The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest NEW Compressor runs hot

Just started using my new Ingersoll Rand Electric Stationary Air Compressor – 5 HP, 230 Volt, 1-Phase, 60-Gallon Vertical, Model# SS5L5 The electric motor is cool, the air pump is hot.....

It seems to me to be running very hot, but I really do not know what is hot for an air compressor. I am judging by the fact the air pipe to the tank has changed color from heat and is really to hot to touch after running hard. Even the 60 gallon air tank gets pretty warm to the touch after a few cycles on the motor. This is running a DA sander wide open stripping paint with 80 grit paper.

How hot is too hot??? Or is this just normal.

I seem to recall a blister on my fingers from touching the wrong place on my compressor 15 or so years ago.🛠

Is it a single stage compressor?, the outlet pipe will get hot, any instructions on changing the oil after break-in?

Any compressor will get hot enough to burn you. Combination of the heat of compression of the air and friction within the compressor. A 5 HP motor will put nearly as much energy into the system as the burner on a gas stove. A lot of that motor energy (probably more than 20 percent) turns into heat in either the motor itself, the compressor or the delivered air.

Thanks... it is a single stage. Seems to me that they would put something about the extreme heat in the literature. Guess I will dig deeper on the internet for info on this compressor. It does seem like a very good compressor.

When you see a lot of cooling fins and maybe a fan on something, it's a clue.
It does sound like you are stressing the duty cycle. Also, it's location will affect cooling. Tucked close in a corner of a block wall, or near something else that is hot, is no good.

IR says, as long as you're using their synthetic pump oil, the compressor has a 100% duty cycle. Only 50% if you use a petroleum based oil.

I have the same compressor. It will get pretty darn warm after running for extended time periods. The copper discharge tube will get very hot, but don't worry about it that is all normal. I've run mine for over an hour straight dozens of times and it's still pumping strong.

I have pretty much the same compressor but with a 80 gal tank.
I have the same issues but it seems to run ok.
Living here in Florida where the humidity Is high I have to worry about water.
I created a radiator out of copper pipe with drain valves under each turn. This runs into a water separator and pressure valve then to the gun.

It removes about a quart or more ..... depending on the weather... of water out of the system per day that I run it.
The radiator cools the compressed air enough to drain the water....

Just thought you might want to know...

Mike

There are some good U-Tube and DIY websites dedicated to compressor set ups and operations. Several of them have some great home DIY fabrication photos and footage for home made after-coolers- from the basic to some well engineered designs using standard home building plumbing supplies. I just searched for After-coolers and found a wealth of information. Might be useful for this discussion....

I gave a friend a piece of 3/4" fintube (like for hydronic baseboard heating) I had laying around that he wanted to use for that purpose. More surface area in contact with the air means better heat transfer.
I've also seen a youtube video where a guy made an aftercooler with I think 4" steel pipe with multiple runs of smaller pipe welded inside it and water running between them. While it probably worked like a champ, it was WAY overkill for a home setup. He had 3 or 4 of the 4" chambers at about 4 ft high each inline. And he probably spent more on the aftercooler (including time and materials) than his compressor was worth.

Rabaut's setup would definitely wring lots of water out of the air. If you want a step up, use fintube instead of just plain copper pipe. Not much more expensive.

Guys in real hot climates might want to consider a tube-in tube setup with water cooling. The idea is to get the air temperature back below the dew point so the water condenses out. Commercial setups use either a refrigerated air dryer or an absorbtion type (usually a dual chamber setup that switches over to regenerate the media after it's absorbed all the moisture it can.)