I recently bought a "PAR" air compressor, model "15", manufactured by
the Lynch Manufacturing Company of Defiance, Ohio in 1945. It has 2
90 degree opposing pairs of low pressure and high pressure cylinders
(4 cylinders total) in a cast iron block. It is splash lubricated,
and the reed valves sound fine through the cylinder heads. The motor
is a 2 HP 120 VAC Baldor, and is clearly not original. The original
motor mounting plate is very large relative to the Baldor, and the
shives are 2-belt, which to me means 7.5 to 10 HP. Also, the Model
"15" nomenclature sounds like it might mean 15 CFM, which this
compressor is clearly not doing at present. 7 or 8 CFM tops, right
now.
The Baldor is 1750 RPM, and the shive looks like it could be orignal.
I was thinking of putting a 3550 RPM 7.5 HP motor on the compressor to
get the flow up to where I think it probably was originally intended
to be. I'd like to run a large blasting cabinet with this unit, and
at present it's not up to it.
My questions are:
1) Should I re-shive and stay at 1750 on the motor, or go to 3550 RPM
on the motor?
2) In terms of maximum crankshaft rpm, is there a rule of thumb for
old cast iron compressors heads?
Thanks very much for the help!
Dave
- posted
18 years ago