cnc plasma setup and it hasn't
complained a bit. Other than a belt tightening and oil changes it just runs
and runs. I couldn't stand to junk it out and I do have a 7.5 hp Speedair I
use for sandblasting to back the old one up so I figured what the heck buy
the valves, change the oil and treat it to a new belt to see how much more
life I can get out of the old girl.

I wonder if any of the compressors built today will still be running in
2054?
--
Steve Peterson
Kettle River Ironworks