Re: I Quit

On 7/4/2024 12:41 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:

I'm sure you are all tired of the saga of the built to "a" spec Ingersol Rand compressor from Craptor Supply.  The one that killed its own motor in a year.  The one others have reported catching on fire.  The one I've concluded only worked as long as it did because the thermal protector had to be defective or disabled in the original motor.  (Which is probably why some caught on fire.)  The one that tripped the thermal constantly on one replacement motor, and the breaker and/or thermal on the other.  The one I've been keeping running with an under sized motor pulley.  Never mind the debacle with the after market warranty company, or the repair shop who reported the repair complete without ever visiting my shop.  Even with a much smaller pulley it still trips the thermal protector from time to time.  Mostly because I think it has to run longer when it cycles on with the smaller pulley, and when I have several machines running, all of which use air for various things, it has to cycle on more often.
 Mostly I can get by for now.  In the last few months I've only had the thermal trip on me 4-5 times and I run the shop every day.  Still sometimes I run complex operations which can be several hundred lines of code on a single tool.  This gives me the opportunity to run an errand or go in the house for lunch.  It would cost me more than the cost of a compressor if an ISO20 quick change spindle air seal fails and sucks coolant up inside the head as it cools down.  Okay the odds of that are slim, but it keeps me up at night anyway.
 I had decided to bring my dad's compressor to my shop and keep the IR as just a backup.  They are functionally similar except the IR has a 5HP motor and the one at my dad's shop has a 7.5.    Well, that is still the plan, but those compressors are heavy and I don't have anything out at my dad's shop (60 miles away) to practically lift his compressor to load it into my truck or even onto my low trailer.  Oh, I am sure there is a chain fall out there, and there is an old a-frame laying out back, but his shop is a quonset hut.  No beams. The a-frame will eventually get moved to my shop, but its freaking heavy.  I don't even think I can stand it up without the help of a lift.  I know I used it in my youth to pull more than a couple V-8 engines.  Scooting it on concrete when its on its pads takes a little effort unloaded, and with a big block 360 hanging from it a bit more effort.  Standing it up in the dirt and dragging it around... Anyway.  It will get done eventually, but not today or tomorrow.  When I do I'll probably trailer my tractor out there to do the job with its loader bucket.
 I just ordered a 7.5 HP compressor duty motor for the IR.  IR actually sells a very similar compressor with a 7.5 HP motor on it at about 3.5 times the price of this one.  Then, since I already know all the parts, I ordered a new hub for the original pulley to fit the 1-1/8 shaft on the new motor.
 I quit screwing around with those 5HP motors.  Now I have not one, but two unused single phase 230V "5HP" spare motors.  Maybe I'll make a couple big belt grinders for erasing the bumpy spots on mountains.  If I make a belt grinder or three, which is part of my planned projects, I plan to use 3 phase motors for speed control, so not really with those 5s.  I guess I could build a sheave stack, but turning a knob is so much easier than moving a belt.  FYI:  I do have three belt grinders already.   a 1x30 and a 1x42 that I use almost everyday for conditioning and de-burring parts.  The third one is on a shelf...
  

I got the new 7.5HP motor installed on the IR compressor today.  The pulley hub for the larger motor shaft and the motor both arrived yesterday.  Wow!  Yeah I think it should have always had a 7.5HP motor on it.  After installation I vented the tank until the motor kicked on, and it filled fast.  Faster than the original motor with the same pulley.  The compressor must have been dragging down the 5HP motors a little bit all along.  I'm still bring the compressor from my dad's shop and setting the two of them up together so I can quickly swap compressors, but this is so much better I no longer feel the urge to hurry.
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Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff
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