Let someone borrow my compressor now it's not working right.....
by Mike
(Corning, NY, US)
My cousin borrowed my 1HP 4Gal Craftsman Oiled compressor (Model# 16638).
Details on the compressor)
It's about 4 years old and really hasn't been used a whole lot. Major projects it was used on was to frame out a closet in a bedroom and attach some trim then the occasional tire fills. It has also always been stored inside. It still looks brand new.
I always check the oil on it and top off as required. I have changed it several times especially if it had sat for a long time and not been used.)
So gave him the speech on how it works how to make pressure adjustments for nail guns, where the drain is and how to user it ect...The last thing I did was to hand him the oil and showed him the site window and said check it before you start it and every couple of hours of steady use and keep the oil touching the red dot.
He had it for a couple of weeks and went through about a half case of framing nails so not a ton of use in my mind. He brings it back to me and says it started to act funny the second time he used it. The compressor acted really sluggish when he started it up or needed to refill and sometimes would just stop. He said he could get it working if he fully covered one of the intake holes on the filter case with his finger and partially cover the second hole that the compressor would kick into a high mode and start to fill.
Thinking he had run it dry I check the site window and found that the oil was filled above the red dot and no matter which way I tilted the unit I couldn't see any air. I asked him how much oil he put into it and he said the whole bottle. (Entire crank case was filled with oil...)
I drained the oil out of the unit and filled it back to the appropriate level and crossed my fingers hoping that it would work but not to my surprise it still is having the same issue. Once it gets running it seems to work fine however from a cold start it acts like it is partially seized. Once the appropriate level of compression appears to be achieved things seem to be ok however sometimes it needs to have the intake partially covered to fill up all the way.
Any ideas on things I should check or thing I can do to figure out what the problem is?
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Bill says...
Mike, sorry you are having the problem. The issue is, if it's a good buddy, it's hard to say no when they want to borrow at tool, isn't it?
By the way, the boss, with friends, and I were in Corning a few weeks ago for a long weekend. Most enjoyable time. You have a great town.
OK, back to your compressor issue.
If you are up for it, pull the cover off over the pump where the intake is. Check out the valves. It doesn't make sense to me that the compressor works better when you've covered part of the intake.
Perhaps, with the potential overfill of oil, this has somehow caused a blockage that popped an internal gasket.
I doubt if your compressor motor has a high or low mode. If the motor is sluggish, it's because the motor itself is failing, or it's experiencing loading greater than it can handle.
Maybe the valves are full of oil, maybe the check valve is somehow blocked... I just don't know.
A tear down and look see is in order, as far as I'm concerned.
Good luck, and please keep us posted.
Bill
