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View Poll Results: What should be done with the old 2 stage 80 gallon compressor?

Voters
12. You may not vote on this poll
  • Spare parts! Store that thing out of the way for a rainy day

    0 0%
  • Double the fun! Plumb and wire that badboy in

    5 41.67%
  • Best of both worlds! Plumb it in but not wire it.

    2 16.67%
  • Sell it. Everyone enjoys more free space and spending money.

    5 41.67%
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Thread: Shop compressed air setup

  1. #1
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    Default Shop compressed air setup



    Looking for some thoughts into what should be done with my shop's compressed air system. Recently the old 2 stage 80 gallon compressor I have been running for the past 10-12 years has been having some issues. Issues like taking longer to fill, becoming more noisy, and occasionally eating belts. Not being able to afford to be without compressed air for the shop for a long period of time, I opted to buy a new unit. Now fast forward a few weeks to now. I disassembled the older compressor last night and went through the entire thing. I was expecting to find an obvious issue or twelve, but I didn't find anything wrong. Everything was as it should be. The only thing that stood out was the head bolts for the larger side seemed to be loose compared to the smaller side. After not finding any issues, I decided to reseal and assemble it. After that, I reassembled the compressor, aligned the pump and motor, re-seated the pulleys, installed the belt and tighten everything up. And wouldn't you know it, it now runs great again. I have completely filled the tank 3 separate times and the extra noise is gone, it is filling in a timely fashion, and the belt is running truer than it has in a long time. So in other words, I have an extra functioning compressor at the moment, and am trying to decide what to do with it. Figure I have a few options.

    1. Throw it into storage as a spare until it is needed, if ever.

    2. Plumb and wire it into my existing system, giving me double the volume and capacity. Go from 17scfm and 80 gallons of storage to 32-34scfm and 160 gallons of storage. This would be awesome for things like sandblasting and plasma cutting. But honestly, my current system keeps up with demand pretty well and the compressor is designed to be able to be run at 100% duty cycle. So it would be helpful occasionally but definitely not needed.

    3. Plumb it into the current system but not wire in the motor. This would double my storage capacity but do nothing for the overall CFM. But the motor could be then wired in anytime the need arose. This would pretty much just save a little wear and tear on the 2nd compressor.

    4. Just sell the old compressor. Frees up space and a little money.

    Please share the thoughts to which options makes the most sense to you and why? TIA

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Shop compressed air setup



    It may depend on the new unit. How reliable or readily serviceable is it? We use a large Sulair compressor at work that's getting pretty old, but I can get a service tech on site same-day if I need to. Emergency service is not cheap, but we stand to loose a lot more if production stops for days on end.

    Would it make sense to sell the old compressor and use some of the money to buy some spare parts for the new one?

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Shop compressed air setup



    I say run em both. In theory, having 2 should reduce the workload so they last longer, and if one ever does go down the other will pick up the slack. Redundancy for a critical component.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Shop compressed air setup



    Sell it, if you have the time.

    I've been working about 60 hrs/week this year, barely enough time for family, chores, and all those "things" that pop up in life. I am actually looking forward to a few days of lost income so I can purge more "stuff." The things that have significant value will have to be cataloged, photographed, and listed as a big-ass virtual garage sale. Then, there are people who don't mind wasting anyone's time...

    All that said, if my garage was wired for 220V, I'd offer you fiddy bucks for it: I'd have to purge more "stuff" to make a space for it.
    ___________
    The Lost Boys motto: We don't know where we're going, but we'll be there for awhile. :)

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Shop compressed air setup



    If you have the space and could appreciate the volume, if only occasionally... Plumb and wire both. More volume now and zero downtime when one doesn't kick on (YEARS down the road???).

    If you'd like the space and if your business can be down for one or two days, sell one of them. Comp's are readily available at local stores (I'd assume, for the size you want). You won't recoup what you spent on the new unit though, there will be some loss even if you sold the new.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Shop compressed air setup



    Thanks to everyone who was willing to take the time to share their opinion! It is nice to get a different perspective (or 3) once in a while.

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