1929 Ingersoll Rand Engine/Compressor Trailer

I happen to own a 1929 Ingersoll Rand engine/compressor. It weighs 22 tons. I need to move it from a remote site to civilization. My plan was to make a sled to get it down the mountain to a location we could load it on a lowboy trailer. The sled should also be substantial enough to become a trailer frame if needed. I would like to make the sled of a pair of I beams with cross bracing of the same material. I have located some used I beams (see attached drawing) but I am not sure they will be sufficient.







As you can see from the pictures there is a pedestal underneath the compressor. This is actually the air intake. most of the weight is centered at the flywheel. If we use the sled as a trailer frame the wheels for the unit would be at least 6 feet aft of the flywheel shaft, and the hook would be 15 feet forward of the same.

Any help would be welcome.

that looks like a major project check out how oilfield skids are made to get some ideas on building a skid for it 12 x12 aught to be heavy enough for that if the skid is built right. how were you going to drag it out? is it going to have to be dragged with a dozer or can a 10 wheeler get back in there? it would be heavy but a heavy truck should handle it

Sleds are made from channel, not I beam.
Turn both ends of the ski up a foot or so to look like a ski.

Then, depending on weight and territory you'll cross add I beam inside the C of the channel, cross beams at the support points, and bolt together with the machine.

Chances are that machine was rolled to where it is on its flywheels and it can be towed out the same way by adding tire treads onto the flywheels as is done with steel wheeled tractors.

Also if hills are part of the act, go wide with the skis, and add a holdback device to the back of the sled.
Also important, X brace the skis so they stay aligned.

Easy way on a machine like that would be to build the sled in place, knocking the foundation concrete out and inserting the cross piece to replace the concrete.

That's a beast...

If there are significant hills, come up with some fallback drag device that can try to prevent a runaway if the brakes of the prime mover fail. Maybe that should act in concert with an automatic disconnect from the PM so it can't get pulled along if things go really wrong.

Good luck, be careful!

Could you (if needed) allow to overmount the axle just behind the wheels and under the pump cylinder? I have moved smaller engines with the wheels at one end but that weight and length would be putting some funny forces on castings? At least it isn't too wide.
Looks like a lot of fun, god luck.

Richard

Being this is the history forum, tell us about the mine this thing worked for!

Have you considered trying to remove the flywheels first?

allan

The compressor end looks a little fragile, like it really needs that support under it to not overly stress the attachment at crank case.
do you have any literature on the compressor that covers moving and installing it? are there any special cautions about this area, should the engine be moved separate from the compressor?

If moving all together on a sled ensure it is stiff enough given the terrain you'll be dragging it over to adequately support the compressor end.

Also, build sled wider than the engine, up to 8' wide if possible, to provide increased resistance to tipping sideways.

Here's a much smaller engine I moved recently and it was indeed convenient to roll it on the flywheels for a bit.
loading antique engine in pickup truck - YouTube

In any case you've got a neat engine and compressor and sure sounds like an interesting rigging adventure to get it moved. Wish I was close enough to help.

Here's a similar story on Smokstak where a 40HP single cylinder was moved from a mountaintop gold mine. The 40 HP engine was built as a take apart engine for easier moving.

https://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61353

I wish I lived closer - this would be a fun project!

Kevin

Grigg said:

The compressor end looks a little fragile, like it really needs that support under it to not overly stress the attachment at crank case.
do you have any literature on the compressor that covers moving and installing it? are there any special cautions about this area, should the engine be moved separate from the compressor?

If moving all together on a sled ensure it is stiff enough given the terrain you'll be dragging it over to adequately support the compressor end.

Also, build sled wider than the engine, up to 8' wide if possible, to provide increased resistance to tipping sideways.

Here's a much smaller engine I moved recently and it was indeed convenient to roll it on the flywheels for a bit.
loading antique engine in pickup truck - YouTube

In any case you've got a neat engine and compressor and sure sounds like an interesting rigging adventure to get it moved. Wish I was close enough to help.

Click to expand...

Now that video was irritating to watch!

Franz© said:

Sleds are made from channel, not I beam.
Turn both ends of the ski up a foot or so to look like a ski.

Click to expand...

Haven't been in the oil patch lately ?

Wf beams are common, for the obvious reason.

Where abouts in AZ are you? Sure does sound like a fun adventure. I can't offer much help on the heavy equipment end but if you need more hands let me know. I also know a few other guys that might be interested in helping and have some equipment too.

-Tim

Make the skid from Wideflange steel beams. Cut the ends on about 45 degree angles to the horizontal, and cap with steel plate. Put a full fillet weld on both sides of the web of the beam to tie it to the plate, and full weld on the inside surfaces of the flanges to the plate. Vee out the joints between the outside surfaces of the flanges and the plates and put in a butt weld. On the bottom surface, grind the cover pass of that butt weld flush and blend to a slight curve with your grinder. Where the 45 degree angled ends of the beams begin, put gusset plates (stiffeners) cut to fit, welded to the inside surfaces of the flanges and webs. This gives you a good skid with "sled runner ends". It is what is used on machinery and equipment skids that are moved around and dragged on and off trucks.

Wherever you put a cross member in your skid, put gusset plates on the outer sides of the webs. Cross members bring in concentrated loads, and the web and flanges on the outer side can cripple or buckle.

On the top surface, where the cross members meet the side rails, some reinforcing plates extending beyond these connections would be a good idea.

I'd start with a simple skid frame, with cross members run perpendicular to the side rails. Then, the diagonal braces can be fitted.

It is the side rails that are going to do the real work. the compressor sits on the skid, and the siderails take the weight of the compressor as what may be a uniformly distributed load in the area of the compressor base. However, if the skid is being moved on uneven ground, where it might not be fully supported by the ground, or is the skid is being dragged up onto a lowboy bed, the skid has to act as a beam with varying support conditions. for this reason, the heavier wideflange beams, the better.

A lot of oilfield type skids were made with pipe used as the front and rear crossmembers. The "sled runner" ends on the side rail beams turned up to incorporate the pipe for a radius'd "nose" on the ends of the skids. Some pad eyes or lugs welded to the skid on the top flange of each side rail just past this nose radius are also useful for rigging the skid to drag it.

I'd make the skid as heavy as possible, and incorporate some heavy steel plate on the top. This plate (proably should be at least 1/2", but 3/4" is better, and this is a WAG) forms a "diaphragm", and turns the side rails and cross members into "cells". Much stronger. It also will help distribute the load of the compressor.

Some hardwood boards laid on the skid to land the compressor on will also help distribute the load and get good bearing contact between the compressor base casting and the skid. I'd burn some bolt holes in the skid and bolt the compressor solidly to the skid for the move. I'd also weld some steel "chocks" to the skid to keep the compressor from sliding on the skid during the move. Chocks are chunks of heavy steel- could be heavy angle or 2" square bar. The chocks are welded to the skid members once the compressor is bolted fast to the skid, and once the cylinder support (see below), is in place. The chocks are welded on all four sides of the compressor base, two per side, and bear solidly against the vertical edges of the base. The chocks prevent the compressor moving fore-and-aft or side-to-side on the skid.

As was noted, the compressor cylinders on this design of machine are cantilevered off the mainframe. There is a short section of casting between the crosshead guide area and the cylinder head. This section might have a "bulkhead" with a "bulkhead packing"- to keep crankcase oil from migrating up the piston rods. This area is designed to take the axial forces when the compressor is running, and to take the static bending load produced by the weight of the cylinder. It is not designed to take the heavier shock bending loads that moving the compressor on a skid will produce. You stand a good chance of busting that casting and dropping a cylinder (and bending the piston rod and more damage besides). My advice is to get some solid support under the cylinders to transfer their weight to the skid frame. Fabricating some structural steel to form supports and using hardwood and steel plate shims is what I'd do. I'd get a "Porta Power" ram under the cylinder after the mainframe was bolted fast to the skid, and jack up on the cylinder to put some preload on. Then, I'd jam in a piece of hardwood as a softener between the cylinder casting the support steel, and drive in thin steel plate shims as needed before letting off the Porta Power.

I do not know if your intentions are to run the compressor under power once you get it where you want it. If you do want to run it under power, you should block up the flywheel and crankshaft to take some of the load off the main bearings. These are babbitted bearings, and on a rough sleigh ride down the mountain, the bouncing can cause the crankshaft journals to pound into the babbitt. Blocking the crankshaft to support it and take weight off the main bearings is the way to prevent this.

Are you sure you want to move the compressor intact ? Why not take it partially apart ? You will spend a lot of money building a skid and related supports and chocking to do the job right.