Craftsman Air compressors

[Anonymous-0]

Well related to the previous post, I seemed to have found an upgrade to my 10 year old craftsman oil-less 12 gallon unit, which is just a small portable suited for simple tasks. It has got me through though, but noisy and when used heavily the motor just does not keep up and seems like you could burn one of these out easily if you are not cognizant of giving it a break to cool.

I found this Craftsman 4HP 20 gallon unit 220V motot in real nice shape, $80, oil type compressor, higher CFM's, ought to suit me for some air tools now, still nothing like a 60 or 80 gallon vertical, but for what I do, definitely an upgrade.

I was wondering what the opinions are on the oil vs. non oil types in the craftsman line say in the past 10 years, not sure of the age of this one but seems like Sears does not offer an oil type anymore, so maybe it's 5 years old or more, same color and safety cover style as my 12 gallon, so they must be close in age.

I assume the oil type is better, kind of why I went for it, + having a 220V motor. I had thought about re-wiring for 110V, but the previous owner said it would run better/cooler on 220V, more voltage, but less current, amps if I understand how this works, which I really don't have a clue to be honest, electricity is not a strong point, but very intriguing and interesting to learn, sure is a lot to know there. I'll leave it at 220V but was wondering about anyones experience with this oil type by craftsman or similar vs non oil. I think the oil vs non oil has been discussed in the past, but may have been awhile now.

 

[El Toro]

I have a Craftsman air compressor I bought new in 1972. Mine is the oil type and is 240vac too. It works fine when spraying paint when using an old Develbiss spraygun. It's a border line when using HVLP gun since they use a lot of air. Hal

 

[evilboweviel]

the motor shouldn't care if it is wired for 115 or 230 HOWEVER voltage drop will kill you real quick on the 115
I firmly believe that an oil compressor will last longer than an oilless compressor and be quieter.
Ron

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thats the thing, I've got 110V outlets where the compressor location is, the 12 gallon one runs off it now, but if the motor on the 4HP one was set up for 110V, using that same 110V outlet, maybe 80'-0" - 100'-0" from the main panel, your saying that the 110V line at that distance, would have enough voltage drop to be a problem, then the motor would not get the voltage and would probably fail prematurely.

Thinking my options are to run a dedicated 220 line off the existing 200 amp panel or just install a subpanel like I mentioned in the other post, 110V as is would probably not suffice if the motor were set up for it, due to the distance correct ?

Seems like a nice but inexpensive upgrade having been able to get this oil type unit, I'd hate to not give it the correct power.

 

[evilboweviel]

ran into this before
good example was in an office tower maint area on 6th floor was about 25 feet to compressor from the panel. wire in conduit was over 100' one way compressor started up ok then would not restart once it had pressure built up. VOLTAGE DROP changed it to 230 volt and it was fine

check here
http://nooutage.com/vdrop.htm

115vac, 12awg, 15amp load, 90 feet one way, 47% drop, no more than 5% recomended
change that to 240vac, 7.5 amp load, 90 feet one way, 1.1% drop
Ron

 

[Charles (in GA)]

This sounds like a compressor I had, Craftsman, 20 gal "4 hp", oil type aluminum pump with iron sleeves, red, on wheels, 240v motor. Was an excellent unit, somewhat noisier than a iron pump model, but not too bad. I would never even consider owning a oil less pump compressor except for the smallest, tiny portable made, and even those have oil type pumps nowdays.

My compressor was billed as "4 hp" which is a starting HP, really a bogus number as it does not mean anything. Most likely, the units motor is about 1-1/2 to 2 HP running horsepower. The one I had could not be converted to 120v. I finally gave it to the animal shelter to auction off in a fundraiser.

I have a rather old (1970 or so) Craftsman 12 gal two cylinder, iron pump compressor that has a dual voltage motor, 1 hp I think, but I keep it on 120v as I need to be able to haul it around and use it in unusual locations. It draws about 17 amps on 120v but I've never had a problem with it.

I also have a 80 gal two stage compressor, and I got rid of the 20 gal portable after I got this real shop compressor.

Charles

 

[Anonymous-0]

Ron,that explains it in a nutshell, hopefully I'll figure out what I need to do the subpanel and branch a short feeder to a 220V receptacle, the rest will go to the pole barn.

 

[guido]

Hello Billy NY.
I just worked on one similar to yours with 1/2 the capacity and 2 Hp. It works very well for the occasianal use, and the wheels make it easier to get close to the work.
Guido.

 

[Brian Jasper co. Ia]

With a 4hp motor, I doubt it would be capable to convert to 120v. I had an industrial electrician tell me that the only reason for going from 120v to 240v is the wires don't have to be as thick. The number of watts used is the same for 120 or 240. The AMPS are different. The higher the voltage, the lower the amps. Watts are the same no matter what the voltage.

 

[raylehner]

do you have the model number of your 4 hp 20 gallon craftsman compressor? If so, I need it to try and get a part for mine. The lable fell off of mine.

Thanks

 

[CRichard]

Looking for owner manual for Craftsman 919.186430, not finding it through Sear or Craftsman.