Compressors … info from an owner.
I bought my compressor one year ago this month. It’s been the best purchase I have made in this PCP game. Before buying I researched every model available by contacting owners from the airgun crowd and by talking to paintball and dive shops.
This is what I learned.
FX .. $ 1100.00 this compressor is a 3000 psi unit and has had some issues over the years. One owner told me his had cooling problems from the start but that FX had sent him an upgrade that he installed himself and that solved the problems. Last I new he was still using it after 4 years of ownership.
Alkens .. $ 3350.00 highly recommended by everyone .. but at the paintball shops I kept hearing the same thing .. if you can afford it step up to the Bauer. No real issues reported by anyone … they just kept saying that the Bauer was built better. 4500 psi.
Bauer .. $ 3850.00 I ordered mine direct from Bauer USA .. no need to go thru a middleman. Made in Germany it is high quality throughout.
The air dryer is rated for 2 years of commercial use and for home use they said I would never have to change it.
It’s oil (synthetic) cooled and air cooled with a large fan. For home use the synthetic oil only has to be changed once every 2 years.
The electric motor is a big 3HP Lincoln that is 220 volt and comes unwired. I wired mine to fit a clothes dryer outlet and you can PM me for instructions with pics .. wire it backwards (easy to do) and it will run backwards ruining the piston and rings in it.
It has multiple drain valves on it, a dipstick for checking the oil, and comes set up to connect to any one tank system you want. Extra tank set connections are $ 600.00 each so know what you need before you buy.
It’s 4500 psi and automatically stops filling when you reach that pressure .. it doesn’t stop running .. a pop off valve bleeds off the pressure until you turn it off. The unit will do 5000 psi or more but I had mine set to 4500.
After a year of using it I know I will never ever wear this thing out … I am having a shop built next to my house this coming spring then I can get it out of our butt ugly laundry room and into a more appropriate decor 🙂
Prices listed are from last year.
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Fellas, did some searching and found that the dryer cord as shown is an old 3-wire style that has two hots and the L is neutral. The old system did not include a ground.
So what to do now…… mmmmmm
Use a grounded system would definitely be preferred BUT if all you have is the antiquated wiring then I guess yer on yer own 🙂
Canada moved away from ungrounded stuff 40 years ago or more.
Walter….
okay, thanks.
then the center L post is still ground and only ground. The left and right are L1/L2 interchangeably as they are equal as to function.
Green wire to the middle L post
I think that pic might be deceiving … it’s 220 and on 30 amp breakers.
With the compressor running, check for voltage between the compressor’s chassis and a known good ground (do not use the compressor’s power cord), Any voltage here greater then .5 volt is not good. (the correct test for this is call a “Ground current leakage test” which is a bit more complex to perform, but if you detect a voltage, it’s almost as good)
There is no ‘neutral’ in a 220/240 VAC circuit and I am assuming that the dryer is 220/240 VAC.
He will not see a voltage to ground vs neutral because the two are bonded together at the main service distribution box/panel.
They told me the green was neutral and still had me wire it this way … Lincoln transferred me to someone in house that could talk way over my head .. that’s why I did the quick 2 second test to make sure it was spinning the correct direction.
I’ll have my relative the electrician come over and do the leakage test he has all of the meters and knowledge. I’ll report back what he finds 🙂
It is clear in your pics that the green wire is connected to the motor frame
That is NOT a current carrying wire and should be connected to the ground in your dryer circuit only.
What voltage is your motor and dryer outlet?
I am assuming it is 220/240 but if that is not the case and it is 110/120
you will connect the hot to the L1 of the motor leads P1 on the diagram.
The identified conductor (neutral) will connect to L2 in the motor diagram
I would refrain from using this motor connected as you describe until your electrician confirms the connections and voltages. There will be no need for a leakage test if and when it is connected correctly.
Be safe! 🙂
Walter……
Electrician BTW if you were wondering 🙂
It will work if you have ground and neutral reversed. The return path is now ground, not neutral. Problem is the chassis is at neutral potential, not ground potential(safety). If you have a test meter check for continuity from the green wire and center “L” pin on the plug, which is ground.
With the compressor running, check for voltage between the compressor’s chassis and a known good ground (do not use the compressor’s power cord), Any voltage here greater then .5 volt is not good. (the correct test for this is call a “Ground current leakage test” which is a bit more complex to perform, but if you detect a voltage, it’s almost as good)
There is no ‘neutral’ in a 220/240 VAC circuit and I am assuming that the dryer is 220/240 VAC.
He will not see a voltage to ground vs neutral because the two are bonded together at the main service distribution box/panel.
They told me the green was neutral and still had me wire it this way … Lincoln transferred me to someone in house that could talk way over my head .. that’s why I did the quick 2 second test to make sure it was spinning the correct direction.
I’ll have my relative the electrician come over and do the leakage test he has all of the meters and knowledge. I’ll report back what he finds 🙂
If what you say is true then it makes no difference if ground and neutral are reversed at the compressor because their electrically the same potential (being bonded).
It will work if you have ground and neutral reversed. The return path is now ground, not neutral. Problem is the chassis is at neutral potential, not ground potential(safety). If you have a test meter check for continuity from the green wire and center “L” pin on the plug, which is ground.
With the compressor running, check for voltage between the compressor’s chassis and a known good ground (do not use the compressor’s power cord), Any voltage here greater then .5 volt is not good. (the correct test for this is call a “Ground current leakage test” which is a bit more complex to perform, but if you detect a voltage, it’s almost as good)
There is no ‘neutral’ in a 220/240 VAC circuit and I am assuming that the dryer is 220/240 VAC.
He will not see a voltage to ground vs neutral because the two are bonded together at the main service distribution box/panel.
It will work if you have ground and neutral reversed. The return path is now ground, not neutral. Problem is the chassis is at neutral potential, not ground potential(safety). If you have a test meter check for continuity from the green wire and center “L” pin on the plug, which is ground.
With the compressor running, check for voltage between the compressor’s chassis and a known good ground (do not use the compressor’s power cord), Any voltage here greater then .5 volt is not good. (the correct test for this is call a “Ground current leakage test” which is a bit more complex to perform, but if you detect a voltage, it’s almost as good)
I don’t know anything about the Surplus Military units … I’m sure others do 🙂
The center L prong is Ground/Earth and so that should get the green wire from the motor frame. (Equipment ground)
The left and right prongs are for 220/240 single phase power ‘hots’ and must not be connected to any green wire. ( L1 or T1 and L2 or T2 )
Check and check again before powering up any non-electrician connected wires.
You may be right ! I went thru a 30+ year electrician and called Lincoln before wiring this one up … and it runs correctly. It was enough to make my head spin.
How about these are they any good?
First wire .. gets a Red and a White wire from the motor …
Middle wire … single Black wire from the motor.
Third wire … single green wire from the motor.
How that relates to the plug in the pic is this …
Middle wire goes to that top L shaped plug
First wire goes to the bottom plug on the right
3rd wire goes to the bottom plug on the left.
In case they have a compressor or motor change .. send me a pic of your set up and I will contact the electrician in my family to make sure we get it right 🙂
Other alternative is to call Lincoln and ask them since they built the motor. On the compressor is an arrow on the pulley guard that shows you which way the belt has to spin. When you fire it up the first time do it for just 2 seconds to see which way that pulley is spinning to make sure you got it right.
I disagree with this advice.
The center L prong is Ground/Earth and so that should get the green wire from the motor frame. (Equipment ground)
The left and right prongs are for 220/240 single phase power ‘hots’ and must not be connected to any green wire. ( L1 or T1 and L2 or T2 )
Check and check again before powering up any non-electrician connected wires.
Correction: you cannot wire a single phase motor ‘wrong’ or reverse rotation without disconnecting and reconnecting the start windings.
I agree with your caution wrt getting it right and if unsure I would add to your caution to remove the belt until the direction is correct. The oil pump in reverse is a bad thing.
Good thread!
Walter….
What you’re probably thinking about it’s called a “Booster Pump”. They are expensive too, a used one would be about $1,000 – $1,500 depending on the pressure you want to get. One brand name I know is Haskel. Try to google that.
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Walter,
We still have a lot of the old stuff down here as we had more than 6 dryers to convert… 😆 😆 😆
BTW, before anyone gets too spun up over this one particular plug, be advised that there are 20 and 30 amp outlets that fit in regular wall outlet boxes and work fine. The Alken came pre-wired with a 20 amp plug and I just happened to have a number of those outlets in the basement for tools. I love it when a plan comes together! The point is that you don’t need to use a dryer plug for a compressor.