Oiled Compressors and Extreme Cold

[Indyguy]

Got my 'new to me' 60gal 2-stage compressor Saturday and something is not right. It'll turn a spin, then struggle, then turn a spin, then struggle... never really building up any steady momentum. The motor sounds like its working hard, lights dim a bit, but it never trips the breaker. This is my first oiled compressor and I'm wondering if that could be the issue. It was only 8*F Saturday when I wired it into the panel in an unheated, uninsulated barn. I'm sure the oil in there gets pretty thick in that kind of cold and am wondering if that might be the issue :confused: The compressor came with 80psi in it; so it was obviously working in the recent past. I tried bleeding off all of the pressure to see if that helps but it didn't.

The pump is exactly like the first one on this page:

http://www.toolshedofamerica.com/AirCompressors/AirCompressors.htm

[Wicked_S10]

I have a 80g IR compressor-- michigan here. It has absolutely no trouble starting and running through the winter.

If I were you, I would first and foremost, change the oil. Make sure someone didn't do something incredibly stupid, like put gear oil in it... I use SAE 30W in mine, you can find it basically anywhere, I get the detergent free stuff, few bucks a quart at the auto parts store.

The other things that could cause your problem are, frozen or bad check valve where the air enters the tank. Stuck or bad unloader if it is equipped. Screwed up pump. Possibly a bad run capacitor on the motor if it is equipped with one. Make sure your wiring is sized large enough, that the motor is wired for the proper voltage, that the motor is not 3~, and that the motor is actually getting the full voltage (no dropped legs).

Good luck,
Jason

[4x4mike]

Do you know if it worked well for the previous owner? Do you know it's history? Might help in fixing the problem.

[FullsizeYota]

when it gets to about 30* here i switch my guys to 20w oil

you sure you have heavy enough wire for it?? that thing is gonna want to pull some juice, especially in the cold till it gets warmed up a little.

[Wyoming9]

All the ideas are good to check.

Number 1 would be make sure it is not 3 phase should be easy to tell it would have 4 wires coming out.

There was not a motor starter that you were not given perhaps??

If it came out of a warm shop perhaps the moisture froze .

You did in fact see this unit run before you bought it??? sounds almost like a bad motor clamp on Ac ammeter. :shaking:

[nissancrawler]

Ours ran for years in -35*f weather, was left on all the time, blew the line and ran for over a day at least 3 times (once for over 3 days according to a neighbor that stopped by and thought we were home but couldn't find us).:laughing: I don't think the oil was changed more than once or twice in 15 years, and it still worked great when sold.

So, my answer is going to be no, unless the oil is just full of moisture.

[Haggar]

Cold can cause problems with the starting capacitor, if it uses one.

Try removing the belt and starting to make sure the motor spins fine first.

tried draining out the oil? hows it look? thick?

verified you have correct power?

I had a very similar scenario, turned out I had a wiring issue, one side got grounded, and blew the line fuse (my garage ran off a small sub panel, which itself was fed with a 2x60amp fuse box). So one side was hot, one was ground instead of being the other hot. Motor was only getting 110v, could get going, but not enough to build pressure.

[ChiScouter]

Even if its not your problem, replace the oil with synthetic compresser oil, McMaster sells it.

[Indyguy]

Thanks for the ideas, guys. That gives me some places to start. Its wired in the same as the outlets for the welder and plasma cutter with 12awg wire and a 40 total breaker amps (spans ~15' from the panel). I wanted to do more with it the other day; but I had already been in the barn for over an hour and the 8* weather was making my fingers pretty worthless.:laughing: I will definitely pull the belt and see how that affects things. Supposed to be a sweltering 50* this weekend.

[edit]The shop claims it was workin well for them when I called about buying it; but it was 200+ miles away and I had it delivered so I can't confirm that.

[nissancrawler]

12 gauge seems light to me.

[madisonjam85]

12 gauge seems light to me.

IIRC 12 ga is good for 20A :confused: so that certainly could be a problem

[sungoesdown]

if it has an unloader valve, it might be bad which would not let the pressure out of the head which in turn would make the compressor pump itself very hard to turn over at start-up

[Wyoming9]

All you stare is 2 stage 60 gallon tank no mention of what size motor.

It calls for at least 10awg for a 30 amp load

8 awg for 40 amp load

6 awg for a 50 amp load.

I know your wire is to small. that may not be all your problem.:shaking:

[Indyguy]

5hp motor as outlined in the link above. Motor states 16amps running, 12awg is rated for 20 amps. Initial pull will be greater for just a split second; but code for an AC unit with 30 amp running draw is at 10awg and they pull way more than 30 at initial start up. Consulted with a friend who has been a licensed electrician for 30+ years before doing anything and he gave me the go for 12awg.:confused:

[sungoesdown]

its a true 5hp motor, but for 16 amps, 12awg is fine. you need to take the belt off and see if the two individual components turn freely

[Indyguy]

I finally got time to work on this again and found the issue in about 10 seconds. Had it wired in wrong; so it was only getting 110V. It was obvious as soon as I walked up to the compressor... was just in such a rush to get out of the freezing cold and ready for a family holiday party the other day that I apparently wasn't paying attention. Works well now, man is this thing a beast compared to the little roll around its replacing:eek: Not to mention much more quiet. You can hold a normal conversation from 10' away. The little oilless drowned out conversation from the other side of the barn.:laughing: I'm still going to drain the oil and replace with synthetic. Thank you for the helpful advice!

[Wyoming9]

Well at least you admitted your little mistake .

Glad it works good now.:D