C

CNEJR

Well Known Member
What to do? A few years back I bought a Big Ingersold-Rand Compressor. 80 gal. tank, 220v, etc. Capable of 22 CFM @ 135 psi. I have replaced the motor, head gasket, air feed tube twice, valve plate once, belts twice. Now it has broke again. Called Ingersold Rand today and talked to a supervisor. He flipantly told me there was nothing they could do, because it is out of warranty. This thing has been the biggest piece of junk you could ever see. I'm sure they make some good products, but this isn't one of them. Their service attitude is really lacking. I want to warn as many as possible, to learn from my mistake. Stay clear of this company.
 
Very timely advise, as I am in the market for a compressor and was actually considering IR. Thanks for the heads-up Chuck.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your IR problems. I've been using one of their small portables for years in construction with no issues. That said, I've never been impressed with any tool mfg's service. Yet to have a pressure washer make it through a second year.
 
diamond said:
Very timely advise, as I am in the market for a compressor and was actually considering IR. Thanks for the heads-up Chuck.
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Same thing here so I'll second that.

These big companies need to understand that with social media on the internet you just can't treat people like that any more with impunity.
 
China

CNEJR said:
What to do? A few years back I bought a Big Ingersold-Rand Compressor. 80 gal. tank, 220v, etc. Capable of 22 CFM @ 135 psi. I have replaced the motor, head gasket, air feed tube twice, valve plate once, belts twice. Now it has broke again. Called Ingersold Rand today and talked to a supervisor. He flipantly told me there was nothing they could do, because it is out of warranty. This thing has been the biggest piece of junk you could ever see. I'm sure they make some good products, but this isn't one of them. Their service attitude is really lacking. I want to warn as many as possible, to learn from my mistake. Stay clear of this company.
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Chuck,
Although the air compressor is big to you, it's small for IR.
My guess is it's made in China. Can you confirm it's heritage?
They can't make enough money building the small stuff in the US so they have it made overseas so they can have a full "line". Just my opinion.

Mark
 
I second Eaton Compressors.

Very similar story to yours. I bought a nice big Home Depot (Might have been IR) stand up 220V compressor several years ago. It looked great in my shop and worked well for pumping up bike tires, and running an air ratched every once in awhile. Then the RV project comes along and I started using it all the time. Not long after that, the pump went out.

I looked around a lot and ran accross Eaton who sells replacement pumps very resonably. I was able to keep my tank and motor and the new pump is fantastic. I think I paid $240 or so. It will probably out last me. The pumps look similar to those old ones on your grandpa's old compressor that still works today.

eatoncompressor.jpg


Anyway give them a call and they'll help you figure out what will work best for you.
 
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No Problems with my IR compressor.

On the flip side, I've been using a 60 gal 135 psi single stage IR for the past 10 years with no problems. I just looked at the tag to see where it was made and it's from Mexico.
 
26 gal 125 psi Campbell Hausfeld...

purchased at Home Depot in 1997 built a house and two garages. Used for pneumatic framing, finish, and roofing nailers. Still pumping like new after emp, wing and now fuselage. Changed oil twice. Converted to 240 volts. Of course anything built now will probably never last like that...at least not for $379.00
 
I have an IR T-30 that is good for eating a reed valve about once a year. Other than that it runs perfectly.
 
I agree that the Eaton compressors are good.

Our IR motor went out about 2 years ago and then the pump started leaking lots of oil lately and i forgot to check it as often as I should. Long story short, the crank bearings did not like running dry.

The new Eaton pump is SO QUIET!!! It seems to keep up with the air demands much better with the same motor as the old pump and it is so quiet I don' even care about whether I have ear plugs or not when it is running. I bought the 3 cylinder two stage pump rated for 5hp. We have a true 5HP motor on it and it runs quite nicely.

If I would have not had the newer motor on ours, I would have bought a complete Eaton compressor. They look very nice and have some pretty nice features. Some of the features are small, but they add up. Things like brass ball valves on the water drain,oil drain for the pump and air outlet for the tank.

Sorry to ramble. I am just that happy with our new pump!
 
Walt said:
On the flip side, I've been using a 60 gal 135 psi single stage IR for the past 10 years with no problems. I just looked at the tag to see where it was made and it's from Mexico.
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Same here, my IR is the upright SS-3 model with 60 gallon tank. I?ve had it for ten years also, and never have had any problems whatsoever. Put synthetic oil in it, and it will run continous on it without even needing to cool down. That's what the manual said on it as long as I used it. Otherwise with regular AC oil, you have to wait on it.

Some months it doesn?t get much use, but there are other months, I run the fire out of it. My brother sandblasted a old John Deere tractor with the IR, went through I forgot how many 80 lb bags of sand, and it never missed a beat, even though the compressor stayed running.

My dad had an old Champion that he used in the paint and body business. That was another compressor that got 40 years use, and never once gave him any trouble. I believe it was only a 1 1/2 HP unit with 60 gallon tank. Can't remember if it was a two phase system or not, but he never had to wait on it.

When he retired he sold it, and it was still running great. Don't know if they still build them that tough or not today. It probably gets outsourced to other countries like everything else.
 
IR compressor

I have an old IR compressor that was given to me. It is a 100 gal stand up twin cylinder 220volt It had a bad motor, I had a new one installed and a tune up. I have been running it in my body shop for 5 years with now problems. Keep oil in it and change the air filter. It always runs and I never have to wait on it to catch up. It looks like it is 100 years old but runs like a new one.

Rich
 
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