[joecnc2006]

Does anyone have plans ond/or pictures of a home built air compressor?

Thanks, Joe

[mxtras]

I think the tank is going to be the biggest hurdle.

I built my own when I was very young - I used an old well pump tank and a compressor off of a truck which was dry sump and liquid cooled. I used a power steering pump to supply and circulate the oil through the crankcase then the water jackets then through a heater core from a car and a filter. Neat set up and it worked, but the tank was garbage. I never was able to locate a tank that I could use. I ended up buying a new compressor.

I am sure there are plans on the net somewhere for making one from a Briggs and Stratton engine - have you googled this??

Scott

[joecnc2006]

I think the tank is going to be the biggest hurdle.

I built my own when I was very young - I used an old well pump tank and a compressor off of a truck which was dry sump and liquid cooled. I used a power steering pump to supply and circulate the oil through the crankcase then the water jackets then through a heater core from a car and a filter. Neat set up and it worked, but the tank was garbage. I never was able to locate a tank that I could use. I ended up buying a new compressor.

I am sure there are plans on the net somewhere for making one from a Briggs and Stratton engine - have you googled this??

Scott

I would like to try to make one from and elec. type motor to cut down on noise, reason asking like to have it for cnc cleaning and then possible make a dust collection system, instead of shop vac i have now.

Joe

[whateg01]

Joe,

I was going to build a compressor a couple of years ago. I had a spare tank from an old compressor that went toes up after about 20 years of use in an auto repair business. Anyway, I had access to many of the little things that you normally find you need to make all of the big pieces work together. Here is what I found. Unless you already have most of the required pieces, or have special specs that must be met, you will probably spend as much or more buying parts as you would on a new commercially made compressor. I ended up buying a $450 compressor from Home Depot that does more than I will probably need for some time to come. I was looking at spending over $250 for a compressor that would just work for my apps.

Again, just my 2.5 cents.

Dave

[lepton]

I recently received 8 (Campbell hausfeld) compressor motors with attach piston, I have tested all, each is in good working condition (all that is required is a brass line to, tank, you would also need regulator and (manual on/off or pressure switch for auto). of the 8, four are ready to go and the other four need belts (20$ from factory).

If anyone is interested e-mail me @ [email protected]

Series: WL650702AJ same motor as used on 05 models
5.5Hp Peak - 1.7 Hp continuous
125-psi max
26-gal
5.1-SCFM

This is part# - WL390100AJ - Pump/motor assembly –

I plan on taking 3 and mounting all to a tank.
why 3? because each will have it's own power switch to manually which between. that way when one gets hot I just keep rotating to mantain 100% duty cycle.

[j m]

I think a good idea for the air tank would be to use a gas bottle (propane bottle? Im not sure what you call it in America?) as they come in lots of different sizes and it would be ease to find out what pressure they have bean tested to. I have seen them used to store air in I think they just taped and drilled a fitting into the side of the bottle.
jm

[sol]

Well . . . I have made a few compressors from odds and ends and as already said the necessary extras add up quickly. A cheapo from Harbor Freight would probably be a better value than something that is put together for the same cost.
For a the compressor itself I have used old AC and refrigerator compressors; they are quiet and produce far more pressure than most tools use, but the CFM is low. Sometimes there were two compressors in the system to get the volume up to something useful.
To solve the tank problem a number of portable tanks were plumbed together. Propane tanks also work as JM mentioned; do not drill into them though, use the existing valve.
Again, unless there is access to inexpensive or free components, the better value is to buy one ready made.

[2muchstuff]

At my local Cummins Tools (like Harbor Freight) they have air compressor tanks for sale, all different sizes. Yes, they are the bare tank. Made by Cambell Hausfeld. They look like they came from returned air compressors.

[vladdy]

Most components can be scrounged from your local scrap yard..
electric motors around 3/4 hp are usually $5 or less..
the tank can be an expired propane tank or empty r12 or similar refrigerant tank, or even a old air reserve tank from small semi's [about 20 gallon]
the compressor itself can sometimes be found used, and cylinder rehoned and valve surfaces cleaned up, otherwise the old dodge car a/c compressors, vertical twin style, work fairly well..
You will still probably have to buy electrical cable, tank fittings, one way valve from compressor to tank, pressure sht off switch,and small fasteners..
wheels can be scrounged from old barb'qs or lawn mowers..
You will probably wind up with $30 to $40 cash invested, and an afternoon's worth of time.. cheaper than the 'on sale' airless compressors, and at least it's something you made yourself,
and as the saying goes,
that's priceless some days..

enjoy..

[JPMach]

If you want a really high cfm compressor, what I have seen a few people do is to take an old v-8 engine out of a car and turn the crankshaft with a motor. The most common way to run them is with the pto from a small tractor at 540 rpm. Take off all the fuel stuff and I think they take the cams and rockers out and put lighter springs on the valves, replace the spark plugs with lines to a tank or whatever but put check valves in right close to the engine block. Then when you turn the crankshaft the suction inside the cylinders will open all the valves for that cylinder and then air will be pumped out through the check valve in the spark plug hole. This puts out well over 100 CFM of air though, not to mention its big and bulky.

JP

[ESjaavik]

This puts out well over 100 CFM of air though, not to mention its big and bulky.

JP

Yup!
One of the tools they will never steal from your garage!

[Smackre]

Some thing should just not be DIY. My father DIYed a Air Compressor. Needless the say one day it was making some noise and he went over to see what was going on. 3 seconds Later the whole end blow off. Metal shards when all threw hes face. He lost eye sight in 1 eye and went threw 10 surgerys to remove metal shards from hes other eye. Hes knee and leg were both brocken and he had patches over hes eyes for almost a year. needless to say i would just advise to buy air compressors from the people who know how to make them.

[DSL PWR]

Was there a safety valve on the tank? Or did he cheap out and trust a pressure switch?

[faithblinded]

The decision of what to do about a compressor is very different from person to person. List everything you want to do with it, or just whatever requires the most CFM, and go from there. With compressors, it's all about CFM. But most of the cheap units use maximum ratings to come up with CFM. They are unrealistic.

As far as noise goes, simply using an electric motor guaruntees nothing as far as sound level goes. Most cheap(under $300) compressor pumps use cheap valves and sleeved cylinders, if that. This means NOISY. So regardless of how you drive it, the pump itself is often the loudest component. The solution is a quality pump. There is no real cost effective DIY compressor pump that I have ever seen. There are lots of plans for compressors with enough power for airbrush, but not for real work. So you have to buy a quality, all cast iron pump, with quality valves, then it will purr oh so quiet(relatively speaking).

The path I will likely follow is to buy a cheap 2-4 HP compressor with an 80 gallon tank. Harbor Freight Cheap-o or the like. Then I can upgrade the motor and the pump at a later time to quality units. Some of the best compressor pumps I've ever seen or heard(barely heard), were from eaton compressors here in ohio. Check out their website, eatoncompressor.com I think. They have some awesome machines, but the bare pumps are what interests me. I'll just buy one of their 5hp pumps and a suddicient motor down the line when I can afford it. Instant upgrade from harbor freight cheap-o to super quiet 5HP beast. It would also allow me to find a 5HP 220 motor used, for likely FAR less than new would cost.

But likely don't need as much air as me Joe. so this might be too much for you. I plan on building a large sandblasting cabinet to finish my motorcylces. It will require 10-15CFM@90PSI, which basically means at least 5 horses rated. Most folks don't need that much air to do a little paintin' or run a nailer, etc.

So the question is how much air do you need? Then go a little over that to be safe. And buy a quality pump, or plan it as an upgrade path.

Also on the subject, if you own your house and shop, consider taking the time to install proper piping for your air compressor if you use alot of air tools or have a big compressor. Moisture can reak havoc on compressors, and takes alot of good tanks before their time, as well as tools. That black cast iron pipe is cheap, so there is no good reason not to run pipe, and when it's done, it'll make using air tools so much easier. Go check out tptools.com for a great page about proper piping for compressed air, it's super informative!

[5er4ever]

I was lured to this site from the web while searching DIY air compressors and decided it was a good site to sign up for. CNC has always been an interest of mine.

So, hello all.

I have read this thread and have a question for some of you.

I have a 20 gal 5 hp air compressor in my work shop.

I was going to build another one with a refrig compressor to do the lighter jobs that do not require as much demand. The 5 HP noise is ....well LOUD.

Then I asked myself (I talk to myself a lot)?

I have two buildings (one where my car is and a wood working shop). I keep the compressor in the wood working shop (because it is a detached building).

The 3/8th's copper pipe into the 20 gal tank. Could I somehow tap the refrig compressor into it?

Then somehow have the silent compressor activate at 80 lbs...... and the 5hp beast activate at 50 lbs (or even handrallically)?

If this would work, I would only likely hear the 5hp beast when working in the car garage (not the workshop) because the tools out there are more demanding. Whereby the quiet compressor would meet the demands within the workshop.

Just a thought?

[RomanLini]

That sounds logical and should work.

Similar systems are used in industry where a small pump is used for light demands and if the pressure drops too far a second (or larger) pump cuts in to cover the higher demand.

You may need a one way valve to stop leakback, if the refrigerator compressor does not already have a one way valve.

[johnohara]

Interesting read when you have time:

http://www.vintageprojects.com/machi...Compressor.pdf

~John

[underthetire]

Old vw engines have been used for years for air. Personally, the tank is the biggest problem. Just cause some pressure vessel has been tested some years ago, doesn't mean it won't rupture from air. They do go off like a bomb. I've seen some guys even use an old water heater. 100psi rating for water does not equate to 100 psi of air. Just like PVC pipe.

[diralocas]

heavy duty equipment