# Need Help - Air Compressor Problem



## Mieser (Jun 17, 2014)

Hello all. Newbie to the forum and I have a problem with my Ingersoll Rand SS5L5 60 gallon air compressor. I've only had this compressor for 3 years and it has never seen any hard use. I was working the compressor pretty hard a couple of days ago by doing some sandblasting. I'm guessing the motor kicked on probably 3 times during this period. I noticed a noise that wasn't normal at one point when the motor was running the pump......I can't describe it but it just didn't sound "normal" like it always has. The motor got hot during and shut down due to the heat. I let everything cool completely off until the next day, hit the reset button on the motor turned on the switch. Before turning the compressor back on I let all the air out of the tank. When I turn the compressor back on it will not fill the tank completely before the motor gets hot and shuts off again. The switch is set to shut off right around 125 psi on this compressor and now it only gets to around 100 psi or so before the motor gets too hot and shuts off. I have never had this problem before. It just seems like the tank is not filling up or pressurizing as quick as it used to. Did I mess something up inside the pump? At first I thought my electric motor was going bad but, like I said, it seems like it is just taking way longer than normal to get air into the tank. Any help or advice as to how I can diagnose my problem would be greatly appreciated. I did disconnect the main air line from the pump to the tank with around 100 psi of air in the tank to make sure I didn't have a faulty check valve and no air came out of the line. Was told I could have had a bad check valve which may have been causing too much head pressure therefore creating a heavier load on the motor.


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## whimsey (Dec 13, 2013)

Totally different compressor but same scenario. It ran hot shut off and not get up to the psi it's suppose to. It's an Emglo used for nailing, mostly finish work. Turns out the oil was real low and real "sparkly". I changed the oil a couple of times and it runs great now and I now watch it real carefully. 

Whimsey


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## Mieser (Jun 17, 2014)

Thanks for the response. However, I did check my oil level after I noticed the issue and it was full. I even drained the oil and refilled with brand new oil. Issue still occurs.


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## CompressorPros.com (Jun 27, 2014)

If your compressor is not building air like it had been, I would suspect that you may have blown a gasket or perhaps the valves. Sand blasting is a tough application even for a big compressor, so it sounds like it just may have been working a bit too hard. It would be worth it to get top end gaskets and then take a look. If it is just a gasket, you are set, if you need valves, you can get them after checking them out


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