Saturday, April 27, 2024
The last couple of days my plans to make significant headway on my Shadetree Garage project to convert the oil bath air cleaner on my 1956 Plymouth to a paper filter air cleaner has been stalled by a balky air compressor.
The belt broke on the compressor last week. I found a replacement and installed it. But for unknown reasons (or reasons I hoped weren’t the damn truth), the compressor pumped for a while, then it began to slow the electric motor down. Apparently, something is amiss in the pump, despite having plenty of oil.
The compressor threw the belt a second time; I reinstalled it and the pump ran OK for a while. The next morning, I came out and heard the pump motor running, but the belt was just slipping. Damn.
After taking measurements of the original pump and finding a replacement at Harbor Freight, I decided not to replace the pump, but to pony up for a new compressor. Replacing the pump was the least expensive option; however, it would require adapting the “universal fit” compressor pump to my existing unit. In short, I was going to wind up futzing around for several days trying to get it all sorted out. I decided to pay for a new compressor I can plug in and began working ASAP.
After all, the truth is that I’m not operating a commercial shop here; I don’t need an expensive two-stage compressor, despite my desire to have one. A single-stage compressor will fit my needs.
The original air compressor I bought nearly 40 years ago worked fine until the bottom of the tank rusted out. The pump and motor were still excellent, but I needed a compressor that worked, so I bought one to replace the old one. I gave the old one to my brother. The new compressor I bought then never performed very well; using air tools, I had to wait for it to pump up all the time. Disappointing. Ironically, my brother found a new air tank and mounted my old motor and compressor on it, and its still — after nearly 40 years — still working just fine.
Now the truth is that I’m going to keep the old compressor; when I get time, I may very well try to replace the compressor with a Harbor Freight unit. I won’t be under the gun to get it fixed, since I’ll have a working compressor at hand anyway.
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