One useless project

[Chinggis]

Last week I made one useless, expensive project what will be soon put in garbage. I try to make silent air compressor from parts from refrigerator. I spent some money (around 1000Kuna) and it is work one day. ONE day. After that it stop work and die completely. So here it is my workshop queen .

 

[Aukai]

Ouch......

 

[Winegrower]

Another way to look at this is: IT WORKED! Now, fix what broke and try again. A few iterations of this, you’ll have a reliable and silent compressor.

 

[benmychree]

Refrigeration compressors usually work OK for pumping air, but sometimes will carry over oil. I used one for years as a vacuum pump for evacuating refrigeration systems.

 

[talvare]

A lot of those small hermetic refrigeration compressors rely on suction side refrigerant vapor to cool the motor windings. If that is the case with your compressor, it could very well have over heated and ruined the motor.

Ted

 

[rwm]

That is a shame. It looks like you put a lot of work into it. Any chance you could find another compressor before you trash it?
Robert

 

[RJSakowski]

A big problem with repurposing refrigeration compressors is that the system is closed and they rely on recirculation of oil through the system for lubrication. Converting to an air compressor, you lose that lubrication. If you can capture the oil and feed it back to the intake, you will eliminate this cause of early failure.

Aside from that, one lesson that I learned early on is unless you are dead certain that your design will work, don't invest the time in making everything neat and pretty. Run it through its paces and when you are satisfied that it works, then pretty it up

 

[Dhal22]

But did you enjoy making the compressor? There's value in that.....

 

[brino]

@Chinggis ,

We all have those days and those projects.
As long as you enjoyed the journey and learned something from it then it was, at least partially, a success.

-brino

 

[fixit]

Comercial SCREW compressors recirculate the oil also. They have a separator in line to extract the oil and reuse it. They are very dirty as to air quality.