Anyone here have any good luck getting good, new on/off controls for a
portable air compressor? I've got a Black Max 5 hp compressor that has been
very dependable since 1994. About 2 1/2 years ago the on/off control went
bad. The electrical contacts finally burned up. I got a new one from
http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/ . It looked identical, kicks in at 80 psi
and off at 125psi. All seems good except these things don't last. In the
last 2.5 years I've replaced this unit 3 times and now it is bad again and
hasn't been on for six months. The points burn up and start sticking
together so that the compressor never shuts off and I'm afraid there's going
to be a fire as the motor gets pretty hot after a few hours of running.
Are there any better units out there?
Dick

--
Richard H. Neighbors
Building and repairing fine billiard cues for real pool players at
affordable prices.
Over 35 years exp. Located in Cincinnati OH
ph.# 513 233-7499
e-mail
web site http://www.dickiecues.com

"Dick" wrote in message
m...
Anyone here have any good luck getting good, new on/off controls for a
portable air compressor? I've got a Black Max 5 hp compressor that has
been very dependable since 1994. About 2 1/2 years ago the on/off control
went bad. The electrical contacts finally burned up. I got a new one from
http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/ . It looked identical, kicks in at 80 psi
and off at 125psi. All seems good except these things don't last. In the
last 2.5 years I've replaced this unit 3 times and now it is bad again and
hasn't been on for six months. The points burn up and start sticking
together so that the compressor never shuts off and I'm afraid there's
going to be a fire as the motor gets pretty hot after a few hours of
running.
Are there any better units out there?
Dick

--
Furnas makes good contactors. The problem might be elsewhere though, I would
check the compressor with an amprobe.

ATP* wrote:
"Dick" wrote in message
m...

Anyone here have any good luck getting good, new on/off controls for a
portable air compressor? I've got a Black Max 5 hp compressor that has
been very dependable since 1994. About 2 1/2 years ago the on/off control
went bad. The electrical contacts finally burned up. I got a new one from
http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/ . It looked identical, kicks in at 80 psi
and off at 125psi. All seems good except these things don't last. In the
last 2.5 years I've replaced this unit 3 times and now it is bad again and
hasn't been on for six months. The points burn up and start sticking
together so that the compressor never shuts off and I'm afraid there's
going to be a fire as the motor gets pretty hot after a few hours of
running.
Are there any better units out there?
Dick

--

Furnas makes good contactors. The problem might be elsewhere though, I would
check the compressor with an amprobe.


I always use a heavy duty relay to switch the motor & just let the
regulator operate the pull-in coil of it-(which use very little current.)
Try the surplus electronics houses for cheap relays--3Ø relays more
popular--just use 2 wires for single Ø .

Richard

Get a bigger contactor. At least twice the HP or more of your
compressor. Ebay has lots of them.

Bob AZ

On Wed, 28 Dec 2005 01:58:10 GMT, "Dick" wrote:

Anyone here have any good luck getting good, new on/off controls for a
portable air compressor? I've got a Black Max 5 hp compressor that has been
very dependable since 1994. About 2 1/2 years ago the on/off control went
bad. The electrical contacts finally burned up. I got a new one from
http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/ . It looked identical, kicks in at 80 psi
and off at 125psi. All seems good except these things don't last. In the
last 2.5 years I've replaced this unit 3 times and now it is bad again and
hasn't been on for six months. The points burn up and start sticking
together so that the compressor never shuts off and I'm afraid there's going
to be a fire as the motor gets pretty hot after a few hours of running.
Are there any better units out there?

Get a magnetic motor starter to handle the 'heavy lifting' - 5 HP is
way too much for a standard pressure switch to handle by itself - I
would use a mag starter on anything over 1 HP. And pressure switches
don't have that long throw to clear the arc and self cleaning
contacts. Change the pressure switch after you install the contactor,
and it'll live practically forever at 'pilot duty'.

Motor starter contactors have the contacts mounted in a 45-degree
Vee and they self-clean as they are actuated, are much more resistant
to welding and sticking closed, and have a nice long arc path and arc
chute system when opened to blow out the arc.

If you have a starter with an overload section and the right
heaters/settings it'll trip out on a locked rotor overload long before
the circuit breaker will - which can make all the difference between
the 'Magic Smoke' staying inside the motor or escaping.

And as an extra bonus, with a mag starter it's really simple to rig
a night cutoff switch on the compressor right next to the light switch
at the door. That way it never starts if the shop is not in use.

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Dick wrote:
Anyone here have any good luck getting good, new on/off controls for a
portable air compressor? I've got a Black Max 5 hp compressor that has been
very dependable since 1994. About 2 1/2 years ago the on/off control went
bad. The electrical contacts finally burned up. I got a new one from
http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/ . It looked identical, kicks in at 80 psi
and off at 125psi. All seems good except these things don't last. In the
last 2.5 years I've replaced this unit 3 times and now it is bad again and
hasn't been on for six months. The points burn up and start sticking
together so that the compressor never shuts off and I'm afraid there's going
to be a fire as the motor gets pretty hot after a few hours of running.
Are there any better units out there?
Dick

The only one I ever replaced I got from Grainger.
I believe it was a Dayton, U.S.-made.
That was 10 years ago, still working.

- -
Rex Burkheimer
Fort Worth TX

ATP* wrote:
"Dick" wrote in message
m...

Anyone here have any good luck getting good, new on/off controls for a
portable air compressor? I've got a Black Max 5 hp compressor that has
been very dependable since 1994. About 2 1/2 years ago the on/off control
went bad. The electrical contacts finally burned up. I got a new one from
http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/ . It looked identical, kicks in at 80 psi
and off at 125psi. All seems good except these things don't last. In the
last 2.5 years I've replaced this unit 3 times and now it is bad again and
hasn't been on for six months. The points burn up and start sticking
together so that the compressor never shuts off and I'm afraid there's
going to be a fire as the motor gets pretty hot after a few hours of
running.
Are there any better units out there?
Dick

--

Furnas makes good contactors. The problem might be elsewhere though, I would
check the compressor with an amprobe.

I second that. After replacing one years ago, including adaptation for a
different design, and at a cost of about $50, my compressor still did
not work. That's when I discovered the big red Reset button on the
motor. It had been painted over with the green paint that covered
everything.

"Rex B" wrote in message
...
ATP* wrote:
"Dick" wrote in message
m...

Anyone here have any good luck getting good, new on/off controls for a
portable air compressor? I've got a Black Max 5 hp compressor that has
been very dependable since 1994. About 2 1/2 years ago the on/off
control went bad. The electrical contacts finally burned up. I got a new
one from http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/ . It looked identical, kicks
in at 80 psi and off at 125psi. All seems good except these things don't
last. In the last 2.5 years I've replaced this unit 3 times and now it
is bad again and hasn't been on for six months. The points burn up and
start sticking together so that the compressor never shuts off and I'm
afraid there's going to be a fire as the motor gets pretty hot after a
few hours of running.
Are there any better units out there?
Dick

--

Furnas makes good contactors. The problem might be elsewhere though, I
would check the compressor with an amprobe.

I second that. After replacing one years ago, including adaptation for a
different design, and at a cost of about $50, my compressor still did not
work. That's when I discovered the big red Reset button on the motor. It
had been painted over with the green paint that covered everything.

His is apparently working but blowing through contactors. Unless the ones
he's using are complete garbage and underrated, they shouldn't be burning up
that fast.

I talked to the people at Mastertool and ordered a more heavy duty on/off
control and I ordered a two-pole 40 amp per pole relay. This should take
care of the problem.
The relays that I were getting from Mastertool I believe were copies of
Furnace brand. Although they looked the same there was Chinese writing on
them.
--
Richard H. Neighbors
Building and repairing fine billiard cues for real pool players at
affordable prices.
Over 35 years exp. Located in Cincinnati OH
ph.# 513 233-7499
e-mail
web site http://www.dickiecues.com
"jerry wass" wrote in message
...
ATP* wrote:
"Dick" wrote in message
m...

Anyone here have any good luck getting good, new on/off controls for a
portable air compressor? I've got a Black Max 5 hp compressor that has
been very dependable since 1994. About 2 1/2 years ago the on/off
control went bad. The electrical contacts finally burned up. I got a new
one from http://www.mastertoolrepair.com/ . It looked identical, kicks
in at 80 psi and off at 125psi. All seems good except these things don't
last. In the last 2.5 years I've replaced this unit 3 times and now it
is bad again and hasn't been on for six months. The points burn up and
start sticking together so that the compressor never shuts off and I'm
afraid there's going to be a fire as the motor gets pretty hot after a
few hours of running.
Are there any better units out there?
Dick

--

Furnas makes good contactors. The problem might be elsewhere though, I
would check the compressor with an amprobe.
I always use a heavy duty relay to switch the motor & just let the
regulator operate the pull-in coil of it-(which use very little current.)
Try the surplus electronics houses for cheap relays--3Ø relays more
popular--just use 2 wires for single Ø .

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 06:04:40 GMT, "Dick" wrote:

I talked to the people at Mastertool and ordered a more heavy duty on/off
control and I ordered a two-pole 40 amp per pole relay. This should take
care of the problem.
The relays that I were getting from Mastertool I believe were copies of
Furnace brand. Although they looked the same there was Chinese writing on
them.

If you use a relay or contactor to start the motor, you don't need
any special or heavy duty pressure switch, you can use any old
pressure switch you have that has the right range and deadband. Your
pressure switch is only switching the contactor coil, that is around a
half-amp inrush and a few milliamps to hold it closed.

You'll get a bit of back-EMF from the contactor coil that will cause
a bit of arcing when the pressure switch opens the circuit, but even
if you don't install any sort of snubber it's nothing a 30-amp rated
pressure switch can't handle.

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 06:04:40 GMT, "Dick" wrote:

Richard H. Neighbors
Building and repairing fine billiard cues for real pool players at
affordable prices.
Over 35 years exp. Located in Cincinnati OH
ph.# 513 233-7499
e-mail
web site http://www.dickiecues.com


Some mighty fine looking cues.

Gunner, who just scored some titanium for a couple ferrules on his
Dufferin laminates.


"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

I needed to get another pressure switch anyway as my present one is
sometimes sticking. Wanted to start off fresh and the heavy duty one was
only 5.00 more.
Dick

--
Richard H. Neighbors
Building and repairing fine billiard cues for real pool players at
affordable prices.
Over 35 years exp. Located in Cincinnati OH
ph.# 513 233-7499
e-mail
web site http://www.dickiecues.com
"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 06:04:40 GMT, "Dick" wrote:

I talked to the people at Mastertool and ordered a more heavy duty
on/off
control and I ordered a two-pole 40 amp per pole relay. This should take
care of the problem.
The relays that I were getting from Mastertool I believe were copies
of
Furnace brand. Although they looked the same there was Chinese writing on
them.

If you use a relay or contactor to start the motor, you don't need
any special or heavy duty pressure switch, you can use any old
pressure switch you have that has the right range and deadband. Your
pressure switch is only switching the contactor coil, that is around a
half-amp inrush and a few milliamps to hold it closed.

You'll get a bit of back-EMF from the contactor coil that will cause
a bit of arcing when the pressure switch opens the circuit, but even
if you don't install any sort of snubber it's nothing a 30-amp rated
pressure switch can't handle.

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Thanks for the compliment. I need to get that web-site up dated as I've
put out many better looking cues than most of those.
Dick

--
Richard H. Neighbors
Building and repairing fine billiard cues for real pool players at
affordable prices.
Over 35 years exp. Located in Cincinnati OH
ph.# 513 233-7499
e-mail
web site http://www.dickiecues.com
"Gunner Asch" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 06:04:40 GMT, "Dick" wrote:

Richard H. Neighbors
Building and repairing fine billiard cues for real pool players at
affordable prices.
Over 35 years exp. Located in Cincinnati OH
ph.# 513 233-7499
e-mail
web site http://www.dickiecues.com


Some mighty fine looking cues.

Gunner, who just scored some titanium for a couple ferrules on his
Dufferin laminates.


"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner