HELP!! compressor problems in the shop.

so for a while now my compressor in the garage has been ahving an issue with the belt squeeling. i've checked it and it IS tight. it seems like the motor is having a hard time turning the compressor but the electric motor is just slightly larger than what the manufacturer of the pump (Eaton Compressor) told me i need as a minimum for that pump. it realy only seems to do this when the pressure in the tank gets up above 80 or 90 psi. at lower tank pressures it does'nt do it and if i'm suing a grinder or something and have it runining constantly it does'nt do much either. just when i stop for a minute and the compressor is able to build the pressure in the tank up again.
let me give you some back ground on the compressor. it is an old 5hp/60 gallon compressor. i had replaced the electric motor in 2004 and the following year the pump went bad so i got a real nice 3 cylinder single stage from Eaton Compressor. well the motor i had bought in 2004 was BARELY at the minimum for running this compressor so i upgraded to the slightly bigger motor and for a while i had no problems.
my dad thought it might be a check valve between the pump and the tank that went bad. made sense to me till i went and looked and there is'nt one anywhere between the pump and the tank. should there be?????


thanks for any help.


Mike

 

I'd think there should be a check valve between the pump and the tank so the pressure doesn't bleed back to the pump.

 

Yes, without a doubt there should be a check valve between the compressor and tank. It's probably putting uncessary wear and strain on your pump at the very least.

 

EXACTLY what they said. They're cheap too. Got a Graingers near ya?

 

How did you know I'm cheap!?!?! Oh, the check valve is cheap...

 

I ran into the same thing a few years back. It wasn't from changing things around, it just started. The belts were tight and had been kept adjusted. New set of belts and the problem went away. Belts are designed to drive off the sides of the belt not the inside edge on the bottom of the pully. As the belts ware they get narrower and loose the ability to grip. Automotive belts and machenery belts have a different pitch. Buy yourself a new set of correct belts and give it a try.
The Wizzard

 

also, some compressors have a pressure release on the pump....what it does is when it senses pressure in the tank, it opens the valves on the compressor to allow the motor to get up to speed first......then the valves close and the pump can begin building pressure.....

just for giggles, try some belt dressing....i used to be the type that thought, "oh, if you need that crap then you have other problems"....well, might be true but it's a cheap quick way to add some "stick" to your belts......worked great on my altenator belt on my truck.......buy the spray with a little red tube.....

 

CHEAP MY ASS!!! i went to Tractor Supply (the only place close and open today) and it was $27 for the only one they had. luckily (i guess) it was the right size, so i swapped em out... oh yeah. i figured out where mine was after looking at them at TSC . it just looks like a regular ole fitting in the top of the tank.

so anyways. i put the new one in, fire it up and a couple minutes into refilling the tank it starts squeeling again . SON OF A BITCH!!!! so i go over and grab a can of belt dressing that has been on my shelf FOREVER (i don't know where it came from and i don't think i've EVER used it before), i sprayed it on the big pulley as it is going around and round and, i'll be damned, the squeeling stopped. it did start again a couple times but only went on for a couple seconds before it quite makin noise. the compressor even sped up when the squeeling stopped (makes sense). i might get me a new belt and see how that works. the belt is at least a couple years old if not older. not sure when it got replaced last.

thanks for the advice.

 

hahaha....sounds just like what happend to me......i had a can of dressing on my shelf....have no clue where i got it....it was old as the hills.......i said my altenator but i meant ac compressor on my truck......it was squeeling when i'd first start it up......was really making me mad......tried the dressing.......i've been sold since...

 

It sounds like a new set of belts would do the trick for you.

You might also look at what the amp draw on your electric motor is as a lot of the cheap chinese etc motors don't really make the HP that the say they do. So if you bought a motor that was the smallest size the good guys at Eaton compressor recommended then it might be to small as they take their horsepower requirement rating off the amp draw of the electric motor not just the horsepower number stamped on the case.

I have a 85 gallon Eaton compressor that I have been using with no problems for the last three years and love it. Hard to believe but the guys at Eaton were able to cut me a better deal then I could find on a somewhat similar ingersoll compressor and that was even with the shipping cost to Alaska. I highly recommend Eaton Compressors.

 

it is the right motor. i went on Eaton's recomendation for amperage.

 

Great a lot of people don't look at the amp draw. You might also try running the compressor on a 3 belt pulley setup if it isn't already, synthetic compressor oil, and make sure and keep the new belts good and tight because once they start slipping it is usually down-hill from there.

Best of luck