Heads up when buying air compressors

[SurfinCR]

So a while back i was debating on upgrading my air compressor, long story short wound up with an old compressor that should meet my needs but need to clean it up a bit before i use it. i havent gotten around to fixing it yet due to too many projects plus i still have my 60 gallon compressor so there was no real rush. Last night while using my sand blast cabinet the 60 gallon compressor i bought brand new from HD decided to quit on me. the pump is fine as is the pressure control. The motor decided to fail on me. while finding the warranty information i was skimming through the manual and came across a bit of information that shocked me. to paraphrase it read "though the compressor is rated at continuous duty to extend compressor life it should not be run for more than 30 minutes at a time" i looked at the 80 gallon compressor that was meant for shop use and it read the same thing. Home depot appears to be making good on the warranty but by the sounds of it i'll be needing a new motor again in over a year if i dont put the big compressor in soon.

I just wanted to share my lesson of dont buy cheap and make sure to read everything before buying.

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

Buddy of mine bought one from HD, they wouldn't honor the warranty because it was used for spray painting, and the air filter housing cover/filter had speckles of paint on it.

 

[diesel4me]

Thats stupid!...what else does the warranty not cover?...spraying paint is probably the main reason compressors were invented for in the first place!..

"I'm sorry sir,your compressor warranty is void--you used it to compress air"..
..
That's like buying a toilet,and having the manufacturer say "your warranty is void because you pooped in it ,and flushed".....

Seems like more and more today,anything you buy "you own it" ,and if it has a problem--tough luck...

 

[SurfinCR]

so i take back my statement about home depot being good about the warranty. the motor is an "expendable" item and is not covered under their 2 year warranty which is also very misleading. i'm definitely not buying another large item from them again

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

Soooo basically the part of the air compressor that is under warranty, is the large metal cylinder. The part that will probably never, ever fail to begin with.

 

[SurfinCR]

yup pretty much. its the tank and pump only, anything electrical is an expendable item.

 

[diesel4me]

I'd be livid if I were you....if you used a credit card to purchase it,maybe you can stop payment on it?...

They must be using piss poor motors on them to fail that soon...my friend has a old Craftsman 5 HP vertical 60 gallon compressor that has been run almost 10 years ,sometimes 6 out of 8 hours a day at his shop,and its no "industrial" duty thing--it has even been left on accidentally more than once overnight--one night it was left "on" and the air hose popped,and it ran all night--next day at 8 am he came to work and it was still running!..motor and pump were smoking hot,another few minutes the thing would have caught fire I bet!...the same motor is still on it,a "Gould" brand,that he replaced when he first bought it cheap with a toasted "Emerson Electric" one on it original..

Northern Tool has some lower priced 5 HP compressor duty motors that I've heard good things about..if your forced to pay for a new motor..

 

[cybrfire]

You may be able to get the motor rewired.

To be honest, I'd rather the warranty be on the pump than the motor. Motors can be had just about anywhere or rewired/repaired. Granted you shouldn't have to after that short a time span. Just thinking of the future, the pump is less easily replaced or repaired.

Buy a Baldor motor and you won't have to replace the motor again.

I feel for ya bud. I went through a few compressors getting my shop up and off the ground. Started with a used compressor. A wayne pump. Decent brand name. Pump tossed a valve. Couldn't find replacement parts. Replaced it with a new compressor with some good ratings. Smoked a motor. Had the motor repaired and eventually tossed another valve in that pump. Finally bought a huge ass industrial compressor that eventually broke a valve as well. That valve was available as a repair component. Bought two of them just because.

In my shop with the guys using air for different things, I tend to balance electrical tools and air tools so not everybody is drawing air all the time.

 

[A1971Blazer]

You may be able to get the motor rewired.

To be honest, I'd rather the warranty be on the pump than the motor. Motors can be had just about anywhere or rewired/repaired. Granted you shouldn't have to after that short a time span. Just thinking of the future, the pump is less easily replaced or repaired.

Buy a Baldor motor and you won't have to replace the motor again.

I feel for ya bud. I went through a few compressors getting my shop up and off the ground. Started with a used compressor. A wayne pump. Decent brand name. Pump tossed a valve. Couldn't find replacement parts. Replaced it with a new compressor with some good ratings. Smoked a motor. Had the motor repaired and eventually tossed another valve in that pump. Finally bought a huge ass industrial compressor that eventually broke a valve as well. That valve was available as a repair component. Bought two of them just because.

In my shop with the guys using air for different things, I tend to balance electrical tools and air tools so not everybody is drawing air all the time.

I've gone thru so many piston compressors I lost count.
I finally broke down and installed this.
Ingersoll Rand Total Air Package, 25hp rotary screw compressor,100 cfm@120psi, built in refrigerated dryer, 120 gal receiver.....this thing is badazz!

 

[y5mgisi]

Goodness! Winder what something like that costs! Probably in the 10k range?

 

[A1971Blazer]

Goodness! Winder what something like that costs! Probably in the 10k range?

$415.00/mo @ 36 mo on a lease deal.

I run my entire machine shop on this unit....but just 8-10 hrs/day.

If I want a new one after 3 years I just keep paying, but this compressor is designed to run hundreds of thousands of hours with proper maintenance.

 

[SurfinCR]

now thats a nice setup. i've heard those run amazingly well but need some serious maintenance.

As an update i learned some other valuable lessons. never call home depot warranty support first thing. since they told me bring the motor to get it repaired etc i ran all over to get everything together and dropped it off on friday. during the weekend a ge 5hp motor popped up for sale close by for a good price and the guy claimed he used it once and found it wouldnt work for what he wanted it to and put it on the shelf.after hooking it up it didnt work either. turned out to be the pressure switch (which still isnt covered as its electrical and nothing electrical is covered). definitely was reminded to do my own troubleshooting before running around. also wound up buying another compressor to use the 5 hp motor on so i can run the two compressors for now to get the big 100 gallon unit up and running again.