Your thoughts on a replacement compressor

[Bill Shields]

That means that I am maybe 80 oil changes behind on my compressor

[Russ Hanscom]

My previous post, which did not make it, stated that service intervals should depend on operating conditions and not calendar intervals. My compressor is inside, weather protected, low humidity no temperature extremes, so it can safely have a very long service interval. Even vehicle manufacturers are taking that route, my new truck has a 7500 mile service interval "if needed", dealer determines.

[NP317]

Greg Lewis:
Thank you for your comprehensive response.
My other potential choice is an Ingersoll-Rand compressor.
The existing electrical in my shop is 30 Amp 230 Vac 1 phase. That's a potential limit, likely preventing moving up to a 5 Amp 2-stage unit. I prefer to use the existing electrical system.
I would like a compressor with better than a 50% duty cycle, which the Quincy unit specifies.
Research to continue. I'll be interested in your final decision.
Thanks,
RussN

[Greg_Lewis]

Well, everyone, while some folks say I'm overthinking this, I've spent some time on the net and may change directions. The Ingersoll Rand units I looked at just didn't impress me, and there are some reviews out there that are not good. Now I understand the realities of internet reviews and I think I have a fairly good BS detector but I do note some common complaints. Among them, both for I-R and Quincy, are customer service and overall reliability. And if you give some thought to the raw cost of a compressor that retails for $800, you'll see that the manufacturing cost has to be much lower. Corners need to be cut.

So.... the motor on my existing unit is American made and is just fine. The tank, probably also American made, is usable. And this unit is all hooked up and ready to go. A complete replacement compressor would require different connections and my timer gadget would certainly void a warranty.

Originally, the replacement pumps I found were priced such that it wasn't economical to just replace the pump. But I just found an outfit named Eaton Compressor, in Clayton, Ohio, that claims their pumps are American made, and they give a five-year warranty. That's a much better warranty than either I-R or Quincy. They have a 3-cylinder, single stage pump for $300, and a two-cyl. unit with a 50,000 hour rated life at $500. (Remember, the I-R units are rated for 5000 hours.) Now the castings do look just like what I've seen elsewhere, and perhaps they are using the same raw materials, but if they are doing their own machine work that means something. And so does the 5-year warranty.

Russ, I note your issue with electrical, but you might want to take a look at this unit. While it is higher priced and more compressor than either of us is looking for, after reading the description, if I have to replace the whole unit I think I'd do what it takes for one of these:
https://eatoncompressor.com/product/5hp ... escription

So I'm going to call them in the morning and see what they say. I'll keep you posted.

[BadDog]

Not to muddy the waters, but a friend in a similar predicament got the Eaton for pretty much the same thought process. I know he got it working, and don't recall the details, but he was less than thrilled with the quality and support. If I get a chance, I'll call him tomorrow to refresh my memory (very poor for such things) of details and update.

[Greg_Lewis]

Looks like we have three Russ's here. Thanks, BadDog Russ. I appreciate any help.

This is getting to be depressing. While I get it that something like this can't be made bulletproof for $800, what I don't get is why the manufacturers can't offer decent customer service. Some of the complaints I referenced above sounded like the manufacturers were looking for a reason to deny a valid warranty claim.

I'm reminded of a time in my youth, working at a gas station in the days when all gas stations were full service and also did repairs, when a tire manufacturer the name of which I don't remember offered some over-the-top warranty on their tires. The number of claims was so small as to be negligible, but the public relations value was enormous and they sold a boatload of tires. And the tire store I buy from today offers free flat repairs and free lifetime rotate and balance. Someone comes out of the office and greets me in the parking lot as I get out of my truck every time. No need to shop elsewhere.

I also remember two cases where I ordered the wrong item from a mail-order company (about $30 worth each). When I called the companies to ask about an exchange, they told me to keep the wrong thing and just sent me what I should have ordered. Do you have any idea what that does for customer loyalty? And what about the opposite? There are places I will not touch ever again because they slighted me for no reason other than they were being jerks over something of no consequence.

[Glenn Brooks]

Iam in them same boat, looking for a decent size compressor for sand blasting parts in my home shop, but can never find the answer to actual CFM needed to do sand blasting. Is 18 CFM the magic number??

Thanks,
Glenn

[Inspector]

Long time ago, close to 40 years, I bought a 2 stage, 5 hp, 80 gallon vertical tank compressor. At the time I thought some of it may have been made in China but for hobby use I was okay with that. Turns out it was all US made and they are still around. It looks like they sell the compressors separately in both single and two stage. Might as well take a look at what they have. You can confirm if they still make the compressors themselves. http://pumaairusa.com/index.html

Pete

[NP317]

GregL:
I've continued my research and remain cautious about what I find.
The Ingersoll Rand SS4L5 compressor sold by Tractor Supply has all the attributes I desire, and will work with my existing 30A 230 Vac circuit. That specific model does not appear to be sold by IR directly. The item designation SS4L5 means "Single Stage #4 size pump, L for 60 gallon tank, and #5 size electric motor. IR sells the SS5L5 unit (slightly larger pump), as do other sellers, so the 4L5 might be just for Tractor Supply, and reviews of the #5 pump are not all that encouraging for their failure rate. Still...

Research continues, and I keep seeing positive reports on the PUMA brand compressors. Hmmm...
RussN (note the N, for identification)

[Greg_Lewis]

Glenn:
That was a question I also had. The 14 cfm machine I had kept up with my Horrible Fright blast cabinet and gun. The catalog says it requires about 9 cfm, and I just verified that by measuring the gun orifice. Here's a chart that will give you the cfm rate for a given orifice and pressure:
https://trident.on.ca/engineering-infor ... ice-table/

Also consider the on-time for the blast gun. In my case, I'm making live steam stuff and rarely beadblast anything larger than the size of an orange. If I was building a rat rod and was doing maifolds or rear ends, that would be a completely different situation.

Pete: Thanks for the tip. I'll check that out.

RussN: Frustrating, isn't it? At some point we'll just have to roll the dice and hope for the best. The I-R dealer I talked to suggested that Tractor Supply had made a special deal with I-R. I've seen other companies in other fields of endeavor do the same thing. Change one minor element and give it a different catalog number. Makes it hard to comparison shop and also makes it hard to get parts and service.

[NP317]

The PUMA PK-6560V looks technically better than the T.S. sold IR compressor, and is priced higher. ($300)
But the 3-cylinder pump design is superior to most in this size (far better cooling) and would be worth the increased cost to me.
The pumps are made in Taiwan and the motors in Mexico. Better reviews than most compressors.
This needs to be the last compressor I ever purchase.
RussN

[Greg_Lewis]

Taiwan would be OK with me. Mainland China, not so much. Some phone calls are in order.

To add to Glenn's post and my reply, I just noticed a reply to a question on the air compressors direct site where they said that a compressor's cfm rating should be 1.25 to 1.5 times the tool need for continuous operation. They also said that consumer-grade piston machines are not designed for continuous operation (which I have sadly discovered).