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I have a 6HP single stage compressor (big tank) in my shop that has been up to pressure for about 20 years. I don't spend much time in my studio these days. I made the mistake of leaving an attachment on my quick disconnect fitting, and it leaked. Several days later I went in to my shop and it smelled of burning rubber. I quickly realized what had happened and shut the power off to the compressor. So my question is, do I need a new compressor or can mine be salvaged. Is there some place to oil it? I don't think so.

I bought the big unit with the idea that some day I would want to sandblast. I have never done that. So, if I replace it, it will be with a unit designed to run a spray gun and fill my tires.

Is there any hope of fixing mine?

Unless it's an oil less (more recent designs) one they do have a crankcase that needs to be topped up with oil from time to time. Mine has a small finger sized screw-in plug at the base of the finned casting.

Thanks Don, I would have guessed that mine was oilless however I did find the screw out plug, so I'll get some 20 weight oil and put it in. My compressor is in an unheated shop, so I need thin oil in the winter. With any luck the compressor piston rings aren't dead. We'll see.

It hasn't cost much to keep that compressor up to pressure. My shop has it's own electric meter, and if I don't run the kiln, I am powering an LED light bulb, my idle controller, and the compressor, my entire bill is around $15 a month.

Bert,
Before you throw the 20 weight in the compressor, check the manual. It may take a lighter specialty oil.

Barry

Bert, I've replace every part imaginable at one time or another.

You can buy replacement EVERYTHING for most air compressors. I've replace the the compressor heads, motors, pressure switches, unloader valves etc.

I've had the thing get stuck on until the safety blown and come in hours later and the shop stinks terribly of oil etc. I'd bet you can fix it easily.

I checked the oil. The plug has a dipstick type indicator and it seemed to be up to the bottom line. I added a bit of 30 weight non detergent oil that I had in my stash of stuff. That seemed to be the recommended standard. So I put the power back on. In the beginning it was making some "mechanical noises" which settled down. There is a smell of burning rubber, which I assume is coming from the belt, well concealed inside it's housing. It built up pressure to around 100psi, when it started making worse whining noises. It looked to me to be at 100 psi. I didn't like the noises, so I shut off the power. I have no clue what pressure is supposed to trigger the cut off. Those noises weren't a good sign of functioning properly.

So whatever, the next step is to remove the belt housing and replace the belt. It looks like it builds pressure. I have not been a good owner in that I don't do much to it other than adjust the output pressure relative to what I am spraying or doing (more for tires).

I did find a manual I can purchase for $5. I suppose I should do that. This compressor is not real easy to get at to work on. It sits under a stairway and has a pile of heavy glass stacked in front of it (my best rejects over the decades).

Rick, I appreciate your encouragement. This unit wasn't expensive when I bought it a couple of decades ago. Of course it does cost more to replace it, today. The spec plate on it reads Coleman, but the numbers come up on Google as Black Max.

As an aside, I am only doing a little glass work these days, and I don't visit this board daily as I used to. I do look at the Facebook groups. I knew without a doubt that I would find good answers here, and totally unreliable ones there.

Nothing to do with compressors, but just happy to see you're OK, Bert. I hadn't seen you around for a while and was afraid to ask!

I don't do FB so really miss the lively conversations and good advice that used to flow more frequently here.Jen

Thanks Jen. I do miss the banter we had here, as it was a unique set of people who came together over the common theme of english speaking kiln fired glassies. These days there is plenty of banter over on Facebook. Rosanna and I responded to a political comment by Barry just a couple of days ago.

I find the glass groups over there to be sad. People tend to be clueless, and there is no accountability there. Dennis Brady is one of the go to "experts" and his comments there are as clueless as they were here. Fused Glass fanatics has 14,000 members.

On the personal side, I like Facebook. I stay in touch with many people I met here, who no longer mess around with glass, like Jackie Beckman and Lisa Allen. It allows me to stay in touch with many sets of disparate people, like my cousins who I would never see otherwise, high school buddies, glassies, and political argument friends. I've met some really interesting smart people while discussing politics. The trick is not to get stuck inside a bubble of everybody who thinks like you do. That is really easy to happen, if you don't seek out people who disagree with you.

These days I earn my living writing health insurance. I am grateful for all the discussions we had here with people from around the planet. I learned a lot and still refer to things I learned here. Not to mention the reason that drew us all here, to share our successes and failures messing around with glass and heat. I do believe the growth of glass fusion is a unique learning curve in human history, and this BB spurred it on.

This board is just another thing that Facebook has impacted negatively, what a difference a few short years have made to the participation and discussion here. But as you say many friends I have on FB came from here.