[ray moore]

WARNING RANT HERE!!!!

I just came down off my soapbox for Ingersoll Rand

My NEW (new to me, 17 months old) IR SS5N5 5 hp 80 gallon 135 PSI Air Compressor AC motor just blew up. It has 1 year warranty on the motor, I bet I don't have 20 hours on this thing yet. The windings apparently shorted and almost caught the thing on fire. I called IR warranty they said sorry about my luck (out of warranty) but I needed to check the voltage, and the breaker and the wiring. I have a 30 amp breaker, number 8 wire ( only 15 foot run from the breaker box) and 235 volts across the two hots at the motor.
They said: well even though the voltage is good if it drops even a few volts when it starts it will burn out the motor, and that they recommend a 60 amp breaker and using a 30 amp could also cause the motor to fail. The motor is rated at 21 amps at start up, I'm 30% over the maximum at start up. They said the motor is VERY sensitive and any of these things will cause the motor to fail.
The kicker is they want with shipping almost $500 for the motor. I only paid $800 for the whole compressor.
My friend laughed at me for spending more on an IR instead of the harbor freight he bought for half the price with a TWO year warranty. I told him at the time about the better quality of the IR's and you get what you pay for, He's still laughing because mine is broken and his is still running and in warranty.
I've called three times to IR service to have someone in Customer service call me back and have yet to receive a call back.
I goggled the motor part number and ran across a few other listing the exact motor number also failing a little after a year on their IR.
When I talked to service the first time they said that was not so and they had less than 1% failure on that motor, I'm part of the 1% apparently.

So now I am stuck with a bad motor and have to shell out almost 2/3 the cost of the thing to fix it and right when I was starting the major sheet metal work on my car.

I talked for a couple years to convince my wife to let me get a nice big compressor and that IR was worth the price, and now feeling pretty foolish.

When it worked it was great but now I'm not much of a fan of IR.
Sorry about the RANT but I need to vent.

Also

Does anyone now of a good source of replacement motor for mine
The OEM was Emerson, the IR number is IR 54421193

Thanks
Ray

[BillK]

Ray,
See if there is a local company that rebuilds electric motors. We have one near us that can usually fix them for about half of what a new one would cost.

[ray moore]

Thanks BillK

When I was searching on the Internet I ran across a few sites that rebuild AC motors. I think there is one in Dayton Ohio near me. I was not sure what level they could repair. I flipped the breaker the first time and saw the sparks shooting from one side of the windings. I was not sure if they could replace windings etc. But that is definitely an option to check out.
From my history of response from IR I think my chances of talking them into replacing the motor is slim.


Thanks
Ray

[68Holdon]

There are places around that sell rebuilt units. I put a reman on my Quincy quite a few years ago and have never had a problem. I would not give up on IR keep bugging the crap out of them all the way to the top. Good luck.

[67sc]

I think Northern Tool for example carries name brand motors. You could probably find a similarly rated motor with the same shaft size and length there or somewhere else.

Its a little late now, but you might measure the voltage with the motor running to see if its low with a load.

I don't see how a 30A breaker can hurt the motor. If it doesn't trip, there's no problem there.

[DjD]

Along the lines of what Bill suggests you might just look for a new motor from a local source.

I'm a bit confused, was the compressor new or used? If it was 17 months old I'd not be happy about it burning out the motor but that's 7 mo past warranty. Also you say new to you, doesn't that mean who ever had it before you may have set things in motion towards burning out the motor?

[Pro-Street69Camaro468]

I bought eaton air compressors and am very happy,check with Matt about a motor they are nice to deal with. Ive had my conpressors about 5 years with no problems i=I change the oil about every 30 hrs. My compressors have magnetic starters and are on 30 amp breakers with #10 wire....
http://www.eatoncompressor.com/page/page/504413.htm

[ray moore]

Thanks for the suggestions guys

I will pursue replacement but like advised I will not until I've exhausted every avenue with IR. I can be a real pest when I try.

If I cannot win my argument with them I will buy a replacement motor or check on a rebuild on this motor.

I guess my real beef is that they are saying that the motor they use is very unforgiving on ANYTHING except optimal conditions.
The guy from service on the first call said that other motors such a dryers or washing machines or wood working tools can handle the various environments but NOT the motors that IR uses. Sounds like either BAD engineering or a cop out from IR.

DjD

I might have been confusing in that wording. I bought the compressor new from a local Tractor Supply.

I took extra measures to ensure it was wired in correctly. Only used the synthetic oil from IR on the compressor portion and have changed it three times with only a few hours on the compressor.

I should be Pi$$ed, but that is life and I'll move on. My plan is to pester them until one of us gives up.
But with that being said I am stalled on my project as I converted most of my tools to air for my restoration project, ironically mostly IR air tolls LOL

I do not want to wait too long before I need to move on and buy a new motor from someone or rebuild this one.

Word to everyone, you may want to ( if you have an IR compressor) get the Extended Warranty.

Ray

[Buzz0]

If the IR electric motors are so sensitive to what circuit breaker you use and what voltage it gets, do they spell that out explicitly in big letters in the documentation you receive with the compressor? If not, they need to go pound sand and send you a new motor. Thanks for the heads up, I won't buy one of their products.

What ever happened to companies protecting their good name by building durable high quality products and taking care of their customers? Anybody remember the old Curtis-Mathis TV ads back when the Asian invasion started? "Curtis-Mathis. Costs a little more but darn well worth it". They came with a 4 or 5 year warranty which the Japanese TVs could never even think about doing.

Oh crap. I have turned into an old man.

[Pro-Street69Camaro468]

Did it require a magnetic starter both of my compressors have them.Even the cheap compressors I've bought in the past have had magnetic starters on them.Just a thought......

[SixtyAte]

" I might have been confusing in that wording. I bought the compressor new from a local Tractor Supply."


Ray...
Be sure to buzz the ears of the store you bought the unit at. They may be able to help.

Kev

[ray moore]

SixtyAte

I going to try and catch a manager at the local Tractor Supply and see if they will try to do something.


Buzz0

I looked over the installation manual when after I first talked to them , The Installation of the motor as stated by the manual gives NO specifics whats so ever. Just basically refer the the label on the motor for amp and voltage and follow eletrical standards by code for wire and breaker size.

david calligan

Those compressors look great AND a good warranty, They are in Englewood Ohio which is about 20 minutes from where I live.
Wish I would have known about them before. I'm not sure if mine has a magnetic starter. I really cannot fine any detailed info on the motor on the web, even though it's made by Emerson I cannot find it listed in their site.


Thanks
Ray

[cpodeep]

Ray,
Did you happen to check Graingers Supply for a replacement motor, might be cheaper than getting direct from IR?

[yellow69RS]

I burnt out a motor on my compressor fairly quickly about 20 years back. When I purchased the replacement the sales person told me it died from paint overspray. I repaced a 5HP special with a 3HP at his suggestion. I have kept that one out of the overspray and it's still running no problems.

Jeff

[Microgiant]

Originally Posted by yellow69RS

I burnt out a motor on my compressor fairly quickly about 20 years back. When I purchased the replacement the sales person told me it died from paint overspray. I repaced a 5HP special with a 3HP at his suggestion. I have kept that one out of the overspray and it's still running no problems.

Jeff

I was wondering if you can wrap the motor with some of the cloth roll type insulation during spraying to keep out the overspray. It should still let it breath no?