Shoebox #205 still hanging in there

[larspawn]

Wish I would have kept an hour meter on it!

Number 205 built.  You can see where Tom Kaye scratched in the "sn". Haha.  Was a 3000 psi model but I changed burst disks and shutoff spring to run up to 4500 psi. I've replaced the chain and main gear but that was really a fluke as the gear was out of alignment from new and chewed through the gear. Several years later still fine. I did upgrade to the hardened pistons which dramatically cut down on rebuild intervals and use a small computer fan to cool.  The only bad thing is one of the cylinders must have corroded and cannot be removed. I have to rebuild in place. Hopefully the oring between cylinder and block doesn't go soon!

I have been using two cascaded Harboor Freight desiccant packs but today decided to try a dryer/oiler unit I had laying around (yes it's new and has no oil in it). What I did was pack the oiler reservoir with desiccant media. There is some pickup tube so I wrapped it in felt as a filter. It's some kind of mystery polymer that I use to make humidification tubes for my cigar humidor. A half  teaspoon will expand to fill a large volume bigger than a large pellet tin. I figure it will absorb humidity in the pressurized air as well. The water separator should possible help a as well?  The hose from my compressor to the separator is 25 feet.

Finally I made a self oiler, at least I hope!  Used some felt that wipes the piston rods. Drenched them in silicon oil. Hope this works. Have run from 3000 up to 4000 and have not stopped to lube like I used to with lithium.

So far so good.

[Rocko]

I have one of the original chain drives too.  It just keeps rollin' along!