Eaton Compressor arrived ...

[wquiles]

June 25, 2009 EDIT: Eaton replaced the damaged compressor and sent me a new one (no additional cost to me) - you can see the new one here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2994385&postcount=44

As far as I am concerned, Eaton Compressor's customer support is EXCELLENT

Will

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I just took delivery of my new Eaton Compressor, and unfortunately it was not even close to perfect. I am sure Eaton will work with me to make this right, but I am not too happy at the moment.

Now, for point of reference, this is my old and very noisy compressor:

and that my friends is the tiny pump on this thing!:

the very fast 3450 RPM OEM motor (note there is no HP rating!):

Now, this is the new Eaton compressor that I just got today:

Of course, this is minor, but one of the plastic handles broke - I am not worried about this. This is the one is not broken:

this is the broken one:

One of the metal legs was bent (not quite broken). Not good, but not terrible either:

Now, the 120V AC cable was pinched at two places, and in one of those pinch places it was actually cut:

There was no security key available to open the covers either - I expected that to be sent along. I use pliers to turn the key open, and this was the only documentation/parts that I found:

Then I noted that most all of the wires were loose - it looks like no-one checked the unit before being sent. Even if the external AC wire would have been in good order, inside it was actually DANGEROUS, and with no documentation as to how to wire it properly. Right now I don't have any information as to how to even correct these wiring problems!:

The other side had the cover of the regulator loose:

and I even found extra crimp and pieces on the inside, some new, some just debris:

Now, don't get me wrong. The actual pump is very large for the air/pressure generated, and it is a V twin piston design. The motor is very large and stout-looking. The overall housing/package is awesome. It just looks like a simple quality hiccup. I am 110% sure Eaton will make this right for me

Stay tuned for updates ...

Will

 

[65535]

Nice looking unit I dig the sound casing.
That's a shame and upsetting about all the wiring, it's just not right.

I had a number of issues with my Craftsman, the first one had a crooked motor by about 20 degrees.

The second does too but not as bad, and getting a new motor. A fair few air leaks, just a pita but nothing I didn't fix.

 

[Vinniec5]

Should've filed a carrier damage complaint and documented it on the bill of lading. Was that compressor banded to the pallet when the driver brought it to you or did he cut it off when he dropped it to you? Looks to me that a Hi-Lo kissed it with the blade or the band broke when they moved it and it fell over. I'd file a carrier claim ASAP and let the two companies ***** at eachother you bought a new compressor not a kit you have to fix to make it work

 

[Aircraft800]

Where is the tank? I can't see it in the pictures. Is it burried behind the sound barriers?

 

[wquiles]

An update. I sent a nice email with lots of photos to the Eaton sales/technical person who took my order, and he called me back stating that he was not happy either, and that he was sending me another brand new unit again. Talk about nice service!

 

[wquiles]

Nice looking unit I dig the sound casing.
That's a shame and upsetting about all the wiring, it's just not right.

I had a number of issues with my Craftsman, the first one had a crooked motor by about 20 degrees.

The second does too but not as bad, and getting a new motor. A fair few air leaks, just a pita but nothing I didn't fix.

The sound casing and the whole construction, paint, etc. is truly amazing. The motor/pump "module" is actually suspended by heavy springs to prevent transmission of vibration to the floor. Except for the snafu on the wiring part, the compressor is really unique, and with a 5-yr warranty, on a device designed to run for 8 hours a day 5 days a week on a dentist office, it should really last a long time for how I use it.

Where is the tank? I can't see it in the pictures. Is it burried behind the sound barriers?

There is none, since it does not come with a tank. You can use any tank you want. In my case, I am (for now) using the 20 gal tank from my current compressor. If I can find/snag a nice 60/80 gallon tank in the future, I can always upgrade that part of the system

 

[cmacclel]

Looks like it would be a nice unit......that wiring is 100% unacceptable and don't see how the internal wiring could have been damaged in shipping. Whats a compressor like that go for


EDIT

$2600 Retail on sale for $799 Hmmmm I want a quite compressor in a BAD way! Where are the Motor Specs??? Amps?? 220V right?


Mac

 

[choffman]

he called me back stating that he was not happy either, and that he was sending me another brand new unit again. Talk about nice service!

I sure am glad to read that. I was starting to get pissed off and I haven't spent a penny. Glad to hear they are gonna do you right.

 

[StrikerDown]

This might not be worth the trip but not losing floor space to a tank is kinda cool.

I had a friend who used about 8 or 10, 10' sticks of PVC pipe in the attic space over his garage all hooked together to form an air resevoir. I don't remember if they were 3 or 4" diameter but it gave him a bunch of air storage capacity while using zero floor space. He also put pvc drops down the walls in a few locations where they would be handy for jobs around the garage. It was heavy wall stuff I think it was rated for at least 250 PSI.

I wonder how many gallons of storage you get in a 4" X 10' stick times how ever many sticks you can stick up there?

 

[precisionworks]

PVC pipe ... to form an air reservoir

PVC pipe is meant for lower pressure applications, and it degrades with exposure to heat & light. When it gets weak enough, a small impact may cause the pipe to shatter, and the shards will penetrate plywood.

Chem-Aire ABS pipe is pressure approved, but expensive:

http://www.nibco.com/assets/ChmairOvrw.pdf

 

[StrikerDown]

PVC pipe is meant for lower pressure applications, and it degrades with exposure to heat & light. When it gets weak enough, a small impact may cause the pipe to shatter, and the shards will penetrate plywood.

Chem-Aire ABS pipe is pressure approved, but expensive:

http://www.nibco.com/assets/ChmairOvrw.pdf

I guess it isn't worth the trip then

I better give him a call to see if he has been fraged yet. He's had it in use for over ten years if I iirc.

 

[precisionworks]

He's had it in use for over ten years

It can last a long time before exploding ... one pipe in out factory was 15 years old when it let go. There was no one in the room at that time, so the only damage was shrapnel that went through the drywall. I keep the main regulator output at only 60 psi for the entire factory - at 125 psi, or the 175 psi cutout pressure, results would have been more interesting.

If you Google pvc compressed air accidents, you'll find thousands of examples why this is a bad idea. But it's cheap, which is reason enough for lots of people to continue to use it, no matter how unsafe.

FWIW, all the piping in my shop is black pipe. Probably 200' or more. Not cheap, a PITA to install, and rock solid safe.

 

[Vinniec5]

I give the company credit for seeing things from the customers side. good of them to send you a new one with no problems

 

[Vinniec5]

BTW there's just something about plastic and glue that just doesn't scream SAFETY. My shops didn't and I wouldn't install it in my house but if others want to it's up to you just be CAREFUL with the pressures it's like having air bangalore torpedoes over your head. Yes id like the room the my tank takes up but not that badly

 

[PEU]

Have compressor, why not make a vacuum pump to hold thing in place instead of using clamping kits?

http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/v2-about.htm

I just needed an excuse to post that link, very interesting stuff in there


Pablo

 

[mdocod]

PVC pipe is meant for lower pressure applications, and it degrades with exposure to heat & light. When it gets weak enough, a small impact may cause the pipe to shatter, and the shards will penetrate plywood.

Chem-Aire ABS pipe is pressure approved, but expensive:

http://www.nibco.com/assets/ChmairOvrw.pdf

Thank You for the heads up on this! We were thinking about doing a similar setup in the garage, thinking we usually set the tank at ~140PSI and regulate to ~90-100 for most stuff.

Strange that PVC would be "rated" for these high pressured but not actually be suitable for use at those pressure ratings...

Schedule 40 PVC in 2.5" diameter is rated ~180PSI.
Schedule 80 PVC in 2.5" diameter is rated ~250PSI.

Burst pressure ratings are actually ~5X those numbers.

Like you said though, with age, these numbers probably fall apart.

 

[65535]

PVC is predominately used for covered water piping. Generally the pressures are well under 100 psi. A water pipe doesn't tend to explode quite like gas piping. Like an air tank the air keeps expanding rapidly as an explosion shooting shrapnel, water doesn't decompress or expand appreciably so it just makes a wet mess.

 

[wquiles]

Well guys, the new compressor has been shipped to me, and now I have the tracking # for the new package

As an interesting side note, I asked the Eaton technical person handling my return about the possibility of doing an "upgrade" to this unit in case I ever needed/wanted more CFM out of this compressor, and he verified that their 13CFM pump would fit (it is not possible to simply increase the RPM on this oil-less pump):
http://www.eatoncompressor.com/catalog/item/518643/191066.htm

Of course, it would not be as "quiet" as the one I have now, but it would not be much louder given the pump runs at low RPM, and that the enclosure does a good job with the noise. I can keep the same motor/wiring/everything, and the solid steel enclosure has plenty of space to fit the 13CFM pump - all for about $150 plus shipping (maybe a total of $200) :thumbsup:

It was obvious talking to him that the "key" problem for Dental use is that the pump has to be oil-less -> the air delivery can't have any oil traces, which makes perfect sense for a Dental office/use. For me, it makes no difference, as I just want something fairly quiet that I can run at night without bothering my neighbors. I guess I will have to wait to get the new one running, using it for a while, and then determining if I want/need the upgrade. At least I do have that path

Will

 

[65535]

You may find the 13CFM oil bath compressor pump to be quieter, oil has a great dampening effect, just like in a lathe. Just make sure you get the proper pulley ratio so you don't burn out your motor.

 

[wquiles]

You may find the 13CFM oil bath compressor pump to be quieter, oil has a great dampening effect, just like in a lathe. Just make sure you get the proper pulley ratio so you don't burn out your motor.

Thanks dude - I did not think about that. It might be that the whole reason they "had" to build the steel, sound dampened enclosure was because the oil-less pump is noisy to start with.

Wouldn't it would be awesome if by making the change to the oil-libricated 13CFM pump I would gain more air "and" a quieter overall system?

The new pump will arrive here next week. I will report how it sounds, and I will capture a short video to share its noise signature with all of you :devil: