What did you do today?

[highup]

I must not like myself.
My Emglo compressor is incredibly hard to start up. It always has been even when new back in 1993.
Often I have to drain the pressure out of it before the motor will start, unless it has a really strong electric connection close to the breaker box.
I decided to take apart the pressure switch, thinking the relay contacts were burnt. It has two contacts. One had a lot of soot on it.
I think these motors have a capacitor start so I'm thinking that the one with the soot is the one that turns off and on the capacitor. If the capacitor can't turn the motor over then the motor can't do it by itself very easily and that's why I need to bleed the pressure out each time.
last night I polished up the contacts with some 800 grit then 1500 grit then crocus cloth and they're all shiney now. Now is the hard part putting it back together.
There are two strong springs that make it hard to put these things back in their places and then mount the relay switch back onto the metal box. You can hold all the things in place with your fingers but when you try and set it onto the box to screw it down, you have to let go and things come undone.
Dang, no wonder these things are $60.
To get this thing back together I'm going to have to think outside the box.
I'm thinking Mo, but nothing's happenin'.

 

[zannej]

Highup, sounds like you need to make use of a vice or some clamps to hold it together. LOL.

My water is out & I'm not sure why. One of the pumps wasn't running & the water in the cistern was low. I jiggled the float valve & it started filling the tank. I figured it was fixed. My mom just paged to say my brother said the water wasn't working. So, either it stopped filling or the pressure switch on the jet pump gave out again. I'm hoping it's just the switch & not the pump. I was hoping to avoid stores tomorrow, but I may see if Tractor Supply has the pressure switch- will probably call them first-- and buy an extra one just in case. That will be after I determine whether or not it's the switch.

 

[Floorist]

I did the dishes after we ate. She has me well trained.

 

[highup]

Been working on the compressor all day. Breakfast was coffee and yogurt. It's getting close to lunch and dinner time.
I spent two hours looking everywhere for the compressor switch lever. Without it, the compressor is always on when plugged in.
Here's what I think the lever looks like. I'll find out if it works.
The switch lever isn't a fancy looking thing. This is almost identical to the original.
The pictures show its location. The last one shows the plate that the lever lifts to activate the electrical contacts.
Old as this machine is, they don't really wear out. It has a cast iron cylinder and the motor is brushless. I don't use it every day. I can go a month or three without using it.
Hopefully this will give it some new life.

 

[highup]

Well, the compressor lives.
It was cold out this morning (mid thirties) and with the tank empty, it loped over, but did start and do what it's supposed to do.
I won't know till I get the compressor back on the job on Monday to see if it's fixed or improved. These old Emglo's are notorious for hard starting on weak outlets, when on extention cords, and when cold.

 

[Floorist]

I have a Campbell-hausfeld that I bought 20 years ago for $99. and it still works. It does come on when plugged in.

 

[highup]

I bought mine because it's rated at 4cfm at 90 lbs. I wanted something that could run an automotive touch up gun. In '93, I think I paid $325 for it. The biggest issue I have is it has gotten one pound heavier every year for the past 20 years. I'd like one of the smaller twin tank compressors. They only weigh 15 or so pounds. This one is 50.

 

[zannej]

D-Box pressure switch? What is with the little L thingy? Is it an on/off lever? I saw some pressure switches with them. Mine don't have that piece- but that pressure switch is pretty much the part on my jet pump that is malfunctioning.

It keeps "chattering". I went out to the well house and jiggled the cable going to the pressure switch & it kicked on but when I walked out it stopped humming and started clicking. There was a hum click hum click hum click click click hum click click click. It was shutting off over and over & I'm not sure why. It filled the toilet at least & I was able to fill up some waterers & wash my hands. But I don't like that it's clicking like that. I've got a 30/50psi switch.

I wish I could train my brother to do his own dishes. Or to clean up spills he makes or wipe out the microwave after something he cooks explodes in it- or to put stuff in the trash can instead of dropping it wherever he is, leaving it in the fridge or freezer, or putting it on top of the fridge so it beans me on the head when I open the door.

My friend just got his paycheck & they might as well not even bothered at all. They garnished all but literally $2. Not sure for what, but that was all he got. He really needs to talk to one of the judges about his ex fraudulently claiming he wasn't paying child support & press charges against her, but he's got so many other things to worry about.

Went to the post office, swung by to see friend but he wasn't home, brought packages home. Gave the packages to Mom & she was looking for her scissors. She normally puts them in her top nightstand drawer (which is always partially open). I was helping her look for it when I spotted the front of her cellphone. She lost it over a year ago & we both looked in that drawer 20+ times & didn't find it. No sign of the scissors. It's like extra-dimensional Gremlins traded items. Also had a fork just disappear. I was using it, set it down, went to pick it up again & poof. Gone.

On the upside, my new showerhead and shower arm arrived & they are nice. Once I clear space on my phone's SD card I will get pics of my current really crappy showerhead, and my new showerhead. I was going to put that one in the guest bathroom but changed my mind. The one with the larger handheld can go in the guest bathroom. I will have to see if I can carefully remove the flow restriction devices.

 

[Floorist]

I bought mine because it's rated at 4cfm at 90 lbs. I wanted something that could run an automotive touch up gun. In '93, I think I paid $325 for it. The biggest issue I have is it has gotten one pound heavier every year for the past 20 years. I'd like one of the smaller twin tank compressors. They only weigh 15 or so pounds. This one is 50.

I just used mine for underlayment staples.

 

[highup]

Yeah that little L shaped thing is the lever that sticks out the outside cover. It goes inside and those tiny in rotates up to activate the pressure switch. It's a simple device and after losing the old one somewhere during disassembly, I'm glad that the location to the pressure switch was easily visible so I could bend a new piece of metal in the shape that it needed to be.
Here it is in the on and the off position. I figured while it was off I might as well give it a quick coat of paint. The rest of the unit needs to be cleaned up and painted also, but that feels more like a summer job if I really cared to do it. The old pressure gauge wasn't functioning correctly it was frozen showing at 80 lb and from that point, going up to 130.
The new gauge which was one I had laying around starts at zero and the compressor now shows it finishes off at 120.
I was curious if this new gauge was accurate and while typing I just remembered having my old engine compression leak down gauge set. I emptied the pressure from the compressor plugged in my gauge set and it was measuring exactly the same as this cheap gauge that I installed so I guess my old one was off by about 10 lb.
Only thing left that I really need to do is install some additional thickness to the four rubber bumpers that the compressor rests on. It sets about a half inch too low and that makes the tanks drain valve rub on the floor and when it does, it opens up the valve.

 

[highup]

I just used mine for underlayment staples.

Initially that's the reason that I bought this compressor in the first place. Soon afterwards I bought a small cheap die grinder, and even that little bugger would eat so much air that's this compressor wouldn't be able to keep up. Next item I bought was a small 3/8" inch butterfly impact wrench. That didn't use as much air as the die grinder, but it can actually be used to loosen up a bolt or a nut.
I also bought a cheap air chisel and it was so poorly constructed most of the air leaked out of it and didn't apply pressure to the bit. That was a Chinese $19 tool.
I borrowed a CP air chisel from a friend of mine. That used less air and had five times the power of the Chinese one. They don't seem to make middle of the road priced air tools and I think I paid $120 for the air chisel but well worth it. I bought the air chisel and I made a special head for it for installing floating wood floors like the ones that Kahrs makes. You add glue to the joints and then tap them together but some of those boards were long and you had to tap really fast before the wood swelled up in the tongue and groove. with the air chisel and the special head that I made you could buzz those suckers together really fast and it was much easier than hammering with a tapping block.
I'm glad I went overkill when I bought this compressor. It's really been good, but it has always had starting problems when it's cold outside or when the tank is nearly full. If you're connected to a really good outlet it always starts. There's a lot of voltage or amperage drop when you're at the very end of a run of wireing in a house. If you're close to the fuse box it usually starts fine.

 

[Floorist]

I still have my CP air tools hanging on the wall. 1/2 impact, butterfly, air ratchet, air chisel. Bought some of them about 1970. Gave my 3/4 impact to a friend who works on cars for a living.

 

[highup]

I never got around to buying an air ratchet or a 1/2 inch impact. They aren't always needed but they sure speed things up. I haven't been doing much automotive stuff for the past 10 or 15 years.

 

[Floorist]

I still do my own brakes and stuff like that.

 

[Jon]

Yeah that little L shaped thing is the lever that sticks out the outside cover. It goes inside and those tiny in rotates up to activate the pressure switch. It's a simple device and after losing the old one somewhere during disassembly, I'm glad that the location to the pressure switch was easily visible so I could bend a new piece of metal in the shape that it needed to be.
Here it is in the on and the off position. I figured while it was off I might as well give it a quick coat of paint. The rest of the unit needs to be cleaned up and painted also, but that feels more like a summer job if I really cared to do it. The old pressure gauge wasn't functioning correctly it was frozen showing at 80 lb and from that point, going up to 130.
The new gauge which was one I had laying around starts at zero and the compressor now shows it finishes off at 120.
I was curious if this new gauge was accurate and while typing I just remembered having my old engine compression leak down gauge set. I emptied the pressure from the compressor plugged in my gauge set and it was measuring exactly the same as this cheap gauge that I installed so I guess my old one was off by about 10 lb.
Only thing left that I really need to do is install some additional thickness to the four rubber bumpers that the compressor rests on. It sets about a half inch too low and that makes the tanks drain valve rub on the floor and when it does, it opens up the valve.

Here is my compressor which I use for staples on underlayment, one fill does about 6 or 7 8ft x 4ft sheets
It also come in handy for getting crayfish and scallops when I used to go out fishing in my younger days. Also the 4 dive tanks became tax deductible, well you needed two for Saturday and two on Sunday when diving. Compressors didnt seem to work too well under water

 

[highup]

I never felt comfortable running 3000psi in my stapler.
......might drive the staples too deep amongst other issues.

 

[Jon]

I never felt comfortable running 3000psi in my stapler.
......might drive the staples too deep amongst other issues.

Goes through a regulator like welding bottles have so it runs about 100
I think the way how deep the staples go is through the length/way set up of the firing pin
Have to turn the pressure up if firing into real hard floors

 

[Floorist]

I remember when I started, using a dead-blow hammer on a hand stapler. 20-30 sheets a day.

 

[Floorist]

No one makes that stapler anymore.

 

[Jon]

Rusty you are a young fella there were no staple guns when I started we used panel pins whacked in with a hammer then up to that staple gun with a rubber on the end of a hammer which hurt if you hit your hand instead of the knb on the staple gun. The next stage was a compressor which had fairly large tanks cause the guns needed lots of continual air
Those dive tanks will work until the pressure drops to about 80 then you sit there and put your lips around the tank inlet and you blow til the tank is full