Home Made Compressor, Would you buy it

[Spectric]

Nothing wrong with a homemade compressor if done correctly, I built a large one using a Broom and Wade compressor when living down south and it gave great performance. The receiver is something that will contain stored energy and needs to be sound, just a fitting letting go can cause some horrendous injuries

Looks like the upper and lower brackets have been welded to the gas cylinder tank

Unless they were welded by a qualified person and it can be proven then walk away, most receivers will have mounting platforms already attached onto which you can sit the motor and compresspr pump but not cylinders designed to store gas.

The other very important device is the safety valve, this must be fitted and tested to work as it will open at a setpoint to prevent exccess pressure from building up that could result in a failure of the air receiver and with explosive results, you cannot rely on the pumps limations or that it will stall. On my setup the running pressure was 185 Psi, cut in pressure was 170 Psi and safety valve opened at 195 Psi.

 

[Stevekane]

Hmmm, if I really squint I can just see some hopeful punter standing in from of the great big hairy character that lurks in that shed asking if the grotty pile of crap poseing as a compresser has all the nessesary (and very important!) paperwork for the welds,,,if its likly to happen I would love to watch,,,from a safe distance in case things really do blow up!

 

[Ollie78]

Its awesome !

 

[Ozi]

Compressors were one of the items I used to inspect for insurance companies, I have seen a few of these Frankenstein machines and as people have said without documentation, calibrated safety valves, CE marks etc. we would have declined to insure and run a mile. That said compressors Frankenstein or otherwise rarely explode, they usually just fail to generate pressure or leak so much that they cannot maintain flow. When they do get unpleasantly dynamic though be somewhere else

 

[okeydokey]

If I were closer to Skegness I would consider buying it to save someone's life!

Then dismantling and then taking everything to scrap metal recycling so it cant be rebuilt

 

[Spectric]

If I remember the regs for compressed air it stated a limit of 250 Bar litres, above that you needed regulatory inspection to provide a written scheme of examination and inspection, EG a 25 litre receiver at or above 10 Bar. The way to understand is that a 100 litre tank can only hold 100 litres of water but that tank can hold much more gas if it is compressed, that is where the stored energy comes from.

 

[Valhalla]

Please note, I am not asking for advice.

I saw this on ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27486191...,osub=osub,crd=crd,segname=segname,chnl=mkcid
Looks like the upper and lower brackets have been welded to the gas cylinder tank. Lever to engage/disengage the motor from the compressor. Very low maintenance guards around the belts and pulleys. Personally I would not go within 100 metres of it if it was running.

It does remind me of a compressor I borrowed, when I was young for car paint spraying. That compressor had an excellent devilbiss water separator and gun. Compressor was driven by a massive single phase motor, on starting it would sometimes need a kick on the pulley to get it going, made easy by the non existent guards. Tank was also an old gas cylinder with pressure relief valve screwed in to boss welded in to a hole drilled in the tank, but that was the only weld, other than original welding. Fantastic spray gun but looking back I should not have used it.

Anyway, what do people think of this, would anyone use it?

That has got "skip me" written all over it

 

[Terrytpot]

Seriously,ignoring the dodgyness of it..£50? I bought my first compressor for that brand new from Lidl…it’s sat at the side of my garage now as I’ve replaced it with a quieter one but it still works like it should and the only reason I’m not offering it for sale is I’ll be using it to spray my fence panels and the new one is in the garage attic (which was not easy to achieve)

 

[Crazy Dave]

Search YouTube for 'compressor failure' and then ask yourself the same question.

 

[mcgranag]

Unauthorised additional welds for bracketry and outlet header, and doesnt seem to have a water drain either, so could corrode from the inside out. This might have gotten someone out of a tight spot some years back, but from a long term safety POV, its dangerous.

 

[Jonm]

Unauthorised additional welds for bracketry and outlet header, and doesnt seem to have a water drain either, so could corrode from the inside out. This might have gotten someone out of a tight spot some years back, but from a long term safety POV, its dangerous.

Good point about water drain. I have a smallish compressor and after use I always reduce the pressure in the tank via the tool I am using then open the drain valve to empty the reservoir of the last bit of air and water. No doubt someone will tell me if I am doing it wrong.

Apparently, corrosion of the tank is the main cause of explosions.

 

[Sandyn]

Scary, but a brilliant example of a home made unit. I wouldn't go anywhere near it when pressurised. It looks safe enough, but you just never know and if something did fail, .