DIY air compressor

[joecnc2006]

Does anyone have plans ond/or pictures of a home built air compressor?

Thanks, Joe

[mxtras]

I think the tank is going to be the biggest hurdle.

I built my own when I was very young - I used an old well pump tank and a compressor off of a truck which was dry sump and liquid cooled. I used a power steering pump to supply and circulate the oil through the crankcase then the water jackets then through a heater core from a car and a filter. Neat set up and it worked, but the tank was garbage. I never was able to locate a tank that I could use. I ended up buying a new compressor.

I am sure there are plans on the net somewhere for making one from a Briggs and Stratton engine - have you googled this??

Scott

[joecnc2006]

Originally Posted by mxtras I think the tank is going to be the biggest hurdle. I built my own when I was very young - I used an old well pump tank and a compressor off of a truck which was dry sump and liquid cooled. I used a power steering pump to supply and circulate the oil through the crankcase then the water jackets then through a heater core from a car and a filter. Neat set up and it worked, but the tank was garbage. I never was able to locate a tank that I could use. I ended up buying a new compressor. I am sure there are plans on the net somewhere for making one from a Briggs and Stratton engine - have you googled this?? Scott

I would like to try to make one from and elec. type motor to cut down on noise, reason asking like to have it for cnc cleaning and then possible make a dust collection system, instead of shop vac i have now.

Joe

[whateg01]

Joe,

I was going to build a compressor a couple of years ago. I had a spare tank from an old compressor that went toes up after about 20 years of use in an auto repair business. Anyway, I had access to many of the little things that you normally find you need to make all of the big pieces work together. Here is what I found. Unless you already have most of the required pieces, or have special specs that must be met, you will probably spend as much or more buying parts as you would on a new commercially made compressor. I ended up buying a $450 compressor from Home Depot that does more than I will probably need for some time to come. I was looking at spending over $250 for a compressor that would just work for my apps.

Again, just my 2.5 cents.

Dave

[lepton]

I recently received 8 (Campbell hausfeld) compressor motors with attach piston, I have tested all, each is in good working condition (all that is required is a brass line to, tank, you would also need regulator and (manual on/off or pressure switch for auto). of the 8, four are ready to go and the other four need belts (20$ from factory).

If anyone is interested e-mail me @ itcustom@sprintpcs.com

Series: WL650702AJ same motor as used on 05 models
5.5Hp Peak - 1.7 Hp continuous
125-psi max
26-gal
5.1-SCFM

This is part# - WL390100AJ - Pump/motor assembly –

I plan on taking 3 and mounting all to a tank.
why 3? because each will have it's own power switch to manually which between. that way when one gets hot I just keep rotating to mantain 100% duty cycle.

[j m]

I think a good idea for the air tank would be to use a gas bottle (propane bottle? Im not sure what you call it in America?) as they come in lots of different sizes and it would be ease to find out what pressure they have bean tested to. I have seen them used to store air in I think they just taped and drilled a fitting into the side of the bottle.
jm

[sol]

Well . . . I have made a few compressors from odds and ends and as already said the necessary extras add up quickly. A cheapo from Harbor Freight would probably be a better value than something that is put together for the same cost.
For a the compressor itself I have used old AC and refrigerator compressors; they are quiet and produce far more pressure than most tools use, but the CFM is low. Sometimes there were two compressors in the system to get the volume up to something useful.
To solve the tank problem a number of portable tanks were plumbed together. Propane tanks also work as JM mentioned; do not drill into them though, use the existing valve.
Again, unless there is access to inexpensive or free components, the better value is to buy one ready made.

[2muchstuff]

At my local Cummins Tools (like Harbor Freight) they have air compressor tanks for sale, all different sizes. Yes, they are the bare tank. Made by Cambell Hausfeld. They look like they came from returned air compressors.

[vladdy]

Most components can be scrounged from your local scrap yard..
electric motors around 3/4 hp are usually $5 or less..
the tank can be an expired propane tank or empty r12 or similar refrigerant tank, or even a old air reserve tank from small semi's [about 20 gallon]
the compressor itself can sometimes be found used, and cylinder rehoned and valve surfaces cleaned up, otherwise the old dodge car a/c compressors, vertical twin style, work fairly well..
You will still probably have to buy electrical cable, tank fittings, one way valve from compressor to tank, pressure sht off switch,and small fasteners..
wheels can be scrounged from old barb'qs or lawn mowers..
You will probably wind up with $30 to $40 cash invested, and an afternoon's worth of time.. cheaper than the 'on sale' airless compressors, and at least it's something you made yourself,
and as the saying goes,
that's priceless some days..

enjoy..

[JPMach]

If you want a really high cfm compressor, what I have seen a few people do is to take an old v-8 engine out of a car and turn the crankshaft with a motor. The most common way to run them is with the pto from a small tractor at 540 rpm. Take off all the fuel stuff and I think they take the cams and rockers out and put lighter springs on the valves, replace the spark plugs with lines to a tank or whatever but put check valves in right close to the engine block. Then when you turn the crankshaft the suction inside the cylinders will open all the valves for that cylinder and then air will be pumped out through the check valve in the spark plug hole. This puts out well over 100 CFM of air though, not to mention its big and bulky.

JP

[ESjaavik]

Originally Posted by JPMach This puts out well over 100 CFM of air though, not to mention its big and bulky. JP

Yup!
One of the tools they will never steal from your garage!

[Smackre]

Some thing should just not be DIY. My father DIYed a Air Compressor. Needless the say one day it was making some noise and he went over to see what was going on. 3 seconds Later the whole end blow off. Metal shards when all threw hes face. He lost eye sight in 1 eye and went threw 10 surgerys to remove metal shards from hes other eye. Hes knee and leg were both brocken and he had patches over hes eyes for almost a year. needless to say i would just advise to buy air compressors from the people who know how to make them.