# One useless project



## Chinggis (Jul 21, 2021)

Last week I made one useless, expensive project what will be soon put in garbage. I try to make silent air compressor from parts from refrigerator. I spent some money (around 1000Kuna) and it is work one day. ONE day. After that it stop work and die completely. So here it is my workshop queen .


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## Aukai (Jul 21, 2021)

Ouch......


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## Winegrower (Jul 21, 2021)

Another way to look at this is:   IT WORKED!    Now, fix what broke and try again.  A few iterations of this, you’ll have a reliable and silent compressor.


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## benmychree (Jul 21, 2021)

Refrigeration compressors usually work OK for pumping air, but sometimes will carry over oil.  I used one for years as a vacuum pump for evacuating refrigeration systems.


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## talvare (Jul 21, 2021)

A lot of those small hermetic refrigeration compressors rely on suction side refrigerant vapor to cool the motor windings. If that is the case with your compressor, it could very well have over heated and ruined the motor.

Ted


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## rwm (Jul 21, 2021)

That is a shame. It looks like you put a lot of work into it. Any chance you could find another compressor before you trash it?
Robert


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## RJSakowski (Jul 21, 2021)

A big problem with repurposing refrigeration compressors is that the system is closed and they rely on recirculation of oil through the system for lubrication.  Converting to an air compressor, you lose that lubrication.  If you can capture the oil and feed it back to the intake, you will eliminate this cause of early failure. 

Aside from that, one lesson that I learned early on is unless you are dead certain that your design will work, don't invest the time in making everything neat and pretty. Run it through its paces and when you are satisfied that it works, then pretty it up


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## Dhal22 (Jul 21, 2021)

But did you enjoy making the compressor?  There's value in that.....


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## brino (Jul 21, 2021)

@Chinggis ,

We all have those days and those projects.
As long as you enjoyed the journey and learned something from it then it was, at least partially, a success.

-brino


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## fixit (Jul 22, 2021)

Comercial SCREW compressors recirculate the oil also. They have a separator in line to extract the oil and reuse it. They are very dirty as to air quality.


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## Winegrower (Jul 22, 2021)

RJSakowski said:


> Aside from that, one lesson that I learned early on is unless you are dead certain that your design will work, don't invest the time in making everything neat and pretty. Run it through its paces and when you are satisfied that it works, then pretty it up



Yes.   I spent my formative years at Hewlett Packard, and in many ways what made HP so successful early on was Dave Packard's philosophy about reliability.   He said "the only way to make a reliable product is to build it, break it, fix what broke and repeat".     Or words to that effect.

Also, along with your comment, RJ, there was another saying that guided our R&D.   It was "_early dirty vs. late great_".


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## Chinggis (Jul 22, 2021)

Thanx guys, well I need to say I enjoy in make them, I spent time and money made it in dimensions what I needed to be compact and that I can put in in confined space. Well, compressor is broken and thrown away because it is not work reliably.
 I take old oil from it and put new one in(oil designed for air compressors), made air/oil separator for clean air, make opening for put oil in compressor and so on...  And I buy new silent compressor( it is not so silent, but it is quiet than classic compressors), I am not satisfied how it works, so my intention is to disconnect HP air tube and put there air /oil separator.


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