14 April, 2016

Compressor pressure gauge replaced, dump line done! A/C Condenser Fan motor issue fixed, and replacing lost tools.

So yesterday I managed to grab the 200psi filled gauge, item #68251, from Harbor Freight in Webster Texas. I managed to be a complete idiot in my prior guesstimaes, and realized that the old gauge actually was 1/4" and not 3/8". I'm not doing all that well with guessing pipe thread gauges by looking at them any more. I used to be 100% accurate. Getting older is a pain I guess... Anyway, I installed the gauge mid day yesterday when I came home for lunch. (Long story, flexing hours to avoid overtime at work), and ran the compressor up to pressure. And then let it sit. No audible leaks but when I looked at 2:00 P.M. today... about 26 hours later...


Now if you are familiar with this compressor, you will see that it is turned off (lever in the up position), and it has bled down to about 40PSI from 150 in 26 hours.

The bleed down is not enough to cause a problem when using the compressor, but it sure is a bad enough leak to bother me. I suspect it is right at that gauge too. It is not 100% tight because I needed to read the face. Not sure how to fix this but I will figure it out.

I did install the ball valve on the quick connect output side and tested that for leaks at least and it is 100% leak free.Very happy with that!

And of course the tank drain and ball valve for that drain are installed and now accessible without me getting on my hands and knees and reaching under the compressor in a small space...


You might notice the output is at a slight angle, which is intentional. I did not want to overstress the threads, and this side of the equation, all the joints have been leak tested under pressure and they are leak free.

I MAY change one of the 5" nipples I used (a pair of them with a copuler) with a 3" to put the ball valve on the other side of that axle tube and get it out of harms way, but I don't play on moving my compressor often.

Now no photos, but I did put ends on the connecting hose, and hooked it up. The new hose is considerably longer than the old, and I simply coiled up the excess and zip tied it up so it won't be in the way....

Last night, a horrible squealing noise coming from the back yard woke me up. Go out and look, and it was WAY obvious the bearing on the AC Condenser fan is squealing and chirping,

This morning, I powered off the A/C (The breaker box is right next to the condenser), and pulled the fan out of it's 4 screws and looked. I wish I had thought to take pics...

Long story short, the shaft was caked with mud from I am assuming the yard work, and there was dirt, and rust around the bearing... A quick brush down with an old toothbrush and a liberal application of WD-40 which only stopped when the chunks of dirt stopped coming out of the bearing,were done, and then the assembly put back together, and powered back on. We are back to beautiful, noise free motor operation (the fan blades / air flow makes noise...).

All in all, today is turning out to be a productive day in the shop and around the house. Good thing for me I guess that I hit the companies maximum leave time and HAD to take time off!

I believe I mentioned in a former post, I managed to lose my 10mm deep well 1/4" drive socket, and my 5/32" 1/4" deep well socket. The replacements were Husky branded from Home Depot, and are 6pt pieces. Oddly enough, the metric deep socket set I have is Husky and while the replacement is close, it is not 100% exact. Will show that later. Also the 5/32 that is missing and now replaced with Husky is in a Craftsman set from the early 90s. The Husky socket is about 2mm longer than the Craftsman that pushes the top of the case out ever so slightly. Not bad enough to annoy me, but enough to get my attention.

While I was adding and fixing tools, I also grabbed a Pittsburgh 6" digital caliper, and a 5pc swivel head ratcheting combination wrenches to match my metrics. Yes they are Pittsburgh cheapies but they have proved their value to me for the last 2 years so the SAE were a welcome addition! I still have my Mibro 6" digital caliper, but the battery is dead and I wasn't sure what battery they used, and I needed to get another. I figured it out, they are 357 button cells that I can get at Walgreens of all places. Going to do that this afternoon!

Before too long the shop will be back in the shape it is supposed to be in.and I can continue with my sign building...

Which of course brings me to the issue I had with my Rockler Interlock Signmaker's Templates - State Park Font Kit. The original bushing was defective (chunks missing from the threads) and it would NOT lock down, which kicked the router up and rammed the bit through the W template.

I want to give kudos to Rockler customer service. Over the years I have had to use them on a couple of occasions, and they are always completely professional and make a point to make sure I am a happy customer. Since Rockler sells a LOT of the templates and specialty pieces I use, they are sure to get more and more of my business as the years go on!

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