Moving a large air compressor

[excess11]

Hello, I need some advice! I have to pick up a large air compressor this weekend that I bought used. The compressor is a 80 gallon vertical ,7.5 hp, 27cfm@90psi. It is a monster. It is about 6 foot tall 3 foot round and weighs 550 lbs. I would like to know what ideas you guys can come up with to move something this large. My main concern is It looks top heavy with the compressor and motor up on top. let me know what ideas you got!! Thanks!

[79XS11F]

The guy next door who is in the auto parts / supply business had one of those in the back of a pickup just yesterday. It was standing up right, bottom bolted to a skid and then tied down to the truck box from the top of the unit to four points of the truck. I really don't know if they can be laid down or not but I will bet that even as a used unit there will be instruction labels on it somewhere.
Rob

[chip]

My brother has his own auto shop. I have helped him move equipment in and out. When we moved his air compressor we laid it on its side for transport and then let it stand up one day to let the oil drain back in the motor before we started it. I also did the same with the one I have. Drove an hour with it on its side, let it stand one day and has worked great for over a year now. Not saying it is the right way, but it worked.

[TopCatGr58]

I was thinking perhaps even drain the oil, it's probably old anyways, that way you won't have to worry about it slipping up around the compressor's piston rings?

OR...maybe the MOTOR portion is easily unboltable from the PUMP section, might help to lighten it up a bit?? Good Luck!
T.C.

[MacMcMacmac]

MacMcMacmac

The only sure way of not dropping a compressor is to slide one, or both forks of a forklift in under the saddle and lift it that way, otherwise, you are tempting fate. If this is not possible, I'd drain the oil, back a pickup up to it with the tailgate open, and have three or four guys slowly tilt it into the back. A low trailer would be even better, with lots of tie downs to keep it from rolling around.

Yes, a vertical compressor is extremely top heavy and tippy, exercise caution. I have replaced quite a few flywheels and crankshaft because of people flipping them over while trying to move them.

What brand is it?

[webbcraft2150]

Having moved dozens of these monsters, let me throw in my .02.
#1. They are VERY topheavy and once they are on there way to the ground, you ain't stopping it.
If you can find a heavy duty pallet, and you have 'nuff guys, get it on the pallet and bolt it to the pallet. You can then move it with a pallet jack or wrestle the pallet onto furniture dollies. If you have a place that sells real compressors in your town, they may give you one. Another place to scrouge up a pallet is equipment or machine shops. Another more time consuming way is to pull the compressor itself and move it by itself. This may be the best option 'cause then you could go thru it before you put it into service at your place. You did not mention brand name (Quincy, IR, Champion) but you may wanna pull the head and valves and at least clean em, check piston play, ect ect. Kinda like goin thru a yard baby XS before you fire it up. Whatever you do, DO NOT run automotive oil in it. Does some really ugly thing to the valves, whether thay are reed or disc style. Ramblings from a ex Quincy Tech.

[excess11]

Compressor!!

This is the one I purchased. click link--COMPRESSOR -- The one I bought is one year old,low hours from a home shop.

[MacMcMacmac]

That's a pretty good pump. Only drawback is the fiddly little Torx fasteners that hold the intercooler on. They are almost always seized. That shouldn't be a problem for many years though. You DO have the electrical service to run it, right? I wouldn't touch the valves though. It is a multi-reed system that are sandwiched between two heavy gaskets, not really user serviceable.

Hey webbcraft, I was a compressor tech for over a decade. I rebuilt more 325's than I care to remember.

[LoserShoes]

Thats pretty much the compressor I have. Really had no problem getting it home, just lashed it down good in the pickup bed next to the cab and put a strap around the middle to prevent it from toppling.

At home I used my engine crane to move it by strapping under the motor/compressor mount and letting it hang.

Good luck, that thing will make your life a whole lot easier.

Steve

PS It requires about the same hookup as an electric dryer.

[webbcraft2150]

Originally posted by MacMcMacmac


Hey webbcraft, I was a compressor tech for over a decade. I rebuilt more 325's than I care to remember. [/B]

I feel your pain but I would rather work on the 325/350's than the QT/QTS units. The QR's are a "mans" compressor. During my stint as a knucle buster, we handled the whole Quincy line as well as Atlas Copco (aka, Atlas Crapco). We did em all, 3hp up to 500hp monsters.