Breaking in a compressor

[ford46guy]

Not sure exactly if this is the right forum but here goes. It is the harbor freight 10gal sausage unit. I had the 8gal unit for 4 years, used it maybe once a month until the motor died in a shower of sparks. Took it apart and the brushes/magnets were screwed up. Seems to be a bit of play in the bearing going to the piston. Could have been heat related. Before it died it was tripping the internal breaker often and then the 20Amp in the panel. It was running continuously before it died, I was doing grinding the day before.

Honestly, since I didn't use it that much I didn't change the oil. The manual at the time didn't specify a break in period. When I dismantled the unit to use it as a spare tank, I drained the oil and it was pretty black.

Ok, the new 10 gal has a break in period of 30 minutes unloaded and 1 hr loaded. It came with a bottle of no name oil. They suggest 30Wt oil over 32deg, and 10wt under. I also bought a bottle of premium Royal Purple Synfilm Recip 100 (30Wt synthetic).

My question is to use the cheap (dino I guess) oil provided or break it in using the royal purple. I plan on using RP after the break.

I know cars are usually broken in on conventional, and it is unlikely even HF would give something that would cause the unit to fail and them to replace it under warranty.

 

[chubbs1]

Break it in according to the directions with the HF oil. Don't waste your good stuff on a short break-in. JMO

 

[JR]

My brother and i use to do tons of air brushing. we had a old(70's) craftsman belt drive twin. ran great for years on st 20w-50 didn't know any better. friend still uses it.
we replaced that one for direct drive 4gal craftsman. broke-in on supplied oil. ran amsoil compressor oil for years til supplier closed. went back to nd30.

We are getting back into the business soon. we will be upgrading to better bigger compressor. we will be going synthetic oil only from day one. IR brand comes with synthetic oil to fill after shipping.

we will be going amsoil, if carquest still stocks it.


ken

 

[Garak]

chubbs1's advice is correct. In my experience at least, the electric motors are the weak point. On some compressors, I've replaced the electric motor twice and never had to mess with the pump itself.

You're lucky to be able to get the RP stuff. They make excellent industrial lubes, but my closest supplier is like in Calgary.

 

[ford46guy]

Ok, I called HF and happened to speak to someone high up in the food chain. He said (like Chubbs1) the white bottle is for break in and don't use anything else. He said We don't want it back :lol:. He said they improved the quality on those units and with RP it should last many, many years. He said Synthetic oil is great for continuous use, and is the best oil money can buy, and used in his last position with 6 and 7 figure machines. He said they don't suggest synthetic in the manual because HF customers are cost conscious, and likely light duty users, where conventional would be fine. He did reiterate never to use PCMO, conventional or synthetic. He said I could send you pictures of failed units from that. It is at your own risk, may work fine but there will be buildup.

He said the motor could go under stress if the oil breaks down, and that is likely what did the other unit in. Even though I used it infrequently, the oil should be changed every year. That puts stress on the bearings, creates additional heat, and the magnets eventually contact the stator. He said years old conventional black oil in a compressor lost its lubricating properties. It is probably 5% or more water. They are much clearer in their manuals now about oil.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: ford46guy
He did reiterate never to use PCMO, conventional or synthetic. He said I could send you pictures of failed units from that. It is at your own risk, may work fine but there will be buildup.

They have historically writen the manuals pretty poorly. One of my compressors' manuals states on one page to use a ND 30 grade. The next page specifically recommends Mobil 1 10w-30. Hmmmm. Of course, I just use normal compressor oil for the thing.

In mine, I have been intending to switch to RP's compressor oil, but it's hard to get here, as I indicated. Imperial Oil can only get me what I want from Mobil in a giant container. The duty cycles mine undergo would warrant a synthetic. At home, though, my compressor maybe kicks in once every couple months or so.

 

[Shannow]

Something that I did breaking in my compressor was to choke it every now and then putting my hand over the air intake, and increasing the vaccuum on the top end.

First couple of times it sucked weakly, increasing in suction as I redid it every 20-30 seconds....ran it for around 20 mins with the drain cock partly cracked to keep flow up and stop it cycling.

 

[hattaresguy]

I never do anything to mine.

My framer never even changes the oil on his, he usually gets 5 years out of them running 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week 50 weeks a year.

After 5 years they are falling apart but the motors still run fine. Those little red Honda's are just about unbreakable.

He last air compressor engine after 5 years of service with no oil changes only adding when it needed it, was put on his sons go cart with the governor removed so it screams.