Murphy's ben knocking on my door

[Carbon_One]

March hasn't been kind to me so far. At the beginning of the month my eclectic motor on my band saw let all the smoke out requiring a $160 replacement. I did get 8 or 10 years of faithful service from it thou.

This weekend my upright air compressor sounded it's death knell with a rather loud bang. The air pump had given me a few problems in the last couple of years but was able to nurse it back into service. Not gonna happen this time thou. This unit has given me 16 years of sometimes hard use so can't complain too much here either. This'll cost me $225 for it's replacement.

Sure hope old man Murphy is done pestering me now cause it's annoying and costly too.

Larry

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

I think you can fix that....... Trust me I am a Power Engineer

 

Said the night shift to the day shift as they left the building.

[BlueSky]

Yeah, I think it blowed up! Did you change the oil occasionally and make sure it stayed full of oil? What brand is the compressor?

 

I got over 30 years of service out of my Craftsman 2hp air compressor. (I used to buy everything from Sears. Now, I buy almost nothing from there. ) If I had kept the tank drained it may have lasted longer. It started leaking air out of a tiny rust hole on the bottom of the horizontal 20 gallon tank. I put it on the edge of the street with a "Free to Good Home" sign on it and it got picked up pdq. I replaced it with a 30 gallon 1.9hp vertical tank compressor.

[Yammer Dan]

That Murphy been hanging out here a lot too Larry. I got Cuffs, Pepper Spray & a Tazer..... You git his attention while I sneak up behind him!!!

[Carbon_One]

Husky brand 60 gallon up right 2 hp from Home Depot. Regular oil changes about every other year depending on how much run time. Couple years ago I forgot to turn it off. Had an air leaking hose so it overheated , temporarily sized up then belt burned up. Worked on the pump and got it freed and running again, but the damage was done so it was only a matter of time till I get what I have now.

Since that time I shut off the motor and closed the main air valve before leaving the garage.

 

Sky I hear ya on Craftsman tools.

 

Wish it was that easy Yammer. That Murphy guy is just too sneaky.

[BlueSky]

I was a Startup and Test Engineer at the Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant when it was built. One of my systems to check out and start up was the air compressors and systems. These were huge piston type compressors. Since they were built to be oil free to supply oil free air to the instruments in the Nuc Plant the compressors had teflon rings. Well, the plant was using more air than the designers calculated and these compressors were running a lot at a max discharge pressure of 125 psig. Continuously running at that pressure would get the discharge up to 460 degrees F. Since the maximum usable temperature for teflon was 500 degrees F, the compressors had to be rebuilt often. The compressors did not have a cooling system but there was a heat exchanger on the outlet piping to cool the air discharge. We had to add more compressors to the system to help with the air demand.

 

So, if your compressor was running continuously, it could have gotten really hot!

[Carbon_One]

"So, if your compressor was running continuously, it could have gotten really hot"

Ya it did. Hot enough it had to cool off a long time. If I remember it sat overnight before taking it apart then filled the block with a light oil to soak the bearings. Later by slowly working the pulley back and forth I finally got it freed up. But as stated above damage was done.

[baylensman]

I've got eclectic taste I've been told but whats an Eclectic motor?

 

Eclectic -a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

[Marcarl]

I've got eclectic taste I've been told but whats an Eclectic motor?

 

Eclectic -a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

 

I think he spelled it wrong, should have read eccentric, I think maybe.

[baylensman]

I think he spelled it wrong, should have read eccentric, I think maybe.

 

i've been called that also!!

[Carbon_One]

I think he spelled it wrong, should have read eccentric, I think maybe.

 

spell check missed this one or I over looked it altogether. LOL

[Carbon_One]

That Murphy guy revisited me again today. :bawling: Shutting down for the day and closing the garage door the door stopped about halfway but the motor continued running. Got it shut off, did some inspection and found the chain drive mechanism locked up. Further checking also found the plastic gear's teeth stripped. Needless to say I'll be replacing the entire unit tomorrow. I can't complain too much cause I did get 40+ years of service out of that opener.

Its just another unexpected expense that has to be dealt with:95. $130 to $180 for a replacement. :mo money:

Larry

[Flyinfool]

My sister had that plastic drive gear turn to snow, $3 and 15 minutes and it was good as new.

[Yammer Dan]

I think that Murphy been on my Roof!! Got water running out of light fixture!!!