Purchased a 2.5HP 8 gal compressor from HF. Filled with apprx 28oz of 30 ND ACE compressor oil. The manual states apprx 25oz needed. The oil level covers half the red dot in the oil level window. However the head gets almost too hot to touch when it runs till 80 psi shutoff. My dad's old Sears Craftsman compressor does not get this hot so I'm wondering if I have enough oil in mine?
How much oil in my HF compressor?
- Thread starter Back40
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it is the crappy high speed motor/compressor they use runs so fast that it heats up and trips my circut breaker.
And yes half way up is right oil level I added some friction modifier from work and that helped a lot but is still a crappy compressor.
bruce
And yes half way up is right oil level I added some friction modifier from work and that helped a lot but is still a crappy compressor.
bruce
any over the counter friction modifier you would suggest I could add?
off hand no I used a sulfurized ester used in industrial waylube formulas.
Try quart of RL 10/30 or Royal purple or a ?? moly additve the harbor frieght compressor you have holds only a quart at most so you could/should try a few different oils stick to a 30wt.
My problem is that If I use the compressor with high useage like with my glass bead/abrasive box that it will run for 5-10 minutes then start to sieze up tripping the 20 amp fuse.
It did seem to run cooler and longer as it broke in tho.
bruce
Try quart of RL 10/30 or Royal purple or a ?? moly additve the harbor frieght compressor you have holds only a quart at most so you could/should try a few different oils stick to a 30wt.
My problem is that If I use the compressor with high useage like with my glass bead/abrasive box that it will run for 5-10 minutes then start to sieze up tripping the 20 amp fuse.
It did seem to run cooler and longer as it broke in tho.
bruce
JHZR2
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I recall reading that amsoil compressor dropped the electric load by about half an amp in some hitachi compressor testing. Electric load=inefficiency=heat. Your oil may be too thick...
JMH
JMH
Try it but thick is not the problem that sucker must get to >250F and the oil will thin I'd try something with a lot of ester or AW additives to reduce friction. They run at ?? 3,500RPM which builds heat and the piston will exspand and sieze the compressor as I said crappy cheap harbor frieght But I have one too.
bruce
bruce
I have one of those too. Of course it gets hot, air compressors get hot. No news there. The motor, even when cool, draws enough to eventually trip a 15A breaker. Run it for a while and it will. They require a 12Ga 20A branch circuit to operate well, and would do even better on 10Ga wiring. The problem is that when connected to an inadequate branch circuit there's so much voltage drop that the motor current (and heat) shoots up and then the breaker trips. It's really that simple. Give it a decent supply and it will run cooler. BTW, I've often run mine hard enough to get the tank too hot to touch, using grinders and cutters. Hasn't missed a beat. Also, the motor is better than you give it credit for. I measured the power factor under partial to full load and it runs around .84 to .87 at 120V supply at the plug. Current ranged from 15.0A to 15.9A as tank pressure rose from 40psi to 115psi. That's not bad at all. Unfortunately, as the line voltage falls, current increases at a slightly greater rate. If you're running it on weak wiring, it wouldn't surprise me to see 20A and a very hot motor.
Do this: get a decent multimeter and measure the AC voltage at the receptacle the compressor's plugged into. If it's under 110V while the compressor's running, which I'm betting you'll find that it is, then you need to deal with the inadequate electrical supply.
I'm very interested in the best lube for this compressor too. When I bought it, the guy at HF handed me oil for it, which IIRC, was something from Castrol, but I wouldn't bet on the accuracy of my recall since it was a couple of years ago. I do notice that after running for a half-hour or so, it's pretty foamed up. It wouldn't surprise me that a better lube would help the heat situation a bit.
Overall, for the $80 I paid (on sale for $100 and 20% coupon), this compressor is a lot better than I expected.
Do this: get a decent multimeter and measure the AC voltage at the receptacle the compressor's plugged into. If it's under 110V while the compressor's running, which I'm betting you'll find that it is, then you need to deal with the inadequate electrical supply.
I'm very interested in the best lube for this compressor too. When I bought it, the guy at HF handed me oil for it, which IIRC, was something from Castrol, but I wouldn't bet on the accuracy of my recall since it was a couple of years ago. I do notice that after running for a half-hour or so, it's pretty foamed up. It wouldn't surprise me that a better lube would help the heat situation a bit.
Overall, for the $80 I paid (on sale for $100 and 20% coupon), this compressor is a lot better than I expected.
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