Heres Pic of mine as you can see I had to make a new base for the new motor so I could bolt it down in the same holes. The one on the tool box is the original.
Ok, they are on my watch list. Thanks for the heads up. It is pretty sad when you can't even tell the truth about your personal experiences and then worry about being sued. You are all too sadly true. But, I can tell you one thing for sure, having bad product is one thing to me, suing people who complain puts that company into a whole different category of bad to me. At this point, I might just be extra, extra vigilant when considering a IR product, but might still give them a chance. If I ever hear of them suing somebody over something like this, they will be off my list permanently and I will be sure to let others know about it if asked. Now, problems happen. That is just life. So, on the contrary, when a company has problems and they step up and handle them in a good and respectable way, they move to the top of my list. To me, a company who has problems and deals with them well, moves up and ones who deal with them poorly move down. It's pretty simple and up to them how they want to handle it.
Sorry to hear. For what it's worth, I bought an IR air nibbler a while back. Barely used it. Recently I was cutting some 17 gauge sheet and the aluminum housing at the business end of the tool cracked. No more nibbler. I think IR is one of those companies that used to make quality stuff, but now is making everything in China. Next time I'll pony up a few extra dollars and by US made.
Sucks for you but american made does not mean lifetime warranty. Lifetime warranty means lifetime warranty. One year warranty does not mean two year warranty. See how that works??? Anything beyond that should be considered a bonus, otherwise you're just expecting extras you didn't pay for. BTW it sounds like you got mad on the phone with IR and never got to the point where motor price was discussed against the time you'd owned the compressor. You may have been able to get a sweetheart deal, maybe not, but it's often how these things work out......
I have to disagree. I didn't buy this compressor thinking it was good for a year. There is an expectation that it will last much longer than that. If I only wanted a compressor that would last a year, I would have paid half what I did. I went with a trusted name brand because I expected it to work for years. No one would buy anything if they didn't expect it to live past the warantee. And for the record, I didn't get an attitude with the tech on the phone. I had him transfer me to the sales desk so I could find out how much the motor would be. It was a little over $500 with shipping. Quite a sweetheart of a deal huh? I doubt they pay half that when buying them from Emerson.
I tried Emerson first and what i found was they discontinued this particular motor. I searched alot of different sites until I came across northern tool. Somethings up with this design. When I first looked a graingers it showed my same motor for 53.00, but it said while supply lasts, clicked to put in cart to buy, window says not longer available all gone also seen the original price 305.00 they marked down what they had left and sold them cheap. The only replacement graingers had turned the wrong way. Some of the sites I went to also said discontinued for that motor but a replacement was coming. After sharing my experience on here a couple weeks ago a fellow hamber told me tractor supply carried the same motor for 100.00 less so I went and looked sure enough they had it. I already bought the one from northern tool. I bought the compressor from tractor supply and never thought about looking there for a replacement motor. All up and running again now I'm so happy about being able to go back to work on my car I wasn't thinking about it anymore until I saw the post.
Ya know ive been on a few different sites lately and all i can say is winter has brought out all the god dam xperts .... Im gonna side with you.. you tried to do the right thing and get some favorable results . I know from the first post your wernt happy but i dont remember you going of on a nut and threating anyone with assaniation .... Gotta love the net and the forums... Dave
I R does offer a extended warranty, but running there cheapest compressor in a auto shop your looking for trouble, a recprocating compressor is not designed to run all day, they shouldn't start more than 5 or 6 times an hour. you will burn up the motor, you need to go to a rotory screw, then you can expect it to run 15 years or so. Just my 2 cents...
Here's an update on this. I spent a couple days calling around trying to reach someone who's lane it is to keep the customers happy. I finally received a call from the vice president of customer relations for the compressor division. She was nice. I explained to her that I knew my compressor was out of warranty but that in buying Ingersoll-Rand, I had an expectation of quality. I told her that I'd done some research on the internet and found that there had been quite a few problems with these motors. I also told her that I had been very happy with the compressor up until that point and had often recommended it on the various automotive internet forums I use. She agreed that a compressor should last a significant number of years and that the warranty running out does not mean it's ok for the machine to break down. She asked where I purchased it and what the serial number was. She then said she would make a few calls and that either she or someone else would be in touch with me the next day. The following day I had a phone call at 8:00am sharp. It was a gentleman who said he needed my shipping address so he could send me out a replacement motor. He apologized for the product letting me down and said that I could expect a long service life with the new motor as long as the supply voltage doesn't drop below 220. So, other than the motor actually going out and the initial encounter with customer service, I am happy. I think I spoke with about five people before the customer relations VP called me and they were all pleasant and seemed to want to help. I am concerned about the voltage drop thing. I know my compressor is wired up correctly. What I don't know is can my electrical service drop voltage randomly from the power company? Is the 220v thing just a cop out from them if the motor goes south or is that a common way of killing motors? Anyway, I wanted to be fair. I shared the bad. Felt I should share the good too. Bob
Great news. My experience has been if you act calm, make your case logically, and keep going up the chain, most companies do the right thing.
Well done Hot Bob and glad to hear IR is willing to go above and beyond for their customers. Not to get into an argument, but it would be a shame if people didn't tell their stories for fear of being sued. What you think of a company is an opinion. Opinions are protected by free speech. You open yourself up to litigation only if you state facts. Should that keep you from telling your story? That depends on whether or not the person or company thinks it's worth the expense to sue you for libel or telling lies. Which is rarely because most people can come up with witnesses or other proof to back up their stories. remember opinions are not open to litigation. Facts or lies are, but usually are not because it's a hassle and very expensive.
That's good that they were able to make good on their deal. Glad to here it. Consider yourself lucky. I am the kind of person that believes strongly in personal responsibility. Yes IR has a "expectation of quality". So their marketing group did a good job. pat them on the back. But the fact of the matter is, something you bought broke. (And it sounds like it was over usage or a drop in voltage at your house that caused the failure.) So IR's product is supposed to work dependably at a less than specified voltage? And when it doesn't, you expect them to fix it for free after their promised warranty is up. No wonder american business is going out of bussiness. In the "old days" you could either choose to fix it or buy a new one. I hate that everyone expects everyone else to fix crap that breaks. Suck it up and take some responsibility. Same goes for the guy that expects Craftsman to replace a screwdriver that has clearly been used for a chisel. The end is broke, bent, and usually driven into the handle. Geez, buy a damn chisel next time. As for your voltage drop. have an electrician check the circuits. Is the compessor wired to the same breaker as something else? (ie, a cheater breaker that has 2 50amp breakers that fits in the same spot that would normally fit one.) Is the the box nearly maxed out or over the rated amperage? I know My Dad's is. He has a 200amp breaker box with close to 300amp worth of crap in it. Now granted, never is EVERYTHING on all at the same time. so it never pulls that much amperage. But I can see the voltage dropping if he's welding, the compressor kicks on, and the AC or electric heater is on in the house. All while my mom puts something in the microwave while watching TV. you see where I'm going... But if it is, you may need to upgrade to a higher rated box. But then again, maybe you should call the home builder and have them replace it. After all, it's their fault they didn't put a bigger box in. It couldn't be your fault... could it. OK rant over. And yes, I will be buying an IR compressor for the new garage. But I am considering a model meant for my type of usage, and possibly a rotory screw.
I thought I was wrong once...but I was mistaken. Not quite sure what all this means. I opened my shop last June, and I can't say I've been real busy. This compressor probably kicks on five to ten times a day averaged out. If I were really busy and this thing was getting abused, I would feel differently about it. I understood exactly what you were saying in your PM but I can't just run out and drop $5k on a compressor and even if I could my three phase is fed from a 10hp RPC. I am and will continue to run a cash operation. I'm not going to get into a bunch of debt to have the coolest tools in this economy. I did a lot of shopping around before I bought this compressor. I looked at amperage draw of the motor, scfm of the pump and brand name. On paper, I don't think you can find a better compressor for under a thousand dollars, and that was my budget. Bob
After mulling this over, both you and Coldwar have a good point. Before you got asked IR for a motor, did you check your circuit to make sure you didn't have a voltage drop? If you do, you did get something for nothing and probally should offer to pay for the motor from IR. Right is right. I hope you report back if it was actually your electrically issue and not completely an issue with the motor. That would only be fair.
It pays to be tenacious! Glad u got it worked out. Reminds me when my sister had a prob with a high end item she purchased. Got nowhere for days on the phone with the company. Incredibly, she somehow reached the owner of this big corporation while he was poolside and gave him an earful! Needless to say she had a new item delivered to her house the next day and was refunded all her $$$ back too. Dont mess with my sister.
Ok, somehow I guess I failed to make this clear. There are no issues with my electrical service from the meter to any of my equipment. My shop is a brand new building that I had put up on my property last year. It has it's own seperate 200 amp service and was all wired by a friend who is a master electrician. I'm not trying to get into a pissing contest here but, it is amazing to me how one person makes some assumption and others jump on like it was proven fact. I paid for a compressor that is advertized for farm and maintenance use. Nowhere did it say hobby or toy. It has seen only light use at worst. Now I should call up I-R and tell them I want to pay for the motor they're sending me because the original has been shown to be inferior?
I know my electrical service is good and I only use my IR compressor like a hobbiest and my motor still went bad in 2 and half years. Some other hobbiest forums I looked at had a few people with the same problem. I just bought a new motor, I guess I should have went down the same road as HOT Bob I could have saved some money. I just wanted it working again quick as possible.
I'm not trying to defend IR or any of the other companies, but what I am gonna sya is that don't hang too much credit with ONE NITWIT you talked to at the company. Not too long ago I bought a BRAND NEW BALDOR motor for my compressor nad was immediately having issues with it - when I talked to BALDOR about it - and mentioned I wanted it warranteed - the fella on the other end of the phone told me it WASN'T under any waranty!!!!!!!! To this day I think that the Baldor guy was smoking crack - I mean I can't believe a company with as good a reputation as Baldor wouldn't stand behind a BRAND NEW part!! ......but lucky for me the dealer that sold it to me sent out an replacement - no fuss no muss. So I guess my long winded point is to give the company a second try - be NICE - it may pay off.
Have you freind that wired that compressor come over and check the voltage at the panel.Then fire up the compressor and check the drop.It is real simple. If it has drop.You will need to run a heavier gauge wire and maybe a higher amp breaker.You need to know what the AMP DRAW is on the motor to get it right. If you dont.You will burn up all the motors that you put on it time and time again.
Dude, As I mentioned, I'm just trying to fair. If you are saying everything checks out with your electrical service, then the issue was with the motor and/or it's inferior design. Again, sometimes consumers are quick to jump on a company's shit but aren't willing to accept their part in the break down was partically due to their own doing. That's all I'm trying to say.
I recently upgraded from a Craftsman single stage to an IR two stage 60 gal. compressor from Grainger. About a month of little use, the air pressure switch broke internally after I was trying to adjust the cutoff pressure. A quick call to the local IR service center, they sent a guy out to my place, investigated the problem, parts ordered, and the tech came back out a week later and fixed under warranty. Although it doesn't hurt that the company I work for has quite a bit of "pull" with IR....
Maybe all of us should check our voltage in the shop this weekend. I know I will. I have an 8 horse 80 gal upright that has been flawless so far. I'd like to keep it that way.
If the voltage was low then the motor would be drawing more amps, and if the amps go up to far thats called 'overload' then the motor O/L should trip open. If that doesnt trip then the circuit bkr in the box should open. If the that doesnt open the motor becomes the breaker and it burns out. So in either case it was a motor problem as its O/L breaker didnt open and is part of the motor wiring circuit. The compressor part seems to be ok but seems like the motor wiring also wasnt big enough. If you buy something that has a very good rep you expect the company that built it would stanby its rep. Someone pays good money for something thats sposed to last for years doesnt expect it to crap out within 2 years. Hot Bob was right to call up the company and describe how he felt about it, and he was right to go beyond the first line of defense that the companies put up. The upper management wants bad news to be fended off by thier frontline lackeys, they don,t want to hear anything negative.
The breaker does not "trip" from overvoltage but from overcurrent... The wire should be properly rated for the load and the breaker should be rated less than the ampacity of the wire. If not the wire becomes the fuse and burns first= fire etc. etc. You're correct though the higher the load you want the shortest wires possible or larger wire gauge to avoid voltage drops from resistance due to higher currents.
My experience has vbeen that IR makes decent gear UNTIL it breaks. Thier "service" SUCKS. I had an IR Electric impact. the trigger switch went bad. They would not sell me parts. Like Sears was in the old days.
Well this is my first post on the H.A.M.B after a long time of reading posts and enjoying the banter among you fellows. I was about to order this compressor, and search for it by name "SS5L5". The Northern Tool reviews were all outstanding. I am torn, because it sounds like this may be a somewhat common issue. I have been pouring through posts and can not seem to make up my mind. I always thought and have heard that IR is the way to go, even if you are paying more for a brand name because they stand behind their products and they are American made. Is there a comparable compressor in terms of specs and of better quality in the $1000 price range? Also I have to wire the garage for 220. Should I use 8 gauge or 10 gauge romex? I read that the 10 gauge is good for 30 amps, which appears to be what most compressors are rated at. After reading the post, I guess I still haven't made up my mind on what gauge to run. Is the 8 gauge good insurance or overkill? I can get 100 feet of the 10-2 for $60. 8-2 is almost double.
Normally the voltage at a residence is 120/240 single phase. there should be no voltage issues with a motor rated at 220 volts as the are rated to run +- 10%. The wire size feeding the equipment is based on the full load amps of the motor plus 25% The breaker size can be sized to 175 % of the full load amps of the motor(this is for motor loads only) Voltage drop calculations are based on voltage amperage and length of run and wire size. At home depot in the electrical section there is a book called the UGLYs book. It has a lot of useful calculations, including a voltage drop calculation. Its about 10 bucks and well worth it and it is based on the NEC It sounds like the compressor motor was the problem based on all the facts given. I hope you got satisfaction. I'll stick with my Craftsman
I'm an electrical dummie, but I can change out a light bulb. Back in 1962 Dad bought a compressor from Sears, that would never run for long if you pluged in the wall socket. He made up a 10 foot long extention cord out of BX cable and it runs just fine to this day. Why?
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