If there was a better welder in there he's probably not doing so hot right about now.
What did you do to your shop today?
- Thread starter RecklessRegal
- Start date
If there was a better welder in there he's probably not doing so hot right about now.
Yeah, I suppose I can let you guys off the hook now that it’s finally uncrated and home. I actually literally just finished getting it off the skid and onto the floor an hour ago.
For those of you who guessed a new air compressor, you win the grand prize of a shiny new penny! My old compressor was a 3 cylinder, 3 1/2 hp 60 gallon recip unit, date tag says dad bought it in 1995 before handing it down to me several years later. I have replaced the pump on it once already, but it’s still on the same motor, tank and pressure switch. There’s still absolutely nothing wrong with it, I’ve just outgrown it’s capabilities. Well, that and the fact that it’s loud enough to drive you insane. When Mike and I both get rocking using the air, it seriously struggles to keep up.
So on Sunday, I disconnected it from my system, demolished the sound deadening enclosure I had it in, and yanked it outta there to make room for the new one.
After living in that little box for the last 18 years, suffice to say the walls were pretty nasty. But after some serious elbow grease, I got them a lot better than they were. Not perfect, but hey, it’s a functional shop not a showroom. I’ll cover most of it up with car posters and tin signs anyways.
The drywall on the left side was pretty badly damaged at the bottom from me storing the floor jack in there, so last night I decided to rip it out and replace it, the back wall never did have any on it, so I addressed that at the same time, and laid down some spare floor tiles I’ve been saving.
I still have to finish the filler work and paint the new drywall plus apply new vinyl baseboard to match the rest of the garage, but nobody really cares about that anyways. Y’all want to know what’s replacing the old compressor.
So here it is. Chicago Pneumatic QRS 7.5 HPD rotary screw compressor, with integral dryer. Oil flooded screw, 7 1/2 hp (vs my old 3 1/2hp), 21 scfm. Slightly smaller 50 gallon tank, but much more efficient and powerful. Noise issue is a thing of the past now, as max db rating is only 64 decibels.
This thing is all kinds of awesome, even the guys at work are jealous and I’m an air compressor service tech. I’ve serviced tens of dozens of these units out in the field, and they are a great little unit. Rock solid reliable and did I mention quiet? Our shop is an authorized Kaeser dealer, and I could’ve had a Kaeser Airtower literally the next day, but I chose this over one of those. (This has been on order since November). The deciding factor is single phase power. That’s all that’s available in residential areas here, and a single phase Kaeser Airtower is ugly, cheaply made, and noisier.
So there you have it guys, the cat is officially out of the bag. D has a bitchin new air makin’ machine!
PS - if you don’t know what a rotary screw compressor is, Google it. You might be surprised at what you learn.
Now to get it wired in and reconnected to my system…
D.
At first I saw new compressor and immediately questioned why the shop was being put on hold. You gonna build another enclosure or is this one quiet enough you DGAF?
No enclosure around this one.
Screws don’t like heat since they use ambient air to cool the compressor oil through the heat exchanger via a fan driven off the motor. If you enclose it, you will get reversion where the compressor pulls in hot air that it’s already expelled through the cooler, to compress. The compression process builds heat in of itself, so pretty soon the temperatures spiral out of control (think compounding process) and the unit shuts down on high temp protection.
No, the only way a screw works in a small enclosure is if the hot air is ducted out, and fresh cool air is ducted in.
It’s also quiet enough that it’s a non-issue.
Damn I'm good I only got the brand wrong I've wanted one of those for years! I didn't know Chicago made one can you send me the info on that? I'd like to check availability and price here.
Yeah, I can shoot you some info on it in a PM Eric. By the way, you weren’t the first to guess what it was, 69hurstolds was the closest with his Atlas comment (Atlas Copco owns CP), but it was Streetbu that guessed it as specifically being a screw compressor on Instagram a couple days ago. 😁
Wow. That is a helluva piece of gear. Congrats!
Space limitations notwithstanding- is there any benefit to keeping the old compressor tank for increased capacity/reduced wear and tear on the new unit?
Space limitations notwithstanding- is there any benefit to keeping the old compressor tank for increased capacity/reduced wear and tear on the new unit?
Rktpwrd I'm definitely jealous. That is a gorgeous setup! I've known about rotary screw compressors for some time but had never dealt with them until I installed this unit at my work. Those are 240 gallon tanks, and a dryer in-between them. This thing is a beast. You'll love it!
Is the house next door to you for sale hahaha
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