My older son's boss gave him a large upright air compressor,
because the compressor was "locked up". The boss preferred buying a new
air compressor, rather than messing with the old one. The motor, 220,
works fine. He hasn't gotten a 220 line to his shed yet, so won't get
to looking inside the compressor for awhile.

Thing is, he's discovrred the compressor isn't "locked up", as he
was originally tols. He can move the pulley on the copressor about a
quarter turn each way, then it stops. So, I'm wondering if anyone here
has run across a similar problem, and what the cause was. If it may be
something he may be able to fix on his own, without buying a new
compressor, or if the compressor just may need a rebuild, or it totally
toasted, and needs to be replace in it's entirity.

I know hell find this all out when he is finally able to get to it,
but I'm just curious.



JOAT
You only need two tools: WD-40, and duct tape. If it doesn't move and
it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.

J T wrote:
My older son's boss gave him a large upright air compressor,
because the compressor was "locked up". The boss preferred buying a new
air compressor, rather than messing with the old one. The motor, 220,
works fine. He hasn't gotten a 220 line to his shed yet, so won't get
to looking inside the compressor for awhile.

Thing is, he's discovrred the compressor isn't "locked up", as he
was originally tols. He can move the pulley on the copressor about a
quarter turn each way, then it stops. So, I'm wondering if anyone here
has run across a similar problem, and what the cause was. If it may be
something he may be able to fix on his own, without buying a new
compressor, or if the compressor just may need a rebuild, or it totally
toasted, and needs to be replace in it's entirity.

I know hell find this all out when he is finally able to get to it,
but I'm just curious.



JOAT
You only need two tools: WD-40, and duct tape. If it doesn't move and
it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.

After the compressor shuts off there is a valve that opens that
relieves the pressure from the piston. If that valve does not open the
next time the compressor starts it will not turn because the motor
cannot start under a load. These valves are usually external, and can
be serviced without disassembling everything.

"J T" wrote in message
...

Thing is, he's discovrred the compressor isn't "locked up", as he
was originally tols. He can move the pulley on the copressor about a
quarter turn each way, then it stops. So, I'm wondering if anyone here
has run across a similar problem, and what the cause was. If it may be
something he may be able to fix on his own, without buying a new
compressor, or if the compressor just may need a rebuild, or it totally
toasted, and needs to be replace in it's entirity.


If the compressor was run very low on oil JOAT, it will seize up, but once
it cools down it will often move again. The rings will be toast and the
compressor head output will be reduced, but it will still work. Usually if
this is the case, you can rotate the pulley more than what you're describing
above though. If it's binding up hard, I'd suspect more severe damage
inside the head. But... the price was certainly right, so likely it will be
worth his effort to tear the head apart and rebuild it. What make and model
is the compressor?

--

-Mike-

You should be able to turn the flywheel by hand even if there is a
full charge of air in the tank. It would be quite a system to
still have a full charge of air after being moved.

Remove the belt, assuming it is a belt drive. See if the electric
motor is working fine - I expect that it is.

Try again to turn the compressor pulley, I suspect it will still
be jammed. The next step is to disassemble the compressor head.
This is no big stunt if you have ever been this far on an auto
engine. Most of the parts are quite similar other than the reed
plate. Diagnose and decide what to do once you see the condition
of the jugs, reeds, crank, rings, rods, and rod bearings. It may
be simple and cheap . . . but don't hold your breath.

Let us know what it turns out to be.


(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"J T" wrote in message
...
My older son's boss gave him a large upright air
compressor,
because the compressor was "locked up". The boss preferred
buying a new
air compressor, rather than messing with the old one. The
motor, 220,
works fine. He hasn't gotten a 220 line to his shed yet, so
won't get
to looking inside the compressor for awhile.

Thing is, he's discovrred the compressor isn't "locked up",
as he
was originally tols. He can move the pulley on the copressor
about a
quarter turn each way, then it stops. So, I'm wondering if
anyone here
has run across a similar problem, and what the cause was. If it
may be
something he may be able to fix on his own, without buying a new
compressor, or if the compressor just may need a rebuild, or it
totally
toasted, and needs to be replace in it's entirity.

I know hell find this all out when he is finally able to get
to it,
but I'm just curious.



JOAT
You only need two tools: WD-40, and duct tape. If it doesn't
move and
it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.

"J T" wrote in message
...

Thing is, he's discovrred the compressor isn't "locked up", as he
was originally tols. He can move the pulley on the copressor about a
quarter turn each way, then it stops. So, I'm wondering if anyone here
has run across a similar problem, and what the cause was. If it may be
something he may be able to fix on his own, without buying a new
compressor, or if the compressor just may need a rebuild, or it totally
toasted, and needs to be replace in it's entirity.


Well if they thought it was locked up, it sounds to me like the rings may
have broken and are how hitting the ridge in the cylinder that has formed
from wear. It really could be a number of things. I would say that it is
related to the piston, connecting rod or crank shaft. I would pull the head
and see what is going on when you turn the pulley.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I know hell find this all out when he is finally able to get to it,
but I'm just curious.



After the compressor shuts off there is a valve that opens that
relieves the pressure from the piston. If that valve does not open the
next time the compressor starts it will not turn because the motor
cannot start under a load. These valves are usually external, and can
be serviced without disassembling everything.


Good thought but in this instance I would venture to guess that there is no
pressure in the tank and this would not apply and turning by hand under a
load the pulley would probably not stop 1/4 turn in either direction and
then stop.

On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 23:24:42 -0500, J T wrote:


I know hell find this all out when he is finally able to get to it,
but I'm just curious.


I want to thank you for your thoughtful response to my question regarding
gluing up a segmented cane for an elderly friend who will also be relying
on it for his defense. Your suggestion that I use something called "wood
glue" showed a lot of thought and obviously drew upon your vast wells of
experience. I can't tell you how much I appreciated it.

This is -my- response to -your- question.

BTW, I repair small machinery, including compressors, for a living.

Bill

Thanks guys. This'll be sort of a generaci response.

I never thought to write down the make. The compressor itself
didn't have any name one it I could see. It looked pretty much like any
other two-cylinder compressor anyway. The air tank is empty. The belt
is loose. No grating noise evident when the pully was rocked back and
forth. It'll probably be awhile until the kid has time to look inside
of it - he warks hard, and some long hours, usually 6 days a week.
Apparently they checked the motor at work, so he says it's good. This
is just the type of info I was after - general ideas of what could be
wrong - so I can pas it all along to him. That'll give him a starting
point. And, if worse comes to worse, he's prepared to get a replacement
compressor for it.

Like I tell my kids, accept almost "anything" someone offers you
for free. Then if it turns out you can't make it work, or don't
want/need it, you can always: Make something out of it, sell it, trade
it, give it away, or just trashe it. For now the kid is using this as
an air tank, hooked up to his HF gas-powered air compressor for sand
blasting. Works out quite well.



JOAT
You only need two tools: WD-40, and duct tape. If it doesn't move and
it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.

Sun, Jan 29, 2006, 12:57pm (W*Canaday) now
sayeth:
snip segmented cane for an elderly friend who will also be relying on
it for his defense. Your suggestion that I use something called "wood
glue" showed a lot of thought and obviously drew upon your vast wells of
experience. I can't tell you how much I appreciated it. snip

Defense, eh? Don't recall a prior mention of defense. I'm not
exactly a kid anymore, so I use a cane myself. It's certainly sturdy
enough for defense - IF I were properly trained in its use for defense,
"and" more agile that is. As is, I do have a theoretical knowledge of
stick fighting; however, I'd "still" probably wind up getting it taken
away, and then get beaten with it - unless I was very fortunate. I
certainly would NOT want to rely on it as a primary means of defense,
not as long as there are better alternatives anyway.

A silly questions always deserves a silly response. Were I to glue
up a segmented cane, for defense or not, I'd use wood glue. Titebond II
to be specific, it's my woodworking glue of choice. It's stronger than
the wood, so I have no doubt it would suffice. Thanks for sharing your
wealh of compressor information. You have a nice next life.



JOAT
You only need two tools: WD-40, and duct tape. If it doesn't move and
it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.

Could be several things but a "broken" piston ring or a broken
connecting rod could be a suspect. Easy to see... break her
down...

J T wrote:

My older son's boss gave him a large upright air compressor,
because the compressor was "locked up". The boss preferred buying a new
air compressor, rather than messing with the old one. The motor, 220,
works fine. He hasn't gotten a 220 line to his shed yet, so won't get
to looking inside the compressor for awhile.