Guilty as charged. When I'm done with my compressor I throw the breaker. If I spring a leak when I'm not home, I'd hate to come home and find my compressor has been running for A WEEK! I have zero faith in all the assorted harbor freight crap hooked onto my airlines. My breaker was probably 15bucks and easy to swap if it wears out. I do have a strange phobia with 220 here in the states. When I plug and unplug stuff into a 220 outlet, I always throw the breaker. While I might be wrong, I believe 220 power in the US is a whole different animal than 220 in the uk/europe. Getting hit by US 220 will usually cause you to piss yourself or you night some toilet paper. When I got bit in Germany years ago, it felt like a US 110vt hit. In my mind, it has to be the Hz.
The issue (and it may not be real, just an old bit of teaching) is if the breaker is so worn it doesn't trip when there's a problem. To be fair I've only ever come across breakers that refused to hold a load but who is to say that's because the ones that would refuse to trip are just sitting there not annoying anyone? In the states I believe you use a centre tapped transformer to generate 110v above ground on two legs or 220v across both legs (correct me please!) Here we just run three phases that are centre tapped to earth giving 230V above ground on each or 415V between two phases. Domestically the phases are distributed out to even load and you get one phase (pick a color ) hence the 230v above ground(now neutral). 50Hz or your 60Hz, not sure at 200V+ it makes a difference 15mA through the heart and your dead anyway! I've worked industrial supplies live a fair bit and had one or 'tickles' that have seen tools fly. Edit: Star tapped 3 phase at the drop down transformer I should have said
That's been my experience too peedee. When I had a bad breaker, it wouldn't hold a load and would keep tripping off. Our 220/240 here used in homes is 60hz just like our 110. I hate getting shocked and take every precaution I can to avoid it... Before reaching into my kiln to retrieve ceramic shells, I always flip the breaker and check the indicator lights for power. I wear a chrome firemans suit. I need to check and see if that thing is conductive? When I work new construction installing hvac stuff, I NOW flip breakers on the first time with a wooden stick. I had an electricians apprentice wire up a dead short on my new equipment inside a box. When I flipped the breaker for the first time, it was the fourth of july inside the CB panel and I think I pissed myself. After I shut the main power off, I took the cover off the panel and saw what this dumbass did. How his boss didnt see this one is beyond me. Good thing I never saw that kid again. I would have ended up in jail for sure.... My new equipment was unharmed. In case you are curious what the fallout was, the breaker didn't stop jack shit, as it welded itself. The main panel CB tripped thank god or it would have been the transformer on the pole. The older I get, the more I trust NO ONE.
I shouldn't admit this (I was young) but I managed to re-wire an entire farm and then cross two phases in the panel, the 300A HRC fuse didn't just blow it launched out of its socket! At least it was me throwing the switch and clearing up the mess I guess. We have harmonised with Europe (go figure) so most supplies are classed as 230V but are nearer 245V in most cases. 50Hz give or take a few % who cares unless you have a very old clock driven by a horseshoe motor. As far as breakers, I'd still rather isolate with a suitable rotary switch, certainly don't keep switching breakers under load. Don't forget the de-compress valve, starting without it will soon cause problems on a full tank.
I'm sure the decompressing valve is built into the pressure switch, coupled with a check valve on the compressor discharge going into the tank. When the compressor shuts off you should hear a hiss, which is that valve letting the pressure off the pump.
Have you ever been into a job and suddenly got the feeling that this was a mistake and the shit is getting deep - not yet, but pretty soon? A couple years ago I was installing a breaker for a new lighting circuit in my barn. Panel cover off, Romex through the box and clamped with a foot extra and sheathing cut off, and the insulation stripped off the wire ends. I always immediately bend the wires at a 90 deg angle facing outward so one doesn't accidently fall somewhere it shouldn't while I'm attaching the others. I always attach the ground wire to the ground bar first so the uncoated wire gets secured right away, neutral to the neutral bar second (not intermixed-they're not the same), and then attach the hot and install the breaker. This time I was doing it with a an open shirt for some reason. I had installed the ground and had just bent and inserted the neutral wire into the bar. As I leaned in with the screwdriver to tighten the lug I felt an increasing sensation in my chest as I gave the final turn. Just enough to make me almost piss, say WTF, and jump away. Only to realize that the still-bent hot had gone through a button hole in my shirt and was poking me in the chest as I leaned in. And it stayed stuck in the hole as I jerked away only increasing the "shock". I'm glad no one was watching. Although I have no training or in depth knowledge of electricity other than DIY experience, I've installed many circuits over the years and am comfortable but extremely respectful of the inside of a breaker panel. I trust the manufactures and follow pretty strict rules I've set for myself. What else can you do? When something has that kind of hazardous potential I think the best course, outside of hiring a professional which I do when it's warranted, is to use the right equipment for its intended purpose and not take shortcuts. Shortcuts may work, right up until they don't. Sorry for the thread jack Z. Pete
if the system reaches it's set pressure and shuts off the decomp vents the pump, if you pull the plug mid running cycle then power it up again not so and the pump can stall. If you pull the button on the compressor module rather than jerk out the power lead it will activate the decomp. At least that is my understanding of it. Hope this is not too off topic
It wasn't hot and I didn't get a real shock. Lol. All it did was touch my skin unexpectedly and startle me.
lol.. Paranoia sets in and it's all over. Easy to do when screwing with stuff that can be potentially fatal. Been there, one that!
Which oil should I use, synthetic husky compressor oil or natural husky compressor oil? Will 16 oz be enough or should I get more? This is a pic he sent me of the wiring. I'm unsure what I'm looking at but will probably understand better when I open it up. I'll need to add a 10/3 cable I think? Do I need a large air drier to use it or does the harbor freight one work well? Do I need to add dessicant or does it just work via magic and not need anything to dry the air?
16oz should be plenty. Your call on synthetic. It's already broke in. I'm cheesy and use Mobil 1 car oil. I use the 30dollar drier from harbor freight. Mine has been working great for 10years. If you were painting cars, youd need a better drier. Nothing added to them, crack open the valve and let the water fly. Remember to drain your tank once a week if you use it regularly.
Ok cool. Thanks. So synthetic is for older/used machines in general? Thing I don't like about the HF drier is it is 1/4" hose not 1/2" like my compressor line is. So I lose a lot of pressure going through it.
not necessarily. normal oil for break in, then you can switch to synthetic. I would not run synthetic in stuff after a lot on miles however. If you think it was hardly used, run synthetic.
So I'm thinking of buying the harbor freight $180 sandblasting box and modifying it with the necessary upgrades. Any objections to the plan or better ideas? I am driving the compressor back up to CT tomorrow from TN. Should be a fun ride. I removed the passenger seat to make it fit better. Also, how do I make sure the compressor isn't damaged when turning it on from oil getting into the cylinders? Just rotate the fly wheel and let the thing stand upright for a day or so?
Yeah, just rotate it by hand a few turns, it should be fine. I've got that 180buck sand blast cabinet. It's cheap and works fine. Before you use it, be sure to peal the factor seam sealer from the joints and silicone it or it will leak sand like a mofo. Still can't believe you shoved that thing in your car. Is that a 60 gallon?
LOL, don't speed anywhere and get pulled over or b*mb squad will have the whole car remotely detonated! Agree with jason on the blast cabinet, they jet fine dust from the seals (the import one I had was like a tea bag)
The solution after sealing that box up is mount it on wheels. When I use mine, I wheel it out into the driveway. I installed an air hose quick disconnect on the back of mine. No reason to hard pipe it. I think kelly said a piece of screen over the glass inside helps it last a lot longer. Glass is cheap, get a few spares cut or at least get the measurement before you install your new one. I have been running HF's glass beads. Works good on bronze and is fairly cheap with a coupon.
I read about how much they leak and caulked all the joints as I was putting it together and have had no leaks. They do require a vacuum but a small shop vac takes care of it.
