Air compressor fittings and hose

There was a time when a guy in Los Angeles, when a guy in a tightly sealed garage turned on his compressor. Like you say, it sucked all the air out of the garage, and pumped it into the tank. He became disoriented, from lack of oxygen, and passed out. His wife thought there was something wrong, and tried to open the man door. The door swung out, the vacuum pressure was too great for her to overcome. She called 911, and the dispatcher told her to take a cordless drill, and drill a couple air holes in the garage door, where it's thinnest. She did, and saved her husband's life.

WOW are you serious - blow garage out of the foundation? I can understand that if the hose breaks it will spin and dart around like a punctured balloon and could be hazardous...but this is not any more or less hazardous then going to a gas station and use their air pump to inflate tires right other than it's outdoors? Can it really blow the roof off?

Where would I find an inspector to check out the compressor I have?

Thanks,

MC

When you find that mythical motor that puts out 1HP per 800w the world will beat a path to your door. About all you will ever get from a 120v@15a rated motor is ~1HP. Campbell Hausfeld et al got sued over those 5HP stickers they put on their 1HP compressors and the whole "class" got a free power tool.

Can't really say. ATF and air tool oil are compounded to work with rubber O-rings, seals and such. MMO may well be as compatible since as an upper cylinder lube it shouldn't attack intake manifold seals.

You got me there, Bob. I should have considered that some young 'uns may not remember the laws of diminishing voltage with increasing length. Good point.

Joe

Interesting. Can you relate where you got this info?

Dextron, or Mercon? (If I got thos right from memory)

I've known this for about 50 years. It's not really much of a secret.

But even standard efficiency motors are in the 80%+ range with the new premeum units having higher than 90%

so 15amps @ 120v =3D 1800 watts ( 2.4 hp electrical)

factoring in 85% efficiency gives you ~2 hp

a 20amp circuit would give you 2.7 hp (at 85%) and nearly 3 hp at 91%

so those mythical motors (1 hp at 800 watts......93.5%) may not exist but some are pretty close

cheers Bob

I beleive the ones of which you write are called "push to connect"

MC- if you;re interested in push to connect style or learnign about air q/d's

go to

I use & standardized on the "industrial" style fittings, made by Amflo (used to be in Santa Ana, CA until they moved back east). The most popular in SoCal are industrial & automotive styles

I'm not a fan of Milton since they seem to have their own model type designations that seem to run counter to the industrial / aerospace world.

I have used the push to connect but chose not to standardize on them (slightly more expensive) but maybe should have, since they allow one- handed connection.

about the tank wall thickness....I can tell by look & feel & sound, if it a relatively new, non-commerical unit, its most likely thin

...my tank is thin (less than 1/8"..closer to 1/16), my nieghbor's used antique unit is thick more like 3/16 or 1/4"

cheers Bob

One horse power equals 746 watts hp(E) in electrical terms. I'm lysdexic too!

TDD

I see a lot of 1HP motors in my travels and they usually have a FLA in the 12-13a range on the nameplate.

the 12-13a range on the nameplate.

fftt wrote: ...

You're leaving out the other factor besides the efficiency (as well as assuming new motors of only 1 hp are really built to such high efficiency numbers) which is the power factor.

Spec's for a fairly typical Baldor (not inexpensive) general-purpose 1hp motor...

Catalog Number: VL3509 Specification Number: 35C013X964 Horsepower: 1 Voltage: 115/230 Hertz: 60 Phase: 1 Full Load Amps: 11.8/5.9 Usable at 208 Volts: 6.1 RPM: 3450 Frame Size: 56C Service Factor: 1.25 ... Full Load Efficiency: 68 Power Factor: 82 ...

hp = 115*11.8*0.68*0.82/748 --> 1.0

This is a list price motor of $400.

At least a couple in the same general classification were 0.65/0.65 efficience/power factor (at roughly $300 price point).

One of their (very few at this low a hp) premium efficiency 1hp motors is

Catalog Number: EL3510 Specification Number: 35J385S758G1 Horsepower: 1 Voltage: 115/230 Hertz: 60 Phase: 1 Full Load Amps: 8.5/4.25 Usable at 208 Volts: N/A RPM: 1760 ... Full Load Efficiency: 82.5 Power Factor: 91

hp = 115*8.5*0.82.5*0.91/748 --> 0.98

That comes at a price, however -- $643 catalog list

At a high-enough usage and for long enough, eventually one would make up the initial cost difference, but for intermittent use it would take quite a long time.

--

Total bullshit. There is no allowance for windage, polar deviation, time zone variations, and whether the person using it is right or left handed.

Totally skewed and unacceptable.

Steve ;-)

Duane-

Thanks for the detailed response. Good comment about super high efficiency motors being expensive / rare in the 1 hp range.

Your analysis explains why the other post "I see a lot of 1HP motors in my travels and they usually have a FLA in the 12-13a range on the nameplate" is, in fact, correct.

I had no idea that typical 1hp motors have efficiencies & PF's that low. :(

I guess that's why SoCal Edison gives such good rebates on the purchase of high efficiency pool pump motors.

cheers Bob

It's a matter of convenience.

Turning the airflow off via the regulator can be a pain because you have to screw-screw-screw on the knob for several seconds, and mess up your regulator setting in the process. Some regulator knobs are very difficult to turn and are very hard on the wrist. The ball valve allows you to quickly shut off the air in a split second and not lose your regulator setting.

Just be sure to run the tool or plug in a blow gun to relieve the air pressure in the hose before unplugging it from the compressor. There is a lot of pressure and volume built up in that hose, and when you unplug it all that pressure escapes through the open male end. That blows all the loose crud in the area around and straight into your eyes.

It's a matter of convenience.

Turning the airflow off via the regulator can be a pain because you have to screw-screw-screw on the knob for several seconds, and mess up your regulator setting in the process. Some regulator knobs are very difficult to turn and are very hard on the wrist. The ball valve allows you to quickly shut off the air in a split second and not lose your regulator setting.

Just be sure to run the tool or plug in a blow gun to relieve the air pressure in the hose before unplugging it from the compressor. There is a lot of pressure and volume built up in that hose, and when you unplug it all that pressure escapes through the open male end. That blows all the loose crud in the area around and straight into your eyes.

Reply:

And if you DON'T unscrew the regulator every time, the springs become compressed, and lessen in their function. Every person who welds will tell you that the instructions say to unscrew the regulator T handles EVERY time you are putting the equipment away. Regulators last longer if you don't leave them screwed down. It's just the facts, ma'am.

Steve