How I built the 'SILENT AIR GENIE' compressor and how to make a super custom made chromed brass 1/4" BSP air filter from another household item on the Mini lathe.
Some clever ideas there. Thanks for sharing. I worked 20 years for a company that made water coolers. Those refrigeration compressors were everywhere. Never thought about bringing one home from the service dept. They had used ones that still worked and would just discard them.. I could kick myself, now. Loved the door knob air filter. Cheers
Hi Dave, I can remember getting them from scrap yards many years ago. We used to just cut the copper pipes and let all the refrigerant gas out, without a thought!....Thanks for watching...Regards Steve
This is brilliant! I have an old broken compressor somewhere and also a fridge compressor I think. Good thing I didn't throw them away! Thanks for this video!
Lathe chuck in a vise , brilliant Steve. A great way to hold round stock . And using a repurposed fridge compressor . I great way to keep your neighbors happy. Lol I have to take neighbors into consideration whenever I begin working in the morning. Hammering on blacksmith anvils are a problem. Now if I just had a silent anvil ! Lol I believe you could teach Thomas Edison a few tricks .
These refrigerator the compressors also make excellent vacuum pumps. The will pull very near 29 in of mercury. Great for evacuating bourdon tube pressure gauges before filling with proper refrigerant and turning them into dial thermometers 😊. Great video Steve.
Hi Gord....That sounds very interesting. I wondered if they could be used as a vacuum pump, although I never knew what they could be used for like that......Thanks for watching.....Regards Steve
After building one of these I found that some of the commercial silent units connect the outlet side of the unloader valve to the service port (which is effectively the same as the inlet port) of the compressor so you can't hear the rush of air as it releases the head pressure and I ended up doing this with my unit. The loudest part of the operation is now the pressure switch contacts clicking over. A lot of unloader valves that come with pressure switches don't have any fitting on the outlet side (often it's just a hole) but some are available with hose tails on the outlet.
Great videos Steve, just wanted to say very through, also I found with smaller boring bars if you can angle them as much as possible (wedge) you will get much less chatter
Good video. So what makes a conventional oil fed air compressor so loud? Is it the type of motor, air filter, air lines or a combination of all of these components?
Ive read a few comments about the volume of air available from fridge compressors but I'm thinking that you could run two or three compressors in parallel to overcome that issue? I'm not looking at operating air tools but more at a general workshop compressed air supply for cleaning and drying purposes on things like motor engine rebuilds. Thoughts please?
Well done Steve, Sometime when you are doing a video and if you like, let the compressor run for us...I don't think it ran in this one, at least I don't remember it. Likely not much louder than a frig. Thank you for sharing.
Lampost 46 I think the build is great and will borrow some of you ideas if you don't mind. I'm in process of building one and trying to source a suitable tank, so where did you get your tank from and what capacity is the tank?
I got an old ac window unit compresor and made it into an air compresor what oil should I use and were to add it, it only has the inlet and out let were you put the filter and the air comes out off.
Excellent repurposing of cast- off materials Steve, very hard to find genuine brass doorknobs today, most are just drawn steel, electroplated to whatever finish is desired, not that it wouldn't work any less effectively than your version though.
+Shanna Bint Hi I just put about 250ml in as a guess as it had oil in already. As long as it runs quiet it is being lubricated. I have found that it doesn't damage them by overfilling. If you put too much in it will come out with the air and if that happens you can tip some out by tilting the compressor so the oil comes out of the air intake pipe.
Hello Steve, nice job and congratulations. I have two questions. What type of refrigeration compressor did you use? I mean technical characteristics, if you would can say the mark, and how long does it take to fill the tank? Greetings from Peru
Hi Jose, Thanks. I haven't got any specifications for the refrigerator compressor as it had lost its label when I got it. It is just one off the larger fridge freezers you can get for the home. I haven't measured the time it takes to fill the tank either. It's only about 5 minutes as a guess though. Regards Steve
How much oil ISO 68 does use up and how often does it need filling ? Also just noticed this video is 6 years old , is this air compressor still running ?
Hi Steve good day. I have a question, does this fridge compressor shut off automatically when the air tank is full and start again when the air is used, or does it need to shut off/on manually thank you..
Hi Walter, Yes, it shuts off automatically. The switch unit is in the regulator assembly. You can adjust them to suit the shut-off and restart pressures. Regards Steve
I should make me one of these for my airbrush It would beat spending a £ 150 for a small thing that is 'specially' suited to airbrushes... Best thing is, I have two freezer compressors that work fine laying about.... Paddy
Hi Paddy, That's good. I always save any fridge/freezer compressors I come across. But if anyone cannot get one you can actually buy them on Ebay, sometimes at quite a reasonable price. If you are careful you can also convert calor or propane gas cylinders to make a tank receiver. I used to make these compressors long before the shop made silent fridge type ones came on the market. In fact I think one that I made and sold many years ago was copied and sold commercially.....or someone came up with almost exactly the same build model. Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
It is a bit frowned upon here, seeing that removing a compressor from a fridge or freezer, inevitable releases the coolant in the environment...at least some of it. I do crimp the lines before cutting it out if the circuit. The trouble with these compressors is volume. Or rather their lack of it. They are ideal for airbrushing and the more 'gentle' applications, but you can forget running an airtool of one. I am using an out of date campinggaz cylinder for mine, it is just the right size and they are very sturdy. I have seen them made with three tanks in parallel, recycled from those small throw-away argon or CO2 cylinders. A few of those do nicely too and when done right ...it looks like a 1960s' scifi thing! Paddy
Steve, I am having a problem you may be able to help me with. I have nearly finished making one of these and have a strange problem. The blue hose you have going from the NRV to the pressure switch (6mm hose) that goes into the unloader valve of the switch. When I turn my compressor on, air blows out of the small hole above the unloader valve of the pressure switch. It won't close and therefore the tank doesn't fill. I don't understand what I have done wrong. Any ideas?
I think it is the valve leaking on the tank. The three port one that is on the front of mine. I had the same problem then put a new one of these on and it stopped.
@@SteveJordan Thanks Steve. Can I ask you, does one really need that 6mm hose going from the non return valve to the pressure switch? It seems to be for reciprocal piston pumps to stop them stalling? If I take those 6mm hose out of the pressure switch and bung it, the tank fills fine.
@@SteveJordan Hi Steve, just to let you know I finished the compressor and I gave you a shout out for your inspiration: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bTXHIGX-BKc.html
@@Ukenick If you disconnect the unloader you will eventually bugger the reed valves in the compressor ;) If the unloader is leaking, as Steve said its most likely the check valve on the tank, its very common. I would dismantle the valve and check nothing is lodged between the pipe and the bung which will prevent it from seating and sealing properly. Stretching the spring slightly or placing a washer behind it to increase the force of the spring on the bung may also help.
No one on You Tube, seems to talk about how these compressors won't restart immediately after the pressure switch calls for it unless they have set about 2 minutes. Seems that there is air trapped above the piston that the unloader valve can't relieve. So the air there, has to slowly leak out of the piston chamber past the valves before it will restart. Did you some how fix this problem? Because when it doesn't start, it hums, and sometimes pops the overload. Especially if its been running awhile. I burned up one compressor already. I would love to solve this problem, and then I would highly endorse these projects. But until that solution is fixed, they a really disappointing trying to run a engraver off of them, which takes very little volume.
+John Nord Hi John I find some of them are like that anyway where they dont restart immedietly. On the one in this video I used a proper check valve to release the load on the head. This valve is simply controlled by the automatic switch. When it shuts off the air is vented so it restarts at any pressure without any load on the piston. You can get the check valve cheaply on ebay. Regards Steve
Steve, I welcomed your reply. But I do have a unloader on mine. Had one on both. I have even tried relieving the pressure manually to see if compressor will restart. It won't, unless I wait about 2 minutes. That is what I meant by air being trapped above the piston that the unloader does not relieve. Even with a working unloader, these seem to take about 2 minutes to restart. Have you checked yours? if you run it to say 40 psi, unplug it, then immediately plug it back in for a quick restart, does it immediately restart? Mine does not. But if I wait 2 minutes, it will. Otherwise it just hums.
John Nord Im not sure why some dont start up immedietely. I have made many compressors from these, all taken from fridges and freezers. I find some start at any pressure straight away like the one on this compressor. Before this I had one that I had to wait about a minute. I didn't think it was caused by pressure as it would not work even when not plumbed in. I thought it maybe due to the electrics on some? Anyway in the past When they could easily be obtained I would just go through them to find a good one that starts at anytime. If you can get several you will eventually find a good one.
Hi Dan, I think when they are used like this they just pump out air. I've used many of them and no oil comes out. I cut the top off one to see the inside components and the compressor pump just sits in a bath of oil to lubricate it. Thanks for watching....Regards Steve
Hi Steve The motor shaft is hollow with a spiral that pulls the oil up as it spins (typically 2900rpm) and sprays it everywhere. I like the doorknob filter, i just bought a crankcase oil breather with mesh covered pleated filter (£6 ebay) If you use the compressor a lot its worth adding an electrical "hours run" counter for timing oil topups, mine uses 10ml for every 60 hours of compressor run time. If you`re brave and can figure where the oil level is (500-600ml) you can drill a hole in the case for an oil sightglass ;)
@@atomizer2665 HI Steve Jordan, First of all this is the most excellent homemade compressor i've seen here. Like they said the devils is in the details! :) to Atom izer: is it correct that your compressor losses oil 10ml for every 60 hours of compressor run time? because im having problem with my homemade ref compressor its pumps out oil a lot! its like 30ml for about 5mins running time. already change the oil to ATF. I hope anyone here can advice or know what is the problem with my comp? Thanks
@@carlogernale7854 Hi Carlo Small fridge compressors, especially the very old models, have a tendancy to throw out oil and also trip the thermal fuse so they wont restart. I`d recommend using Danfoss compressors if you can find them at a reasonable price. Mine run every few hours (day and night) for months on end without any problem.
@@SteveJordan apparently the oi that comes in fride compressors absobers water from the ait iv drained the oil out gona get some compressor oil propberbly put 150ml in can you do a video on how to make one ivv palaning on makiing one my self
+apollo robb Hi no it doesn't do either. No oil comes out at all. I have been using one for about 20 years with no problems. Plus these are the standard type compressors used on all the silent factory made ones today. Regards Steve
Siento decirte que de nada te serviría la traducción al Español porque lo único que hizo fué de una cerradura muy vieja de puerta adaptar el filtro para el aire que succiona el compresor, en otras palabras no nos enseñó como fabricó este compresor.
