P.S. As the weather has cooled off (high of 70F today) the motor has not tripped off as often, but it did trip off the other day when I had four machines running and using air for air seals, tool changes, etc.
On 11/11/2023 2:55 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
P.S. As the weather has cooled off (high of 70F today) the motor has
not tripped off as often, but it did trip off the other day when I had
four machines running and using air for air seals, tool changes, etc.
Hey Bob,
Bringing back some very past memories. I was a Maintenance Supervisor
at a Plastic Extrusion Company for 14 years. Don't know if this will
help or not but on the Compressed Air issue we had 2 compressors that
ran 24/7 with one as a backup. When one went down or due for some
service the backup unit was powered up. As production increased
the challenge was getting enough air for all. These compressors were feeding into a direct line to production. NO Surge Tank!!
I took it on as "MY" engineering project and ran all the numbers which included a 800 Gallon Surge Tank on a concrete pad outside the
compressor room. Also included 3" bypass valves and all piping and
air regulator.
I calculated the total cost at the time to be about $3,000. I presented
my proposal to my boss who was the Executive VP of Engineering and he
was a bit overwhelmed and wanted to know how I got all my numbers.
My numbers included the power cost of running each compressor 24/7.
I rented a GE or Fluke 3 Phase Power Analyzer and processed the
KW cost to get the usage numbers. He said he would look at the
proposal and let me know. BTW the project at $3,000. would have
paid for itself in about 2-3 months. It took him 3 months to
get back to me with an OK to proceed. &^%$&*%$*&(&(UY%%*
I ordered the 800 gallon tank and started the prep work on the
concrete pad, got it poured and actually placed a PVC Time
Capsule in the pad with some stuff of the day and a letter signed
by the day shift employees. I really don't know if it has been
broken into at this point in time, it was maybe 35+ years ago.
Did all the piping and connected the compressors and opened the
main valve. Once the tank was at full pressure and the air
regulator was set to needed pressure to production the compressors
started to cycle on/off. Sometimes off for maybe 5 minutes or
more. Once the plant was in full production I figured that the
the compressor run time was cut by 40-50%. 🙂
Anyhow, all the above to say that if you can increase the size of
your air surge tank, (if you have one) you would be pleased with
the results and your compressor will run even better.
I hope that the above story was a good read.
Also, it brought back some good memories of another LIFE!!
Have a good week!!
Les
On 11/12/2023 3:29 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
On 11/11/2023 2:55 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
P.S. As the weather has cooled off (high of 70F today) the motor has
not tripped off as often, but it did trip off the other day when I
had four machines running and using air for air seals, tool changes,
etc.
Hey Bob,
Bringing back some very past memories. I was a Maintenance Supervisor
at a Plastic Extrusion Company for 14 years. Don't know if this will
help or not but on the Compressed Air issue we had 2 compressors that
ran 24/7 with one as a backup. When one went down or due for some
service the backup unit was powered up. As production increased
the challenge was getting enough air for all. These compressors were
feeding into a direct line to production. NO Surge Tank!!
I took it on as "MY" engineering project and ran all the numbers which
included a 800 Gallon Surge Tank on a concrete pad outside the
compressor room. Also included 3" bypass valves and all piping and
air regulator.
I calculated the total cost at the time to be about $3,000. I presented
my proposal to my boss who was the Executive VP of Engineering and he
was a bit overwhelmed and wanted to know how I got all my numbers.
My numbers included the power cost of running each compressor 24/7.
I rented a GE or Fluke 3 Phase Power Analyzer and processed the
KW cost to get the usage numbers. He said he would look at the
proposal and let me know. BTW the project at $3,000. would have
paid for itself in about 2-3 months. It took him 3 months to
get back to me with an OK to proceed. &^%$&*%$*&(&(UY%%*
I ordered the 800 gallon tank and started the prep work on the
concrete pad, got it poured and actually placed a PVC Time
Capsule in the pad with some stuff of the day and a letter signed
by the day shift employees. I really don't know if it has been
broken into at this point in time, it was maybe 35+ years ago.
Did all the piping and connected the compressors and opened the
main valve. Once the tank was at full pressure and the air
regulator was set to needed pressure to production the compressors
started to cycle on/off. Sometimes off for maybe 5 minutes or
more. Once the plant was in full production I figured that the
the compressor run time was cut by 40-50%. 🙂
Anyhow, all the above to say that if you can increase the size of
your air surge tank, (if you have one) you would be pleased with
the results and your compressor will run even better.
I hope that the above story was a good read.
Also, it brought back some good memories of another LIFE!!
Have a good week!!
Les
Makes me wish I hadn't turned the tank from my old compressor into a
giant hibachi.
Hi Les, How is retirement treating you? If you are getting bored I have
an unused camper out back of the shop, and I could sure use somebody to shovel up chips part time. LOL.
I was running three machines for several hours today, and I didn't
notice the compressor kick on more often than normal. Two of those
machines use air seal spindles. From inside my office I didn't notice
it kick on at all (quieter I guess). Several times I walked back to
check the high pressure on the tank to make sure it had been kicking on.
 It visually and audibly starts easier, and it has not tripped the
motor thermal even once.
Oh, just heard it kick on, and noticed the back door of my office is
open to the shop floor.
I wonder if in the interest of pushing theoretical CFM for the marketing department they didn't overload that motor with a to large motor pulley
from the factory. I kinda wish I'd pointed my laser tachometer at the
old pulley before I swapped it out now.
... and it just kicked off. Now I'm not running max air consumption so
time off is no indicator, but on time just now didn't seem a lot longer
than normal. Maybe not at all. I guess I'll have to wait for a day
when I am running all three machines with air seals and see what
happens. I don't think the 33% reduction in capacity (by the numbers) is
that bad in practice. It might be worth it in motor/compressor life. I probably won't be able to run air cooling on a steel cutting job, and
all the air sealed high speed spindle machines at the same time. I do
have a couple other smaller compressors I could press into service, but
I wouldn't be able to run them through the air dryer.
Anyway...
As for the retirement word........... Does not exist......... I QUIT!! However, every day is a SATURDAY!! (almost) Some days it flips!!!
As for the camper... well thanks for the offer.... but no, thanks!! 🙂
As for your compressed air challenge, it seems to me you need to work
on a better plan!! From 2,000 miles away it will be hard for me to
help. This might help you start to do the thinking process!! LOL https://www.compressedairsystems.com/air-receiver-tanks/
Although, I kinda miss that part of my history.
Working on machines, and stuff!! etc. etc.
We had a pair of cooling fans (32" Diameter) that needed to be placed in
the compressor room. I designed a bracket frame out of 2"x2"x1/8 steel angle with a support bracket to be mounted on the wall of the room.
The room was about 20'x20' with a ceiling/roof at about 30 feet.
That is when I actually learned (taught myself) how to stick weld.
The welds looked horrible!! But, the cooling fans are still mounted
on the wall today. That was maybe 45 years ago. Yea!!
Again a lot of memories!!
Later,
On 11/12/2023 5:20 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
As for the retirement word........... Does not exist......... I QUIT!!
However, every day is a SATURDAY!! (almost) Some days it flips!!!
As for the camper... well thanks for the offer.... but no, thanks!! 🙂
As for your compressed air challenge, it seems to me you need to work
on a better plan!! From 2,000 miles away it will be hard for me to
help. This might help you start to do the thinking process!! LOL
https://www.compressedairsystems.com/air-receiver-tanks/
Although, I kinda miss that part of my history.
Working on machines, and stuff!! etc. etc.
We had a pair of cooling fans (32" Diameter) that needed to be placed in
the compressor room. I designed a bracket frame out of 2"x2"x1/8 steel
angle with a support bracket to be mounted on the wall of the room.
The room was about 20'x20' with a ceiling/roof at about 30 feet.
That is when I actually learned (taught myself) how to stick weld.
The welds looked horrible!! But, the cooling fans are still mounted
on the wall today. That was maybe 45 years ago. Yea!!
Again a lot of memories!!
Later,
Its funny. I was running a 3.7 HP 60 gallon 150 PSI compressor in the
shop and it kept up okay before buying this 5HP 80 gallon 175. It
carried every machine just fine, but was overwhelmed if I was also
running air cooling on the Hurco mill cutting steel. I hate to say it
but the Lowes Kobalt compressor was a better machine. Fuck Ingersol
Rand. The only reason I bought it was because the motor smoked on the Kobalt on a Sunday morning and I thought (MISTAKENLY) that the bigger IR
I could buy on a Sunday would do a better job. I'm not sure if I said
this yet, but FUCK INGERSOL RAND. Ordinarily I would have just slapped
a new motor on the Kobalt. I should have bought another Kobalt instead.
 FUCK INGERSOL RAND!!! Not that I am bitter or anything.
Nah, the Kobalt wasn't really any better. I had to work on it all the time. Leaky check valve, flaky unloader, flaky pressure switch, etc,
but it cost a lot less, and it did last a lot longer.
"Bob La Londe"Â wrote in message news:uirr6q$9sd1$1@dont-email.me...
Its funny. I was running a 3.7 HP 60 gallon 150 PSI compressor in the
shop and it kept up okay before buying this 5HP 80 gallon 175. It
carried every machine just fine, but was overwhelmed if I was also
running air cooling on the Hurco mill cutting steel. I hate to say it
but the Lowes Kobalt compressor was a better machine.
...
Nah, the Kobalt wasn't really any better. I had to work on it all the time. Leaky check valve, flaky unloader, flaky pressure switch, etc,
but it cost a lot less, and it did last a lot longer.
Bob La Londe
------------------------------
I have the equivalent 3.7HP 80 gallon Husky from Home Depot, bought
cheap because it apparently had fallen over. The pump was gone and
perhaps the pressure switch, I don't remember. I installed an HF air
pump
my taste, to monitor and adjust performance. The Wattmeter showed higher
than nameplate motor current above ~100PSI so I changed to a 4" pulley
which brought it down to 13 - 14A. I didn't have a 4-1/2" or 5" to try.
The motor stayed cool the few times I've run it continuously.
I added a 240V 20A outlet so the $16 PZEM-061 Wattmeter can also show
the current and power drawn by external loads when I'm experimenting,
like a Kill-A-Watt for 240V. With CNC milling the opening in an
electrical box cover to snap in the meter display should be easier than
on my antique manual mill.
On 11/12/2023 7:38 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 11/12/2023 5:20 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
As for the retirement word........... Does not exist......... I QUIT!!
However, every day is a SATURDAY!! (almost) Some days it flips!!!
As for the camper... well thanks for the offer.... but no, thanks!! 🙂 >>>
As for your compressed air challenge, it seems to me you need to work
on a better plan!! From 2,000 miles away it will be hard for me to
help. This might help you start to do the thinking process!! LOL
https://www.compressedairsystems.com/air-receiver-tanks/
Although, I kinda miss that part of my history.
Working on machines, and stuff!! etc. etc.
We had a pair of cooling fans (32" Diameter) that needed to be placed in >>> the compressor room. I designed a bracket frame out of 2"x2"x1/8 steel >>> angle with a support bracket to be mounted on the wall of the room.
The room was about 20'x20' with a ceiling/roof at about 30 feet.
That is when I actually learned (taught myself) how to stick weld.
The welds looked horrible!! But, the cooling fans are still mounted
on the wall today. That was maybe 45 years ago. Yea!!
Again a lot of memories!!
Later,
Its funny. I was running a 3.7 HP 60 gallon 150 PSI compressor in the
shop and it kept up okay before buying this 5HP 80 gallon 175. It
carried every machine just fine, but was overwhelmed if I was also
running air cooling on the Hurco mill cutting steel. I hate to say it
but the Lowes Kobalt compressor was a better machine. Fuck Ingersol
Rand. The only reason I bought it was because the motor smoked on the
Kobalt on a Sunday morning and I thought (MISTAKENLY) that the bigger
IR I could buy on a Sunday would do a better job. I'm not sure if I
said this yet, but FUCK INGERSOL RAND. Ordinarily I would have just
slapped a new motor on the Kobalt. I should have bought another
Kobalt instead.   FUCK INGERSOL RAND!!! Not that I am bitter or
anything.
Nah, the Kobalt wasn't really any better. I had to work on it all the
time. Leaky check valve, flaky unloader, flaky pressure switch, etc,
but it cost a lot less, and it did last a lot longer.
Don't take this the wrong way but "cheap" is not always the best
solution!!
"Bob La Londe"Â wrote in message news:uiu5co$t77u$2@dont-email.me...
...A top of the line name brand was a couple hundred bucks at Tool
and Supply or a "consumer grade" Black & Decker was $29.95 at K-Mart. I bought the Black & Decker. When I finished the job I bought a corded
and a cordless Makita. The biggest and baddest they had. I still have
the Black & Decker. I've gotten it so hot it smoked more than once, and
it will still drive a forstner bit through a 2x4. If I had refused to
buy anything but best of the best of everything I never would have been
able to say I retired from contracting after 23 years. I've had dozens
of drills and maybe a dozen trucks since then, but if I had held out for
a brand new service truck and all top name brand new tools I would have
never signed that first job.
On 11/12/2023 6:26 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
On 11/12/2023 7:38 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 11/12/2023 5:20 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
As for the retirement word........... Does not exist......... I QUIT!! >>>> However, every day is a SATURDAY!! (almost) Some days it flips!!!
As for the camper... well thanks for the offer.... but no, thanks!! 🙂 >>>>
As for your compressed air challenge, it seems to me you need to work
on a better plan!! From 2,000 miles away it will be hard for me to
help. This might help you start to do the thinking process!! LOL
https://www.compressedairsystems.com/air-receiver-tanks/
Although, I kinda miss that part of my history.
Working on machines, and stuff!! etc. etc.
We had a pair of cooling fans (32" Diameter) that needed to be
placed in
the compressor room. I designed a bracket frame out of 2"x2"x1/8 steel >>>> angle with a support bracket to be mounted on the wall of the room.
The room was about 20'x20' with a ceiling/roof at about 30 feet.
That is when I actually learned (taught myself) how to stick weld.
The welds looked horrible!! But, the cooling fans are still mounted
on the wall today. That was maybe 45 years ago. Yea!!
Again a lot of memories!!
Later,
Its funny. I was running a 3.7 HP 60 gallon 150 PSI compressor in
the shop and it kept up okay before buying this 5HP 80 gallon 175.
It carried every machine just fine, but was overwhelmed if I was also
running air cooling on the Hurco mill cutting steel. I hate to say
it but the Lowes Kobalt compressor was a better machine. Fuck
Ingersol Rand. The only reason I bought it was because the motor
smoked on the Kobalt on a Sunday morning and I thought (MISTAKENLY)
that the bigger IR I could buy on a Sunday would do a better job.
I'm not sure if I said this yet, but FUCK INGERSOL RAND. Ordinarily
I would have just slapped a new motor on the Kobalt. I should have
bought another Kobalt instead.   FUCK INGERSOL RAND!!! Not that I am >>> bitter or anything.
Nah, the Kobalt wasn't really any better. I had to work on it all
the time. Leaky check valve, flaky unloader, flaky pressure switch,
etc, but it cost a lot less, and it did last a lot longer.
Don't take this the wrong way but "cheap" is not always the best
solution!!
How can I help but take it the wrong way. Or maybe its not the wrong
way. So:
"If I can't afford $43K for a 100HP 460 Volt 3 Phase Quincy scroll
compressor and another $43K for a backup, I shouldn't be allowed to have
an air compressor at all?"
"Since I can't afford a hundred grand to bring 460V 3phase into my shop
I shouldn't be allowed to have electricity?"
"If I can't afford $320K-$380K for a tricked out Haas VM-6 I shouldn't
be allowed to own a milling machine?"
"I should tell all my customers I refuse to do all those small jobs from
a few hundred to a few thousand dollars that are my bread and butter? I shouldn't accept jobs less 10K units and $100K?"
Les, one of those things that drives me bonkers in the machining groups
are guys who look down on what I have and do because, "They can hold
tenths all day long." Yes they can. On the half million dollar Mori
Seiki that belongs to their boss's bank. I hold a couple thousandths
all day long on machines that belong to me. Not my boss, and not my
bank. If I need to make parts hit tolerances better than that I can.
Its just more work, and its me making it happen. Not a machine that
bleeds money. Interestingly many guys who actually own shops/businesses
and own their equipment seem to respect what I do. Even on the Internet where there is little or no risk of getting poked in the nose. I used
to joke that someday I want to be a real machinist. Michael Yellowhair (owner of Praxis Precision), told me, "Bob you do real work that people
pay for and you get repeat customers because they are happy with it. You
ARE a real machinist."Â He was the first one, but I noticed there is a
big difference between the guys who are drawing a paycheck, and the guys
who are risking their own.
Ingersol Rand used to be somebody in the industry, but their two stage
80 gallon compressor is garbage. I jumped at it at the time (because I could get it on a Sunday and keep working) before I knew they had sold
out their name for profits over all else. Just so you know, there is a local Quincy dealer. I can't afford a real Quincy, but they make small units too. I looked at one and was astonished to find it had the EXACT
SAME Indian pump as some store brands. Right down to the same casting
marks and an artifact/defects defect from the mold or pattern. Maybe
they have a better check valve. maybe they have a better pressure
switch. Maybe they have a better unloader. Maybe they even have a
better motor and starting setup, but I sure couldn't see past that cheap
cast pump from India. I'd rather have a Chinese pump from Harbor
Freight. I know its better. I've had one on my Campbell Hausfeld 30
year old roll around for 15 years or so. In fact it has run the shop a
few times when I had to work on the main shop compressor. More so it
was my first shop compressor. I had it running all the plumbing when I first installed all my air lines. When I reached the point when it was
on more than off I upgraded to my very first stationary compressor.
I do have a couple IR air tools made many years prior that are top
notch, but never again. If I need a "best" air tool in the future I'll
go back to Chicago Pneumatic. In fact the last air tool I bought is a
CP. A pneumatic rivet gun. I had people warning me about going with a pneumatic instead of an electric, but then I looked up the service
interval on the CP and checked customer reviews. CP recommends checking
the hydraulic fluid level after 100,000 rivets. As a former IR
customers I recommend buy a Chicago Pneumatic. LOL.
FYI:Â I used to do warranty service on several brands of air
compressors. I worked at a place called Tool & Supply of Yuma before I started The Security Consultant, and I kept working there for about a
year after. I set us up doing warranty repair and service. I was able
to correctly complete most repairs in about 50% of book time. I'm not expert, but I know my way around an air compressor. I don't know if its still true, but back then the Rollaire compressors required less service
or repair than any other brand. Lots of garages and tire shops back
than ran a couple of their two stage 80 gallons. They ran all day long everyday, and they hardly ever failed. Most of the time they were
outside exposed to the weather. Most with little more than an awning to keep direct sunlight and rain off of them.
Let me draw a parallel. Back in 1993 when I signed my first contracting
job I didn't have a truck. I hired a buddy by offering to split the net with him because he had a truck. I didn't have a half inch drill
either. A top of the line name brand was a couple hundred bucks at Tool
and Supply or a "consumer grade" Black & Decker was $29.95 at K-Mart. I bought the Black & Decker. When I finished the job I bought a corded
and a cordless Makita. The biggest and baddest they had. I still have
the Black & Decker. I've gotten it so hot it smoked more than once, and
it will still drive a forstner bit through a 2x4. If I had refused to
buy anything but best of the best of everything I never would have been
able to say I retired from contracting after 23 years. I've had dozens
of drills and maybe a dozen trucks since then, but if I had held out for
a brand new service truck and all top name brand new tools I would have
never signed that first job.
On 11/13/2023 4:44 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 11/12/2023 6:26 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
On 11/12/2023 7:38 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 11/12/2023 5:20 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
As for the retirement word........... Does not exist......... I QUIT!! >>>>> However, every day is a SATURDAY!! (almost) Some days it flips!!! >>>>>
As for the camper... well thanks for the offer.... but no, thanks!! 🙂 >>>>>
As for your compressed air challenge, it seems to me you need to work >>>>> on a better plan!! From 2,000 miles away it will be hard for me to >>>>> help. This might help you start to do the thinking process!! LOL >>>>> https://www.compressedairsystems.com/air-receiver-tanks/
Although, I kinda miss that part of my history.
Working on machines, and stuff!! etc. etc.
We had a pair of cooling fans (32" Diameter) that needed to be
placed in
the compressor room. I designed a bracket frame out of 2"x2"x1/8
steel
angle with a support bracket to be mounted on the wall of the room.
The room was about 20'x20' with a ceiling/roof at about 30 feet.
That is when I actually learned (taught myself) how to stick weld.
The welds looked horrible!! But, the cooling fans are still mounted >>>>> on the wall today. That was maybe 45 years ago. Yea!!
Again a lot of memories!!
Later,
Its funny. I was running a 3.7 HP 60 gallon 150 PSI compressor in
the shop and it kept up okay before buying this 5HP 80 gallon 175.
It carried every machine just fine, but was overwhelmed if I was
also running air cooling on the Hurco mill cutting steel. I hate to
say it but the Lowes Kobalt compressor was a better machine. Fuck
Ingersol Rand. The only reason I bought it was because the motor
smoked on the Kobalt on a Sunday morning and I thought (MISTAKENLY)
that the bigger IR I could buy on a Sunday would do a better job.
I'm not sure if I said this yet, but FUCK INGERSOL RAND. Ordinarily
I would have just slapped a new motor on the Kobalt. I should have
bought another Kobalt instead.   FUCK INGERSOL RAND!!! Not that I
am bitter or anything.
Nah, the Kobalt wasn't really any better. I had to work on it all
the time. Leaky check valve, flaky unloader, flaky pressure switch,
etc, but it cost a lot less, and it did last a lot longer.
Don't take this the wrong way but "cheap" is not always the best
solution!!
How can I help but take it the wrong way. Or maybe its not the wrong
way. So:
"If I can't afford $43K for a 100HP 460 Volt 3 Phase Quincy scroll
compressor and another $43K for a backup, I shouldn't be allowed to
have an air compressor at all?"
"Since I can't afford a hundred grand to bring 460V 3phase into my
shop I shouldn't be allowed to have electricity?"
"If I can't afford $320K-$380K for a tricked out Haas VM-6 I shouldn't
be allowed to own a milling machine?"
"I should tell all my customers I refuse to do all those small jobs
from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars that are my bread and
butter? I shouldn't accept jobs less 10K units and $100K?"
Les, one of those things that drives me bonkers in the machining
groups are guys who look down on what I have and do because, "They can
hold tenths all day long." Yes they can. On the half million dollar
Mori Seiki that belongs to their boss's bank. I hold a couple
thousandths all day long on machines that belong to me. Not my boss,
and not my bank. If I need to make parts hit tolerances better than
that I can. Its just more work, and its me making it happen. Not a
machine that bleeds money. Interestingly many guys who actually own
shops/businesses and own their equipment seem to respect what I do.
Even on the Internet where there is little or no risk of getting poked
in the nose. I used to joke that someday I want to be a real
machinist. Michael Yellowhair (owner of Praxis Precision), told me,
"Bob you do real work that people pay for and you get repeat customers
because they are happy with it. You ARE a real machinist."Â He was the
first one, but I noticed there is a big difference between the guys
who are drawing a paycheck, and the guys who are risking their own.
Ingersol Rand used to be somebody in the industry, but their two stage
80 gallon compressor is garbage. I jumped at it at the time (because
I could get it on a Sunday and keep working) before I knew they had
sold out their name for profits over all else. Just so you know,
there is a local Quincy dealer. I can't afford a real Quincy, but
they make small units too. I looked at one and was astonished to find
it had the EXACT SAME Indian pump as some store brands. Right down to
the same casting marks and an artifact/defects defect from the mold or
pattern. Maybe they have a better check valve. maybe they have a
better pressure switch. Maybe they have a better unloader. Maybe
they even have a better motor and starting setup, but I sure couldn't
see past that cheap cast pump from India. I'd rather have a Chinese
pump from Harbor Freight. I know its better. I've had one on my
Campbell Hausfeld 30 year old roll around for 15 years or so. In fact
it has run the shop a few times when I had to work on the main shop
compressor. More so it was my first shop compressor. I had it
running all the plumbing when I first installed all my air lines.
When I reached the point when it was on more than off I upgraded to my
very first stationary compressor.
I do have a couple IR air tools made many years prior that are top
notch, but never again. If I need a "best" air tool in the future
I'll go back to Chicago Pneumatic. In fact the last air tool I bought
is a CP. A pneumatic rivet gun. I had people warning me about going
with a pneumatic instead of an electric, but then I looked up the
service interval on the CP and checked customer reviews. CP
recommends checking the hydraulic fluid level after 100,000 rivets.
As a former IR customers I recommend buy a Chicago Pneumatic. LOL.
FYI:Â I used to do warranty service on several brands of air
compressors. I worked at a place called Tool & Supply of Yuma before
I started The Security Consultant, and I kept working there for about
a year after. I set us up doing warranty repair and service. I was
able to correctly complete most repairs in about 50% of book time.
I'm not expert, but I know my way around an air compressor. I don't
know if its still true, but back then the Rollaire compressors
required less service or repair than any other brand. Lots of garages
and tire shops back than ran a couple of their two stage 80 gallons.
They ran all day long everyday, and they hardly ever failed. Most of
the time they were outside exposed to the weather. Most with little
more than an awning to keep direct sunlight and rain off of them.
Let me draw a parallel. Back in 1993 when I signed my first
contracting job I didn't have a truck. I hired a buddy by offering to
split the net with him because he had a truck. I didn't have a half
inch drill either. A top of the line name brand was a couple hundred
bucks at Tool and Supply or a "consumer grade" Black & Decker was
$29.95 at K-Mart. I bought the Black & Decker. When I finished the
job I bought a corded and a cordless Makita. The biggest and baddest
they had. I still have the Black & Decker. I've gotten it so hot it
smoked more than once, and it will still drive a forstner bit through
a 2x4. If I had refused to buy anything but best of the best of
everything I never would have been able to say I retired from
contracting after 23 years. I've had dozens of drills and maybe a
dozen trucks since then, but if I had held out for a brand new service
truck and all top name brand new tools I would have never signed that
first job.
Calm Down Bob!!
I understand, totally!!
I wasn't saying you need to up grade to a 200HP Rotary Screw Compressor.
But, only suggesting that somehow getting a larger surge tank would be beneficial to your daily challenge. Adding one more would help!!
The company I worked for was a $8-$10 Million Dollar/year company. After
I quit them some years later sold out to another and the whole place shutdown. The new owner of the property converted the place into a
Machine Shop and then I installed a Security System in the building that
I knew better than the new owner. In my old office on the wall was
my magnetic board with all my Planned Maintenance Schedule PMS with all
my little Weekly/Monthly/Semi-Annual/Annual Tabs. I hadn't been there
for almost 20 years and the board was STILL there in my old office!!!
Don't go more than you can, so you don't come up short!!
Keep up the good work. Satisfaction is always best!!
Have a better rest of the week!!
Les
On 11/12/2023 6:26 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
On 11/12/2023 7:38 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 11/12/2023 5:20 PM, ABLE1 wrote:
As for the retirement word........... Does not exist......... I QUIT!! >>>> However, every day is a SATURDAY!! (almost) Some days it flips!!!
As for the camper... well thanks for the offer.... but no, thanks!! .Ÿ.‚ >>>>
As for your compressed air challenge, it seems to me you need to work
on a better plan!! From 2,000 miles away it will be hard for me
to help. This might help you start to do the thinking process!!Â
LOL
https://www.compressedairsystems.com/air-receiver-tanks/
Although, I kinda miss that part of my history.
Working on machines, and stuff!! etc. etc.
We had a pair of cooling fans (32" Diameter) that needed to be placed in >>>> the compressor room. I designed a bracket frame out of 2"x2"x1/8 steel >>>> angle with a support bracket to be mounted on the wall of the room.
The room was about 20'x20' with a ceiling/roof at about 30 feet.
That is when I actually learned (taught myself) how to stick weld.
The welds looked horrible!! But, the cooling fans are still mounted
on the wall today. That was maybe 45 years ago. Yea!!
Again a lot of memories!!
Later,
Its funny. I was running a 3.7 HP 60 gallon 150 PSI compressor in
the shop and it kept up okay before buying this 5HP 80 gallon 175.Â
It carried every machine just fine, but was overwhelmed if I was
also running air cooling on the Hurco mill cutting steel. I hate
to say it but the Lowes Kobalt compressor was a better
machine. Fuck Ingersol Rand. The only reason I bought it was
because the motor smoked on the Kobalt on a Sunday morning and I
thought (MISTAKENLY) that the bigger IR I could buy on a Sunday
would do a better job. I'm not sure if I said this yet, but FUCK
INGERSOL RAND. Ordinarily I would have just slapped a new motor on
the Kobalt. I should have bought another Kobalt instead.   FUCK
INGERSOL RAND!!! Not that I am bitter or anything.
Nah, the Kobalt wasn't really any better. I had to work on it all
the time. Leaky check valve, flaky unloader, flaky pressure
switch, etc, but it cost a lot less, and it did last a lot longer.
Don't take this the wrong way but "cheap" is not always the best
solution!!
How can I help but take it the wrong way. Or maybe its not the wrong
way. So:
"If I can't afford $43K for a 100HP 460 Volt 3 Phase Quincy scroll
compressor and another $43K for a backup, I shouldn't be allowed to
have an air compressor at all?"
"Since I can't afford a hundred grand to bring 460V 3phase into my
shop I shouldn't be allowed to have electricity?"
"If I can't afford $320K-$380K for a tricked out Haas VM-6 I shouldn't
be allowed to own a milling machine?"
"I should tell all my customers I refuse to do all those small jobs
from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars that are my bread and
butter? I shouldn't accept jobs less 10K units and $100K?"
Les, one of those things that drives me bonkers in the machining
groups are guys who look down on what I have and do because, "They can
hold tenths all day long." Yes they can. On the half million dollar
Mori Seiki that belongs to their boss's bank. I hold a couple
thousandths all day long on machines that belong to me. Not my boss,
and not my bank. If I need to make parts hit tolerances better than
that I can. Its just more work, and its me making it happen. Not a
machine that bleeds money. Interestingly many guys who actually own shops/businesses and own their equipment seem to respect what I do.
Even on the Internet where there is little or no risk of getting poked
in the nose. I used to joke that someday I want to be a real
machinist. Michael Yellowhair (owner of Praxis Precision), told me,
"Bob you do real work that people pay for and you get repeat customers because they are happy with it. You ARE a real machinist." He was the
first one, but I noticed there is a big difference between the guys
who are drawing a paycheck, and the guys who are risking their own.
Ingersol Rand used to be somebody in the industry, but their two stage
80 gallon compressor is garbage. I jumped at it at the time (because
I could get it on a Sunday and keep working) before I knew they had
sold out their name for profits over all else. Just so you know,
there is a local Quincy dealer. I can't afford a real Quincy, but
they make small units too. I looked at one and was astonished to find
it had the EXACT SAME Indian pump as some store brands. Right down to
the same casting marks and an artifact/defects defect from the mold or pattern. Maybe they have a better check valve. maybe they have a
better pressure switch. Maybe they have a better unloader. Maybe
they even have a better motor and starting setup, but I sure couldn't
see past that cheap cast pump from India. I'd rather have a Chinese
pump from Harbor Freight. I know its better. I've had one on my
Campbell Hausfeld 30 year old roll around for 15 years or so. In fact
it has run the shop a few times when I had to work on the main shop compressor. More so it was my first shop compressor. I had it
running all the plumbing when I first installed all my air lines.
When I reached the point when it was on more than off I upgraded to my
very first stationary compressor.
I do have a couple IR air tools made many years prior that are top
notch, but never again. If I need a "best" air tool in the future
I'll go back to Chicago Pneumatic. In fact the last air tool I bought
is a CP. A pneumatic rivet gun. I had people warning me about going
with a pneumatic instead of an electric, but then I looked up the
service interval on the CP and checked customer reviews. CP
recommends checking the hydraulic fluid level after 100,000 rivets.
As a former IR customers I recommend buy a Chicago Pneumatic. LOL.
FYI: I used to do warranty service on several brands of air
compressors. I worked at a place called Tool & Supply of Yuma before
I started The Security Consultant, and I kept working there for about
a year after. I set us up doing warranty repair and service. I was
able to correctly complete most repairs in about 50% of book time.
I'm not expert, but I know my way around an air compressor. I don't
know if its still true, but back then the Rollaire compressors
required less service or repair than any other brand. Lots of garages
and tire shops back than ran a couple of their two stage 80 gallons.
They ran all day long everyday, and they hardly ever failed. Most of
the time they were outside exposed to the weather. Most with little
more than an awning to keep direct sunlight and rain off of them.
Let me draw a parallel. Back in 1993 when I signed my first
contracting job I didn't have a truck. I hired a buddy by offering to
split the net with him because he had a truck. I didn't have a half
inch drill either. A top of the line name brand was a couple hundred
bucks at Tool and Supply or a "consumer grade" Black & Decker was
$29.95 at K-Mart. I bought the Black & Decker. When I finished the
job I bought a corded and a cordless Makita. The biggest and baddest
they had. I still have the Black & Decker. I've gotten it so hot it
smoked more than once, and it will still drive a forstner bit through
a 2x4. If I had refused to buy anything but best of the best of
everything I never would have been able to say I retired from
contracting after 23 years. I've had dozens of drills and maybe a
dozen trucks since then, but if I had held out for a brand new service
truck and all top name brand new tools I would have never signed that
first job.
--
Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff
On 11/12/2023 6:26 PM, ABLE1 wrote:[...]
Don't take this the wrong way but "cheap" is not always the best
solution!!
How can I help but take it the wrong way. Or maybe its not the wrong
way. So:
[...]
"Bob La Londe"Â wrote in message news:uiuehj$u3s3$1@dont-email.me...
I made a lot of DirecTV and Primestar
dish non-penetrating roof mounts by breaking down old steel bread racks
for the angle iron with one back in the mid 90s.
----------------------------------------
How were they non-penetrating?
I ask because I suspend my roof solar panels from these: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Werner-Stainless-Steel-Permanent-D-Ring-Fall-Protection-Roof-Anchor-A230302W/318086043
https://modernize.com/homeowner-resources/solar/solar-ballast
and depend on their weight and a wide base to keep the wind from moving
them. I'm still looking for a good permanent location for them, having
just removed trees that shaded (and threatened) much of the roof much of
the day. Also the chimney cleaning platform rests on pipe uprights
sealed with vent stack boots and is further secured at the upper end to
steel straps run under the shingles.
If you have another nonintrusive way to mount things on a shingled roof
I'd like to know.
I installed the pipe uprights and boots when I reshingled, and didn't properly fit the shingles around them, so the next rain dripped onto and stained my just-paid-off deed in the incoming mail from the mortgage
company on the table below. Karma?
On 11/13/2023 4:44 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 11/12/2023 6:26 PM, ABLE1 wrote:[...]
Don't take this the wrong way but "cheap" is not always the best
solution!!
As if Bob didn't already know that.
How can I help but take it the wrong way. Or maybe its not the wrong
way. So:
[...]
(A 'spaining about how running a business is a bit different than
working for somebody who does.)
On 11/14/2023 5:20 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
"Bob La Londe"Â wrote in message news:uiuehj$u3s3$1@dont-email.me...
I made a lot of DirecTV and Primestar
dish non-penetrating roof mounts by breaking down old steel bread racks
for the angle iron with one back in the mid 90s.
----------------------------------------
How were they non-penetrating?
I ask because I suspend my roof solar panels from these:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Werner-Stainless-Steel-Permanent-D-Ring-Fall-Protection-Roof-Anchor-A230302W/318086043
https://modernize.com/homeowner-resources/solar/solar-ballast
and depend on their weight and a wide base to keep the wind from
moving them. I'm still looking for a good permanent location for them,
having just removed trees that shaded (and threatened) much of the
roof much of the day. Also the chimney cleaning platform rests on pipe
uprights sealed with vent stack boots and is further secured at the
upper end to steel straps run under the shingles.
If you have another nonintrusive way to mount things on a shingled
roof I'd like to know.
I installed the pipe uprights and boots when I reshingled, and didn't
properly fit the shingles around them, so the next rain dripped onto
and stained my just-paid-off deed in the incoming mail from the
mortgage company on the table below. Karma?
We used them on flat roof installations. Basically a piece of tube/pipe
the right size for the dish hardware welded/bolted/super-glued (just
kidding) to a rectangular frame. You put the dish on them, and then
filled the frame with concrete blocks. I'm not so sure the roof could handle the weight load for an adequate number of concrete blocks to wind
load a roof full of solar panels.
"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:uiuehj$u3s3$1@dont-email.me...
I made a lot of DirecTV and Primestar
dish non-penetrating roof mounts by breaking down old steel bread racks
for the angle iron with one back in the mid 90s.
----------------------------------------
How were they non-penetrating?
I ask because I suspend my roof solar panels from these: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Werner-Stainless-Steel-Permanent-D-Ring-Fall-Protection-Roof-Anchor-A230302W/318086043
https://modernize.com/homeowner-resources/solar/solar-ballast
and depend on their weight and a wide base to keep the wind from moving
them. I'm still looking for a good permanent location for them, having
just removed trees that shaded (and threatened) much of the roof much of
the day. Also the chimney cleaning platform rests on pipe uprights sealed with vent stack boots and is further secured at the upper end to steel
straps run under the shingles.
If you have another nonintrusive way to mount things on a shingled roof
I'd like to know.
I installed the pipe uprights and boots when I reshingled, and didn't properly fit the shingles around them, so the next rain dripped onto and stained my just-paid-off deed in the incoming mail from the mortgage
company on the table below. Karma?
"Jim Wilkins"Â wrote in message news:uj0chf$1avd6$1@dont-email.me...
<< Maybe not, I have only 300W up there and an antenna mast and the
platform
support pipe to guy them both ways horizontally. >>
This is snow country. The panels add less than 2.5 Lbs per square foot,
equal to 2" of snow. Two feet of it is common here. https://evogov.s3.amazonaws.com/141/media/109213.pdf
The safety eyes are for when I shovel it off. When my grandmother's
light weight all aluminum shovel broke from salt corrosion I extended it
~18" and it can catapult snow about 30', well beyond the path around the house where a standard shovel would dump it.
"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:uj0chf$1avd6$1@dont-email.me...
<< Maybe not, I have only 300W up there and an antenna mast and the
platform
support pipe to guy them both ways horizontally. >>
This is snow country. The panels add less than 2.5 Lbs per square foot,
equal to 2" of snow. Two feet of it is common here. https://evogov.s3.amazonaws.com/141/media/109213.pdf
The safety eyes are for when I shovel it off. When my grandmother's light weight all aluminum shovel broke from salt corrosion I extended it ~18"
and it can catapult snow about 30', well beyond the path around the house where a standard shovel would dump it.
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