Hello, I want to apologize right away for this not being a “repair” type question.. What Im trying to do is use the compressor motor (Pictured below) to make an air compressor for my air brush.. (aka: Silent Compressor) but the gentleman I salvaged the compressor motor from didnt know what lines were what.. I’ve labeled them “A-E” below, and what I can tell you he said, was that he cut line “C” first, and it was under pressure.. The rest of the lines afterward were not.. He also said line “E” was stubbed off from the factory, and that from what he could tell the other 3 lines (A, B, and D) appeared to hook up to coils, up inside the freezer? (This compressor comes out of an old Whirlpool Standup 20cuft. Freezer #EEV204) I searched for the model and found EEV204FW0, which listed a compressor part #464064, and it also showed 5 lines, but there not in the exact same locations as this one, but it “appeared” to be very similar? Unfortunately the lines weren’t labeled in the picture/part I found though.. So, could anyone with experience with these motors please help me identify what the lines A-E are? Thank you so much for any help or information! Sincerely, Mick Nesevitch
The line with the piercing valve is the suction side, the line that goes to the dryer ( a larger diameter copper tube) is the high pressure side. If you operate the compressor without a suction side filter, it probably will not last long due to suction of dirt particles.
The other two lines are oil cooling lines you need to crimp to prevent oil spilling out.
OK, so “B” is the suction (Air Intake) Line. Thanks! You say the large diameter line is the high pressure line, but they all look the same to me? Can you tell from the picture which line (A,C,D, or E) it is? Thanks for your help richappy! Sincerely, Mick
Just a quick update incase anyone else comes across this and wants to do the same, or needs the info I did.. Here’s what I did.. (do at your own risk) FIrst I cut all the lines cleanly with a tube cutter, then I bypassed the circuitry for the thermostat, and just used the red/white wires from the compressor and the black/white wires from the “plug” (also grounded the “plug’s” green wire to the compressor itself) and then plugged it in.. She runs great! You can immediately identify the high pressure out, and suction “in” lines.. The out spit oil all over the place but hopefully they will subside and I can add a filter between the compressor and tank.. The output turned out to be line “A”, and as was mentioned above, the suction “in” line was “B”.. Lines C & D are the cooling lines and I couldnt notice any suction or ejection of air from those. (They will be capped off) So there ya have it.. The easiest way to identify what lines are what, is to plug her in and take notes!
Ok thanks! I had planed on using a long high pressure line anyway, to allow the air to cool, if it comes from the compressor hot.. (I’ll be sure to elevate it before making the run down to the tank) Im also thinking about splicing in a dedicated moisture filter between the comp and tank, as well?? (Theyre just H20 filters but might stop oil as well??) But the only real problems I need to solve now are how to introduce oil back into the compressor, since it’ll no longer be cycling freon? I’ve read where some guys drill a small “dipstick” type hole on the top edge of the motor, and just use a piece of wire or something similar to check and replace oil, as needed..(then plug the hole with a rubber plug or something) But drilling a hole in the motor housing sounds like a bad idea to me, since metal shavings could fall back into the internals and possibly hurt it? I was wondering about just funneling in small amounts into the “intake” line, every so often? Any thoughts? Thanks again for the info and help!
To add oil you can inject small amounts of oil in the suction line, but the compressor must be running. I once added Supco 88 while the compressor was not running, and the compressor seized up and would no longer work!
Wow, that’s weird! What do you think happened? The oil choke/plug the line and lock up the compressor until it burned up or? Either way, thanks for the tip! Im just going to use it for recreation airbrushing (appx. 7-10 hours a week) any idea how often or how much oil I should add? (Just a guess would do.. If I mess up this compressor I can “salvage” another.) Thanks!
As I remember, there is about a cup of oil in a compressor. The oil cools the compressor motor windings, lubricates the bearings and the bearing surfaces of the pump. As long as little oil gets lost while in operation, the compressor should last for say 100 hours of operation. Pros. say there will allways be some tiny particles of oil escaping the high pressure side, but I am just guessing how long you can operate it till you need to add oil.
Hey, thanks again for all the help! It’s much appreciated!! Oh, one last question.. When I plumb the compressor, is it possibe to “un-sweat” the copper “stub” coming from the compressor, and sweat in my new copper tube. Or should I just use a compression “union” to run the new copper tube over to the tank? (the copper “stub” isnt the straightest peice of copper I’ve ever seen, and would like to just sweat in a new peice if possibe?? But not sure if it’s practical with 1/4" copper tube, or possibly even harmful to the compressor, since I’d be using a propane torch and getting it pretty hot? Thanks, as ususal!
Sounds good! Hopefully it wont be too much of a problem getting the old piece of copper to come out of the sleeve..
Edit: Oh well, looks like compression fittings are gonna have to do the trick.. I held a torch on one of the lines (joint) for about 2 minutes and it never budged, and I’ve never soldered with a torch before..
Well, I found a video.. Maybe I wasnt holding the hottest part of the flame over the joint? I might give it another shot this afternoon and see if I can get that piece of copper out of there.. It’s really not even smooth enough for a compression fitting.. I can barely get the “nut” over the copper stub w/o quite a bit of force.. But anyway, on the video, the solder seems to melt/flow fairly quick.. I hope this factory stuff isnt some super heat resistant solder that my propane torch cant melt?? (As I said, I held it on the joint for nearly 2 minutes and it didnt budge.. And I was timing it?) Wish me luck! And thanks once again for the help!
Yea, the solder I use to re-attach will be standard lead solder.. It’s the solder they used at the factory that Im concerned about.. (I couldnt get it to flow or come apart when I tried yesterday)
Update: Well, I got the copper stub out of the “high pressure” side.. The solder never did appear to flow, but the copper pipe and sleeve near the joint turned cherry red, so I grabbed the stub with my pliers and it slid right out.. Unfortunately it looks like there’s quite a bit of residual solder inside the “sleeve”.. Not sure a new piece of copper will go in far enough to be effective?? (I also tried to remove the “stub” from the “inlet” side, and I think it must of broken off even with the sleeve, or else they just had it butted up against the inlet sleeve to begin with? But Im just going to use a section of “fuel line” to couple the air filter and “inlet”.. Im also considering using fuel line for the union between the “high pressure” outlet, and new copper tubing.. It would be alot easier, and I wouldnt have to do any torch soldering.. Do you see any problems with using a small piece of fuel line (and clamps) as a union between the “output” sleeve, and new copper tubing that runs to the “tank”?? Thanks as usual for your guidance! Im getting pretty close to finishing this thing.. Biggest problem is cleaning all the old parts (tank, frame, compressor) so I can prime and paint them.. It’d be a very easy task if the “looks” of the project weren’t considered.. But Im too ******** about that stuff to just chuck it together.. I’ll post a pic if I ever get it completed! Thanks richappy!!
Howdy Richappy! Well, here she is.. Everything went together smoothly, but I have a problem.. Those 2 cooling lines are creating suction and/or pressure (output).. I didnt think they created enough pressure to effect the high pressure output line, but the compressor only builds about 20psi and then it blows the plug off one of the cooling lines, then quits (or slows big time) building pressure in the tank? (There just rubber cap plugs I slipped over the ends of the tubes as I didnt think they had any pressure relating to the “high” pressure lines?) Im not sure what to do with them? Can I just connect them with a section of hose, or should they be capped seperately? (And if capped, is there a way I can cap them w/o the use of a torch and solder?) Thanks pal, you’ve been the only one whose helped me along with this, and I do very much appreciate it! Oh, the picture.. Here ya go!
Before:
Well, I tried connecting the 2 lines and then capping them seperately, and both ways it still wont build over 80psi. The motor sounds like it’s running and the intake is sucking air, but the gauges (2) both stay at 80psi or just below? Ya think it’s just not capable of doing what I need, or should I try a “T” (and one way valve) and run both output lines to the main tank? I’ve read about these silent compressor builds (they use refrigerator compressors and this ones from a freezer) and supposedly these compressors are capable of producing alot more psi than I need.. (My pressure switch is set to shut off at 125psi) Any idea what’s up, or what I should do next? Thanks.
