3Z180 Speedaire builds pressure very slowly then starts smoking after 2 or 3 minutes

by Tom
(Endicott NY USA)

At work we have a Speedair 3Z180 2 stage on a 60 gallon tank that has been working fine then started leaking air thru the intake air filter.

I was told thru a Grainger contact at Champion that I need to replace the valves. They sent me the valves and after changing them, now it builds air very slowly and the compressor starts smoking after a few minutes.

I did notice some oil on the top of the piston in the exhaust port when I had the manifold off.

Could I have replaced the valves incorrectly? I was sure to have the nut/screw head "UP" on each one so as not to interfere with the piston and they were sized to fit each port. Could the presence of oil atop the piston indicate bad rings? Tom
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Tom, my thoughts are thus. All reciprocating compressors that are oil lubed wick some oil past the piston seals. If the intake valve is faulty, then it allows some of the oil that has bypassed the piston seals to blow out the intake.

However, the oil that wicks past the piston seals should be in very small quantities. You don't say so, but I surmise from your comment, that you've got quite a bit of oil, yes?

So, yes, you may have pooched the valve repair. Don't know, but you still have, in my humble opinion, as significant seal issue on the piston, and that's what I would tackle next if it were my compressor. Assuming that there is a lot of oil???

If you ponder how the compressor works, you will see that if the piston seals are gone, you cannot build air properly into the air tank, as some of that air is blowing back into the oil sump and out the oil fill vent too.

Just my .02 cents worth. Good luck.

Cheers,

Bill