new old iron for those Iowan's?

Just thought anybody in IA who might need a good compressor that should keep on ticking! Normally I wouldn't think twice about this chunk of compressor, but it is big and heavy, so I thought the gents from Iowa who are attracted too larger than normal things might be interested. Now this is a compressor for your home shop.

http://cgi.ebay.com/GARDNER-DENVER-...hash=item130240961747&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

And DAve, this might be on your way home from the great NW! Cheers, John.

Beautiful! I bet it sounds like a dream with that 25HP motor pulling up a ton or so of reciprocating motion, followed by a nice, slow huffing like a steam engine.

I saw some 750 HP Chicago Pneumatics a while back just like that one, but scaled up a little. I didn't know you could get a single-cylinder recip that slow and big, even back in the day.

The only thing I see that looks a little funky is it appears there may be a chunk busted out of the flywheel rim up near the motor in this pic!

Hee hee!!!

That's way cool! Looks like an oilfield engine...

Okay, if it were sitting here, I think what I'd do...

Is figure out some way to drive it with wind-power!!!!

I didn't think the horsepower was bad at all, only 25 hp. You probably should plan on a minimum of 50 hp capabilities Dave. You got too plan a head.

I thought this would be a good propulsion end for a new paintball cannon. With the big lathes now stationed in Iowa, there should be no problems turning some slow twist barrels of larger caliper. A big receiver for storage, and some sort of quick release valve to dump the air.........well you get the picture. I could see it now. A new kind of Barbarian armed with long range paint balls the size of medicine balls. This slow motion air compressor would put you in command. Some backwards foundry in India should be making these, I bet they run forever.

Had a rough night at work, 2nd night back on the job. Must of called 4 doctors, the pharmacy {who wouldn't return my calls}, eventually did and I got too talk to them too. Write up orders, charted on what seemed like a lot of extra charts, besides my normal ton of charting. In the mean time your supposed to get your normal work done. Not trying too rant or complain, just making excuses for my weird attempt at humor tonight. Cheers, John.

Thats not a big compressor.
I rebuilt several IR 125 HP tandem compressors that were rated at 400 PSI. Each cylinder was double acting with one very L......................O...............N................G piston rod. The low pressure cylinder was near the crankcase and crosshead and then the there was a short distance piece with the rod packings and then the high pressure cylinder at the end. I have pictures somewhere that show these neat compressors.

As far as I know they are still in operation 24/7, don't think that they have been rebuilt since I worked on them back in 93,94.
That said I would love to get my hands on an older recip. compressor. Sargent Rand Imperial type 10, IR PRE, any steam driven duplex compressor. That would really be the icing on the cake for my dream shop.

Marshall

I know it wasn't real big, but I thought it was cool. Reminds me a little bit of the one we had in the shop I used to work in. It was a IR dual cyl, big flywheel thing with compression release for starting. Even this one wasn't that big. The plate said 17 bore and stroke 14. I have talked about this one before and how you open the cyl cocks, then pull the handle on the cutoff box, just so the flywheel started too move, the shut off the power for a second, then do it again so you wouldn't blow the fuses. If you blew that fuse you took out most of the plant on both sides of the road. It was an older shop. The thing never gave maintainence trouble and ran and ran and ran {quietly too}. It had it's own room and some of us welders would hide out there on illegal breaks. Only problem with that hiding place is that there was only one way in and one way out. But we never got busted there. I like compressors, think they are neat. Cheers, John.

John
I agree, they are cool.
Of course I also want to find a 2 or 3 cyl. F-M model 32 diesel or similiar to power the compressor and shop.
Marshall

My dream shop would be about a 5 or 6 stall roundhouse with a backshop attached. Don't want to go nuts and go flat belt. Big lathes, big boring mills, Wheel lathes. And when I grow up I want to be a fireman too. Actually my shop that I am working on is cool enough for me. I dream big, but why I have no idea. The slippery slope of old age is just around the corner and money is an issue. So if I get all my current machines running and learn how to use them, it will probably be curtain time for me. Not planning on cashing in anytime soon, but as fast as I am at completeing projects it will be a close race.

If my nursing career ever settles down to a dull roar I would like to learn how to run some of these machines so I could do more than fit lids to sewer castings. I used to make long range plans, now I can't even plan on what is going to happen next week. Pushed it a little hard tonight out in my shop. If I am not careful I won't be working again, I may not be ready for moving extention ladders.

By the way Marshall, didn't you buy that large lathe that was out in ND last winter or the winter before? If so where is it now and what is it doing? Sure looked like a dandy. Cheers, John.

handsome devil said:

..... A new kind of Barbarian armed with long range paint balls the size of medicine balls...

Click to expand...

Why limit your projectile size? The way you were leading up to it, I was expecting 1 gallon paint cans. I could get into painting if it were done like that.

Something like that would be a sandblasters dream. Quiet and all the cfm you need.

That's not a big compressor...

And actually, MARSHALL's example isn't a big engine-driven compressor.

This, however, is a big engine-driven compressor...

I'm standing on ONE cylinder of the machine...

Uh... one of the engine's FIRING cylinders.
The second photo... far to the left... is the compessor cylinder... Dunno how many CFM, or what pressure, but I know that for both, it's a whole heckuva lot more that everything supposedly 'big' that I've seen