Adding a Second Tank To Air Compressor

[BrianDamage]

My Sears 60 gal., 5 hp compressor tooka shit on me about 2 years ago. I spent $80 replacing the broke piston rods, and 2 weeks later, it did the same thing.

I'm thinking about buying this 2-stage, 80 gal compressor that Home Depot has. The tank from the Sears unit is in great shape, and I thought about removing the Craftsman's motor & compressor, pluggin the unesed holes, and piping them together to make , in effect 1 large tank.

I know this would give me more volume, etc., but my only concern is does anyone know if this would cause any problems as far as overheating the motor/compressor ? Someone had told me that "that compressor is designed to operate a certain way, and if you add the tank, you change that and it will burn up" . I think it would be ok, but not 100% sure. Anyone else done this?

[SSSRodeo]

My Sears 60 gal., 5 hp compressor tooka shit on me about 2 years ago. I spent $80 replacing the broke piston rods, and 2 weeks later, it did the same thing.

I'm thinking about buying this 2-stage, 80 gal compressor that Home Depot has. The tank from the Sears unit is in great shape, and I thought about removing the Craftsman's motor & compressor, pluggin the unesed holes, and piping them together to make , in effect 1 large tank.

I know this would give me more volume, etc., but my only concern is does anyone know if this would cause any problems as far as overheating the motor/compressor ? Someone had told me that "that compressor is designed to operate a certain way, and if you add the tank, you change that and it will burn up" . I think it would be ok, but not 100% sure. Anyone else done this?

Go for it. What would his theory be if you were say sandblasting and the compressor never shut off? Don't you think the factory has that type of operation calculated into their design? And that 80 gallon compressor is a BIG compressor.

IIRC those compressors are piston type also and have a fan built in the flywheel for cooling. I used a 300 gallon propane tank as a second tank for my 5 hp 30 gal Sears compressor for many years. Had no ill effects. I had a boat load of volume and although it took longer to pump up, it also took longer to empty.

Looking for a 500 gallon propane tank now my new shop. Same 5 hp Sears compressor. I don't hesitate to run it up to 150 psi. I think the normal safe loading is rated for like 500 psi on those tanks. I set my max limit to 250 psi for big jobs with the 1" monster impact gun I use on my truck wheels.

SSSRodeo

[PTSchram]

Back when I worked in industry, it was quite common to have tanks all over the plant to provide sufficient volume at various processes. It is equally common to use very large diameter piping to allow the piping system to act as a tank.

If your compressor gets too hot, the motor will shut off by itself due to the thermal overload switch.

I have one of the big HD compressors as well and am very pleased with it.

PT

[Nowhere]

Why not spend 140 and get a new compressor pump @ HF??

[BrianDamage]

Why not spend 140 and get a new compressor pump @ HF??


I really need a 2 stage. I've got a blast cabinet and I can't hardly use it with the single stage compressor I had.

[Nowhere]

I really need a 2 stage. I've got a blast cabinet and I can't hardly use it with the single stage compressor I had.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, 2 stages = pressure, single stage = volume.
sandblasting = volume..

1st error, craftsman compressor.
2nd error, craftsman compressor used for sandblasting.

Do you have one of these?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sears-Craftsman-60-Gallon-AIR-COMPRESSOR-6-5HP-15-CFM_W0QQitemZ320012814762QQcmdZViewItem

Fyi, it's about 2 hp too..
Throw "S"cfm out of the window too, that's USELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoopdie frekin do, static cfm, useless....

You need a large 2 cylinder 3 ~ 5 hp compressor (20+ amps @ 240 single phase) that'll put out 15 CFM (not scfm!) @ 90+ psi..

Sorry, shitty compressor. Maybe 5/7 cfm @ 90 psi..

Craftsman is a NAME........:shaking:

[Nowhere]

http://users.goldengate.net/~kbrady/motors.html

[BrianDamage]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, 2 stages = pressure, single stage = volume.
sandblasting = volume..

1st error, craftsman compressor.
2nd error, craftsman compressor used for sandblasting.

Do you have one of these?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sears-Craftsman-60-Gallon-AIR-COMPRESSOR-6-5HP-15-CFM_W0QQitemZ320012814762QQcmdZViewItem

Fyi, it's about 2 hp too..
Throw "S"cfm out of the window too, that's USELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoopdie frekin do, static cfm, useless....

You need a large 2 cylinder 3 ~ 5 hp compressor (20+ amps @ 240 single phase) that'll put out 15 CFM (not scfm!) @ 90+ psi..

Sorry, shitty compressor. Maybe 5/7 cfm @ 90 psi..

Craftsman is a NAME........:shaking:

Similar, but it's black.

I know all about Craftsman, believe me. At the time I bought it, we really didn't have anywhere else around here to buy a good compressor, and I thought it would be adequate for what I was doing.

Now, from what I understood from a class I took at college that briefly talked about this was that 1 stage = running all the time = more heat = more condensation= not worth a shit for running a blast cabinet , where 2 stage = air is cooled in the 2nd stage = less condensation / Right? or no?

[Nowhere]

Once you get up into the 150+ psi, a 2 stage is required (verrrrrrrrry good idea....).

The lower 125 psi works very well with a single stage comressor.

There can be low cfm & high pressure 2 stage compressors as well as
large cfm low pressure (125 or less) single stage multi cylinder pumps..

It's all in the math..

My 2 cents is for a LARGE displacement (20ci +) twin or tripple cylinder compressor..

Might have to up the electrical supply though...

[nbaff]

If your going to do sandblasting you may want to look into a way to cool the air before it gets to the blast cabinet. You could just run a length of copper wire in a coil and that will help lower the temps of the air. Do this before you pipe it into the second take and then put your water filter on the outlet of the second tank and you should have some pretty cool/water free air. Just make sure you put drains in your lines at low points and keep your tanks dry as well.

[bigdreamin]

If your going to do sandblasting you may want to look into a way to cool the air before it gets to the blast cabinet. You could just run a length of copper wire in a coil and that will help lower the temps of the air. Do this before you pipe it into the second take and then put your water filter on the outlet of the second tank and you should have some pretty cool/water free air. Just make sure you put drains in your lines at low points and keep your tanks dry as well.

I thought most compressors already had this feature built in?

[The Joker]

I thought most compressors already had this feature built in?

The air is still to hot at the compressor to get all the water out it is still air vapor. It needs to cool so the water will gather on the pipe and run to the lowest point to be drained.

[bigdreamin]

The air is still to hot at the compressor to get all the water out it is still air vapor. It needs to cool so the water will gather on the pipe and run to the lowest point to be drained.

It wouldn't just do that in the tank and on the lines running from the tank, if I droped the line down and brought it back up