Not a happy bunny! I decided to treat myself to a better compressor than I have as it is old, only 24ltr and a SIP!!

I decided that I would try the Sealey upright, 2hp 50ltr. Seemed to have reasonable write-ups and so I bought one.

Waited a fairly long time for the delivery from the manufacturer, it finally arrived and I duly tried it out. Seemed pretty good, not too slow to fill and it was a nice change not to have to wait for it to fill everytime I pumped up a tyre!

Only used it about 3 or 4 times, and tonight it cut-in as I was using my cut-off tool, but it didn't seem to improve any after a few minutes. I left it for a while before trying again, but the pressure didn't seem to be going up. i dumped what pressure there was and then switched it on again. After a few minutes I checked the gauge....nothing!...opened the drain cock and a little "phssssss" was about all it could manage.

Anyone else had one of these and anyone got any ideas?

I have contacted the store I bought it from but am meanwhile without a compressor

So much for Sealey

Not got one of those, and I don't mean to sound stupid but have you checked for leaks?

Let it build up what little pressure it can muster, then switch it off and just listen for any leaks. I once had a brand new compressor crack one of the brass unions (is that what they're called)?

If it's not that, it'll be one of the valves (unless your cylinder is full of oil in which case piston rings?). In which case back to the shop for a replacement!

It certainly seems a bit louder than I would have thought, and it does sound like air is escaping as fast as it's trying to pressurise. I would take the cover off but can't. It says in the instructions about taking it off and checking the security of bolts etc. after the first 5hours (if only it would last 5hrs!!) but once I took the 4 screws off as indicated there is no way on earth the cover will come off as the regulator and outlet are tight up against it and in the way ???

Beginning to think that it was a bad idea getting Sealey

I've added a picture of the B*****d thing!!


Compressor

My brand new compressor had loose fittings, which i changed anyway.
Ive also seen a faulty PRV on a new Clarke compressor.

on any screw connection on hoses tools etc, have you used ptfe tape? my compressor is now completely sealed. without ptfe tape, theres no way it would work. it ran constantly, even with no tools being used

All the connections are fine from the compressor, and yes I have used PTFE tape. It's just not putting any pressure in the tank whatsoever.

As it worked OK to start with, my guess is that something has worked loose, but I cannot get into the damn thing to check

[Edited on 3/3/11 by Daddylonglegs]

How about a valve stuck open ?

If I could get the chuffin' cover off mate I'd have a look!

sounds like a faulty valve plate, they are like reed valves rather than a conventional engine valve.

could be a blown head gasket

And to top it all off, looks like I'll probably be knackered now! I tried getting the cover off again, and while lifting the one side, I didn't realise it but the other side was busy lifing the gauge up at the same time and it has now lifted some of the back plate and the needle has jumped over the end stop and sits below it!! So the answer now will more than likely be " sorry mate.....blah, blah,blah" God only knows how the cover was put on in the first place, they must have used magic or something, because there is no way on this earth it is going to come off!!!

I am now thoughroughly p'd off

Can't you just unscrew the gauge before removing the cover?

Well, after deciding that they'd probably tell me to go fish once I'd chuffed the gauge, I had one more go at getting the cover off. After a little jiggery pokery I managed it. And what did I find? Hey Presto! The pipe where it comes out of the compressor was free! The nut was still attached to the head, and the olive was still in the nut. So I removed the nut, cleaned up the olive, refitted the pipe and all seems fine now. I managed to remove the gauge cover and reset the needle to somewhere near where it should be, and although it still looks a little rough it works.

So, at least I can get on with the work now, I guess I'll just see what comes back from the shop regarding what they want to do. I suppose that, as there was a manufacturing fault (the joint wasn't made correctly) I might stand a chance of something, but no, I didn't think to take a photo of the offending joint

Oh well, let's see what happens.

Thanks for the input guys

JB