What did YOU do today?

[Roert42]

Honey do day.

I ripped a 3/8 inch piece of 2 x 4, 36 inches long, drilled it at an angle and put in a dozen pegs. It’s for Sweet Pea to hang up her mops and brooms in her laundry room.

View attachment 104803

Then she wanted me to stop what I was doing, and go over to Walmart and get this $70 ladder that was pretty much a piece of crap for her to use in her basement. Sweet Pea has almost as many Halloween and Christmas decorations as Walmart has a few weeks before the holiday. She needs this ladder for her basement, because she has the stuff stacked up on shelves and actually hanging from the floor joists

You’ll never guess what I did.

I looked on Craigslist/marketplace, and I picked up this 3-step Cosco ladder. It’s very solid on the ground, wide base, It has a nice stable platform on top, and a fold out shelf.

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$40. I looked it up, and they sell for about $130. Not my best effort, but I did the whole thing in an hour.

I’m sure I’m going to be in trouble for something….

A. Yeah but that’s not the point….
B. I wanted the other one….
C. Why do you have to make everything so difficult….
D. All of the be above…

 

[Rick W]

A. Yeah but that’s not the point….
B. I wanted the other one….
C. Why do you have to make everything so difficult….
D. All of the be above…

You are clairvoyant, a wizard, a visionary…

Dead on target!

 

[racsan]

Sun was out for awhile today, high of 26. Most of the residual snow melted off the driveway. moved the escapes into the yard so they would drip off there rather than in the drive. Put my code scanner on the newest to me escape, was running cooler as I expected. Got a thermostat coming and looked up where it was on the engine. Oddly enough its down low, by the a/c compressor. Weird. Going to be a pain getting the air all out of the system. Maybe we will be done with this extreme frigid weather. 160 just isnt enough for great heater output, but it does seem to be better than the ranger would do.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Finished scraping the wood off the camper side, then celebrated by burning it in the fire pit, tried to make it quick and fast as I don't think I was supposed to burn (I'm visible from the highway) so the workshop blower came in handy to get it hot to stop the smoke . Then I tried the two "adhesive removers" I got that said they should have worked but don't at all... so now I get to go back with the scraper and get the wood remnants off so it's as flat as I can get... won't be perfect but WAY better than it was... Also did the mechanical cleaning of the aluminum subframe to get ready for welding, going to pick up some muriatic acid tomorrow just to give myself the best chance at success...

 

[Rick W]

Sun was out for awhile today, high of 26. Most of the residual snow melted off the driveway. moved the escapes into the yard so they would drip off there rather than in the drive. Put my code scanner on the newest to me escape, was running cooler as I expected. Got a thermostat coming and looked up where it was on the engine. Oddly enough its down low, by the a/c compressor. Weird. Going to be a pain getting the air all out of the system. Maybe we will be done with this extreme frigid weather. 160 just isnt enough for great heater output, but it does seem to be better than the ranger would do.

You may want to check if there’s an air vent plug somewhere on the top of the engine. I had a half dozen Fiat X1/9s over the years, the radiator was in the front, but the engine was behind the seat, and there was a secret plug under the front hood that let you take the air out of the system. Escape might have the same thing.

 

[Rick W]

Soooo, it turns out Sweet Pea was pretty happy with the laundry room hooks. I was dumbfounded.

She resisted a little on the safety ladder - too heavy - but after I took it downstairs and made her slide it around on the nylon feet, and she was sold. I was equally dumbfounded. Usually she’s happy a month after and tells her daughter who tells me. Soothes the wounds when no good deed goes unpunished.

Mostly real estate stuff today, still too cold to paint or pinstripe. So I tackled rebuilding my air compressor of 40 years with the twin I bought, 2 for $20. Turns out the “broken” one was in better shape than mine, so I swapped parts from mine onto it, and now it’s lead compressor.

All that was wrong with the new old one was some missing Teflon seals on the regulator. Between the two, I made one good regulator.

So my old one now has a bad regulator because of 3 tiny seals, and it has an 1725(?)rpm motor instead of the correct 3425 (?) motor. So now that motor has entered into my Craigslist searches.

I have the shed of miracles about 3/4 plumbed for air with pvc pipe to all the convenience points with quick disconnects and schrader drain valves for water. I made a drop leg at each location using a T instead of an elbow. I drilled a hole in a cap, inserted a tire valve, and then glued the cap on.

Now that I have the air compressor working for that system, I’ll finish it up. I want to run another leg in the back of my shop, I have five in the front of my shop, and one that goes out to the carport. I also need to run a leg for a Harbor Freight paint shaker I bought and mounted a year ago.

Edit: I also made an outlet box with the mechanical timer switch and a relay. The thought is I plug that into power and I plug my compressor into the timer box, and I run the compressor for the 2 3 4 hour that I think I’m going to be there. I’m horrible about forgetting to shut it off, and this will save a lot of electricity. I may have to restart it once or twice during a job, but that’s better than finging it running a week after the last time I used it.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

-AFAIK all really good compressors came with 1725 rpm motors.
-I've read a lot of bad things about PVC for airlines. Check https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/ and do a search about PVC airlines...
-If you make sure there is no leaks in the air system, then the motor won't run if you're not using it.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I don't remember the rpm of my current compressor motor in the shop but it's a beast for a compressor I have $120 in total... $30 for the compressor, $75 for the water separator and I think $13 for a new belt... after some tinkering finding a reed valve screw in the check valve (wasn't missing any reed valve screws oddly enough) and getting rid of the leaky water separator that was on it when I got it it's been on for over a year and if I don't leave things connected to the quick connect on the end of the hose it doesn't cycle that I've noticed... I've heard bad things about PVC as well, something about shrapnel if it does fail... not sure what I'm going to do, a buddy did his in semi air line parts which sounds interesting...

Before I got this compressor my previous $25 estate sale find compressor needed a motor and I went to Harbor Freight and found an open box compressor duty motor for like 30% off or more, had to buy a pulley on Amazon since the shaft was different size than what was on it... that compressor isn't near as good, the check valve leaks and it doesn't flow near as much air but it built my shop so was worth the effort getting it going... speaking of which I should put that compressor on the gregs list (no I don't need no snapper turtle) to make room in the shed... I also need to make a shed for my current compressor to get it out of the shop and plumb up the shop, but there's another long list of stuff needs done before that...

Today other than work I went to home depot again to pick up some scraper blades, new is nicer than old and ground wrong, took forever to get home tonight from an accident in the middle of my commute so I didn't have much in me though.

 

[Rick W]

-AFAIK all really good compressors came with 1725 rpm motors.
-I've read a lot of bad things about PVC for airlines. Check https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/ and do a search about PVC airlines...
-If you make sure there is no leaks in the air system, then the motor won't run if you're not using it.

Thanks for the thoughts on the PVC and compressed air. I thought back-and-forth on it many times. I have a few friends that have had it for years and years without issue, but they’re smart capable guys and I’m sure it’s installed properly. Mine will be installed properly.

Even though I have a pretty big shop, I’m tight on space. So I’m burying the compressor under my workbench in the back, and running the air line overhead with the legs that drop down in the different places where I might need it. I have an outlet on either side of the garage, right near the door, one sticks through the wall in the middle of the carport (I could stick two big trucks or three small cars end to end). Then I want a line within two or 3 feet of every one of my big power tools for blowing the shavings off, with a 4 or 5 foot skinny hose. If I include the workbench and paint shaker, that’s eight locations.

Also, not bragging, but I am a chemical, engineer, and fluids and piping are a lot of what we do. The PVC pipe I’m using is overkill, and I’m using the right clean and glue technique to stand up to pressure. The overhead run will have two “U“ bends, and I’m thinking of putting a small reserve tank near the far end, may be a couple of them, like 1 gallon. Those bends and those tanks would be for shock relief and/or pressure balance through the system, usually the biggest issues leading to failure.

Finally, I usually run my compressed air at about 60 psi, rarely up to 100.

I like this compressor because it’s a big quiet dual piston belt driven machine that has a lot of CFM. I have a pancake compressor that will go to 150 psi for the once in a blue moon I need a higher pressure (only F250 tires when I carry a heavy load).

I’ll be selling the big one now that it’s fixed after I put a little paint on it. When mine died, I bought a “comparable“ new one at Home Depot for $130 on sale. Total piece of crap, but it got me by for a while. That’ll go up for sale too.

 

[Jazzer]

PVC air systems are well documented potential shrapnel bombs. You won’t know until it happens. Stay safe friend.

 

[Curious Hound]

2 thoughts. The motor rpm is only part if the design of the compressor system. They are usually belt driven. So, pulley ratio enters the mix. A 1750rpm motor may need to be bigger to turn a compressor head at the same rpm as a 3500rpm motor with more pulley reduction. Best thing is to use what the nameplate of the machine calls for.

As PVC piping, the PVC doesn't like pressure pulses. Will ot handle 120 psi? Yes. But, depending on the compressor, there may be pressure pulses that will shock the PVC and could cause it to rupture. The U-bends you add are usefull to mitigate expansion and contraction issues in linear runs of piping. But the pulses from a beefy compressor are also trying to expand the piping radially. That's what PVC doesn't like, especially in colder temperatures. Just be careful.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I'll be using pex to plumb for air, as I have lots of fittings and line.. Haven't heard anything bad or good about it.

 

[Rick W]

2 thoughts. The motor rpm is only part if the design of the compressor system. They are usually belt driven. So, pulley ratio enters the mix. A 1750rpm motor may need to be bigger to turn a compressor head at the same rpm as a 3500rpm motor with more pulley reduction. Best thing is to use what the nameplate of the machine calls for.

As PVC piping, the PVC doesn't like pressure pulses. Will ot handle 120 psi? Yes. But, depending on the compressor, there may be pressure pulses that will shock the PVC and could cause it to rupture. The U-bends you add are usefull to mitigate expansion and contraction issues in linear runs of piping. But the pulses from a beefy compressor are also trying to expand the piping radially. That's what PVC doesn't like, especially in colder temperatures. Just be careful.

I hear all of you. I’m also aware of every one of the issues you’re talking about. Although I love my compressor and it’s a good compressor, it’s still a wimpy 1hp home version. And again, I rarely use it above 60 psi.

I did look at motor speed and size since you can buy a 1725 motor for 1/3 the cost of the one that came on the compressor. The challenge is you have to run a pulley the size of a quarter, and you have to go up a horsepower or two on the motor. Wasn’t an option. I actually tried it with a 1 hp 1725 I had, and when it got up to about 50 psi, it would quit and hum.

And further, to @ericbphoto ’s point, I hardly ever use air tools anymore. I agree that shocks in the system are probably the most likely thing to burst pipe, but I would suggest that such are caused by cutting off a high consumption tool, not by the start up of the compressor, no matter how powerful. The first is a sudden thing, the AC buildup is slow. Hence my desire to install a couple of small tanks somewhere in the system. Similar concept to an expansion tank on a well water system.

I did get my timer circuit put together, and got the compressor located under my tool bench.

Next time I’m out there, I’m going to turn it on whether I need it or not. I know from past experience when the motor started to go out, you can actually hear it going.

And no, I’m not going to leave that gizmo on top of those papers, I just did it to test it. When I was hit by the tornado in 98, I doubled the depth of my garage, but I never put outlets in the back half. One of the goals that is slowly moving up the ladder is to run the Romax on each side, and tie it into the front circuits. Tornadoes have a funny way of changing your plans for a few days..

 

[JoshT]

Recently tackled the whole rpm and motor size thing on my franken compressor. It a 60 gallon that came with a practically new pump and motor, but looks like PO misswired and fried the motor. Two cylinder pump rated for a 5 HP motor and max rpm of around 1450. Manual speed a 5 HP motor around 3450, but all the affordable motors I could find online were 5 HP SPL with no explanation of what the SPL means, most explanations is peak or surge.

Got lucky and had an old Sears compressor motor from one that the tank rusted out on. Perfect specs, just needed a mounting bracket and correct size pulley. Get the second belt installed tomorrow and it aught to be ready to set pressures and run. Dad has done most of the work as something to mess with in between cancer treatments.

Not just got to figure out pressures. Tank is rated for 150, pump for 145, and I bought a switch preset for 135/90. Apparently the old safety valve is set around 130 since it releases before shutoff. I want to run at 135 and buy a new valve for 140. Dad wants to drop for valve, so around 125 max. I'm going to let him do it for now, but undecided if I'm going to buy a valve and crank it back up when I get it home.

Tornadoes have a funny way of changing your plans for a few days..

So do shrapnel wounds from exploded PVC pipe. Just saying. Not sure how I'm going to plumb my shop, but I think I'd rather wrestle with a 100 foot hose than risk shrapnel from exploded pipe. Actually, I'd do a few shorter daisy chained, but still lots of hose. Yes, I know how annoying it can get, in my former line of work it happened almost daily.

For now I'll definitely be using hose as my shed is a temporarily work space that hopefully isn't far from getting replaced. When I get to the point of building a shop and plumbing in my air compressor it will either be with copper or steel pipe. Probably the latter, as it's what is used at work, works well, and is a little sturdier than cooper. (Meaning not likely to bump into and crush.)

 

[Rick W]

Recently tackled the whole rpm and motor size thing on my franken compressor. It a 60 gallon that came with a practically new pump and motor, but looks like PO misswired and fried the motor. Two cylinder pump rated for a 5 HP motor and max rpm of around 1450. Manual speed a 5 HP motor around 3450, but all the affordable motors I could find online were 5 HP SPL with no explanation of what the SPL means, most explanations is peak or surge.

Got lucky and had an old Sears compressor motor from one that the tank rusted out on. Perfect specs, just needed a mounting bracket and correct size pulley. Get the second belt installed tomorrow and it aught to be ready to set pressures and run. Dad has done most of the work as something to mess with in between cancer treatments.

Not just got to figure out pressures. Tank is rated for 150, pump for 145, and I bought a switch preset for 135/90. Apparently the old safety valve is set around 130 since it releases before shutoff. I want to run at 135 and buy a new valve for 140. Dad wants to drop for valve, so around 125 max. I'm going to let him do it for now, but undecided if I'm going to buy a valve and crank it back up when I get it home.



So do shrapnel wounds from exploded PVC pipe. Just saying. Not sure how I'm going to plumb my shop, but I think I'd rather wrestle with a 100 foot hose than risk shrapnel from exploded pipe. Actually, I'd do a few shorter daisy chained, but still lots of hose. Yes, I know how annoying it can get, in my former line of work it happened almost daily.

For now I'll definitely be using hose as my shed is a temporarily work space that hopefully isn't far from getting replaced. When I get to the point of building a shop and plumbing in my air compressor it will either be with copper or pipe. Probably the latter, as it's what is used at work, works well, and is a little sturdier than cooper. (Meaning not likely to bump into and crush.)

A few thoughts, none of this is meant as criticism:

First, don’t put a higher pressure limit relief valve on it. Never in your wildest dreams do you want to put an increased pressure relief valve on anything. If you think PVC pipe is exciting when it explodes, go online and look at ruptured air tanks. They’ll take the building down at the same time they take your head off.

As regards to copper, I considered that, and I just looked, but I can’t find it right now, but I saw something where the solder joints on copper are actually weaker than the PVC pipe. When you glue the PVC pipe, it’s basically all one solid piece of plastic. With enough pressure, the sweat joints can pop loose. Didn’t make sense to me when I read it, but I did read it. Point being, be careful.

And then let me say, I always used to run my air systems at home at 100 or 120 psi. Then I had an epiphany about a dozen years ago, that I never really need air over about 50 or 60 psi for the stuff I’m doing. if you use a strong air impact wrench, that takes some pressure. But for 90% of the stuff, why would you need that much air pressure? Just trying to help you think it out

Soooo, if you go with PVC, and you follow the rules and put in some safety features like I’m talking about, it should be fine for daily use.. Of course, you have to use the right thickness, PVC, and you have to consider the temperature swings in the spec.

And, although I have a pipe system around my garage, on the feed end, I have about a 3 foot hose that plugs into the compressor. If you do that, you can run 50 psi air through your system, and when you need to use that big impact wrench, disconnect the system and run it off the hose and run the air pressure up.

Finally, compressed air costs a lot of money in electricity. If you run half the pressure, it doesn’t cut the electric bill by half, it cuts it by the square root.

Nothing critical, not ever, just food for thought. Hope it helps.