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Just put together this brand new compressor yesterday. Followed break-in procedure no problem. Then drained the oil and refilled (to proper level) with compressor oil supplied by Harbor Freight.
Restarted compressor and it ran until regulator gauge reached 85psi.
The tank gauge never moved from 0 psi.
At this point, it sputtered and quit. I tried to restart but it wouldn’t. I figured it overheated so I waited 30 minutes and tried to start. It wouldn’t start with the air compressor reset switch. When I hit the reset it sputtered for about 2 seconds and kicked out.
I let it sit overnight and it did the same thing this morning.
The replacement oil from Harbor freight seemed to be a little thicker than what came in the box with the compressor. Is this the issue or is it something else???? Please help
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Regarding Brand new and won’t run.
by: Bill
Odd that the regulator gauge reaches 85 PSI but the tank gauge doesn’t read anything.
I would expect the reverse if the regulator was turned down to zero.
If it were me, this one would be going back in the box and on the way to the store for a new one.
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Harbor Freight 21 Gal 2.5 HP # 61454
The same problem, if the pressure is somewhere between 90-40 PSI (Even a little less) the compressor motor bogs down and trips the reset button, I can tell the motor is laboring trying to turn over even when it hasn’t been in use or hot, the thermal (Reset button) pops, I have to completely drain the tank, then, the motor will run up to 125 PSI to fill the tank.
It’s not my garage or outlet power, been running a 5.5 HP 26 Gal on that same outlet for years, there’s something wrong with this compressor, especially reading all these other same-sounding problems. Lucky for me I just bought it and hasn’t been 30 days yet. It’s going back to HF to get my money back, after reading these other complaints and having the same, not going to chance getting stuck with one.
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Harbor Freight Junk
Yeah, I fell for the gimmick of four out of 5-star ratings. The thing starts running then quickly stops pumping, but the motor is humming away, then it trips the breaker. Take my advice, spend the extra money on something better than Harbor freight. For sale used air compressor ….cheap!!
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