[AT] O.T. RE: Shop thoughts, ait lines, air tools and the like

Arthur Southwell asouth at strato.net
Thu Aug 4 05:26:15 PDT 2005


Hi gang,
I have read a few responses to the fore mentioned thread, mostly with amusement. I can see a little of myself in several of the responses. It has come to the point I can't resist any longer, telling my Air Compressor story. Like another list member said, I'm frugal with my money. My shop and equipment needs to be functional, NOT pretty. 

Having led with that, here we go.

In the early 1960's when I was learning how to repair automotive AC, I learned that a York compressor would make a real good air pump. 

About 1965, I built me a little roll around air compressor using a discarded York compressor, a 10 gallon water heater tank (hydrotest was 200 lbs.), and an old light duty 1/2 HP electric motor. No pressure switch, no pop off valve! I watched the air pressure gage and when it reached 150 lbs. I would unplug the motor lead. This served me well around the house for several years. 

In 1967, I thought I had enough to start my own auto repair business. When I set up the shop in town, I looked for a 30 gallon water tank and piped my old trusty York compressor to it. Still no pressure switch and no pop off. This worked ok until one day in 1969. I had just plugged the compressor in and a customer came up. We talked a minute or so and I took him home and returned with his car. 

When I got out of the car I heard a very loud thumping sound. For a second or two I couldn't figure what was making the noise. Then it hit me. The Air Compressor! I ran to the corner where it lived and as I approached I could see the pressure gage. It had a 500 lb. dial, the needle was reading almost 350 PSI. I grabbed the electrical cord on the fly and out the door with the end of the air hose I ran. I stuck something in the coupler and started bleeding off the air, praying I could get the pressure below 200 PSI before the tank exploded. The fact that I'm here to type this tale is evidence that I was successful. That old York was hot let me tell ya.

Well, I still didn't learn. I continued to use the compressor set up as in the past. Never made that mistake again.

In 1971 I moved from the rented shop up town back to the little shop building (old cow shed) that was vacated by my dad. About 1974, I came by an old (1948) Delta 1/2 HP industrial grade electric motor that was in excellent condition and installed it on my homemade air machine. It worked great, I could now start the compressor with a 100 lbs. head pressure. I was in tall cotton. 

Well, one day, baby brother who lived next door, came over to use my air! I told him he would have to plug the compressor "in", and not to let it build above 175 lbs. on the gage. I left. He got busy and forgot to unplug the lead when he finished. Luckily, there was a weak place in the hose or something, because when I returned the next morning, the tank was empty and the motor was burned up.

I replaced the old 1/2 HP motor with a modern 2 HP 220 volts. This time I did install a pressure switch, but not a pop off valve. Things went along good until along in 1998. One night around 9:00 PM or so, we heard the loudest "BOOOOOOOM" I have ever heard. It sounded like a 105 MM gun had been fired. I grabbed a flashlight and ran outside to have a look. It took maybe 5 minutes or more before I realized that one of my 2 air tanks was missing, along with some of the PVC pipe. I walked around the neighborhood for awhile. Couldn't find the tank and didn't see any one else out and no damage to any houses, so I went back to watching TV. Nothing more I could do until daylight.

The next morning I learned the pressure switch had stuck and the now 2 cylinder compressor had built up a pressure too great for the tank to contain. It blew the bottom out of the tank and launched it like a rocket. It was three months before I found the tank. I came down in an oak thicket approx. 150 ft. from where it took flight. A hundred feet from there was a neighbors house.

When I installed a new tank, I also installed a new pressure switch AND a pop off valve. The PVC pipe was in use for almost 25 years with no problems. Hurricane Charley took it out and I will soon replace it with more schedule 40 PVC.

And that my friends is my "air supply" story.

Hope to see a lot of you at Portland in a few weeks.

Smoke rings,
Arthur



Arthur Southwell
Arthur Southwell Rebuilding
Arcadia, Florida 34266  U.S.A.
asouth at strato.net

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