bassboy3313

hey. i have a 10 gallon air compressor that wont work. I plugged it in and nothing happened when i turned it on. i saw there was no oil in it so i filled it with 5W-30. I went to turn it on again and all it did was turn but not start up. kind of like when a car engine turns over but doesnt start. it is a motor driven compressor and not engine driven. any suggestions?

tanc

So you put 5w-30 in your compressor pump? GG. You need compressor pump oil.

If it had no oil before, I think thats the reason it doesn't start anymore. Seized.

You probably ran it with no oil. Remove the belt, and try spin pulley. If you can't or its hard than its seized.

If you can easily spin the pulley, than look at your motor. Are you running it on the proper breaker? You usually need a 15amp-20amp breaker.

If your using the correct breaker and it doesn't start, than your motor is fried. I'd get a new compressor b/c more than likely the motor will cost more than the compressor.

DTN

That's wierd.. a motor driven compressor, if it's turning, should be pumping air. Does it sound like it's turning slowly, or fast? Maybe it's just pumping the first bit of air into the tank. They take like 15 minutes to fill up sometimes.

Check the brushes if it's used. It may need new motor brushes. They would be on the sides of the round part of the motor. They wear down because they brush against metal to do their job.

tanc

You've never heard of a motor driven compressor?! If it's turning it doesn't mean its also pumping air. Compressor should never take remotely close to 15min to fill unless your running a 4cfm pump with a 10000gallon tank.

DTN does bring up a good suggestion, check your brushes. I forgot to mention that in my above post.

MAXXTIB

Piston pump compressors have somethimg called a reed valve, it keeps the air flowing in one direction, if this valve breaks the motor and pump will spin but there will be no pressure since the air is umped then sucked from the tank, if the compressor is old or has been sitting for a while this could be your problem.

Mad-Machine

who made your compressor? Some brands are not worth playing with.

as for it being an old compressor, I am always leary of them unless I know it's run history. I once had one split it's tank on me because nobody ever drained it and it had about a gallon of water in the bottom that had rotted it from the inside out. I never want to go through that again.

JonGTR

Yea, I wouldn't want a tank with 140psi of air to explode on me.

bassboy3313

This sounds like what its doing. It has been sitting all summer too. It will buzz and the engine will turn over rapidly, but wont do anything then shut off. Where would this reed valve be located?

tanc

Once you the head off your pump, you will see the reeds.

bassboy3313

so i took my air coompressor to Northern Tool & Equipment to see what was wrong with it. I took it in the back and the guy wheeled it over to the outlet, plugged it in and t omy surprise, it turned right on and started filling. After a couple minutes it shut off and the tank was full. Now, when i took it back home and plugged it in, it was doin the same thing as i stated before. What could be the problem with my outlets? It seems like its not getting enough power. Any suggestions?