I built one to compliment my 'normal' compressor as it's ideal when working at night and you don't want to wake the house ;) Great for running small items such as airbrush, air duster, tyre inflator. Dehumidifiers are a great source for the compressor where I live (NZ); for some reason people are always throwing them out and you don't have the large fridge/freezer body to dispose of (Possibly more powerful too as mine would fill the tank in a few mins.) I just stuffed a cheap inline fuel filter in the inlet pipe as an air filter. Local model engineering society found it useful in powerering their steam models during open days as it's almost silent and the small amount of pressure needed to run the models it didn't cycle too often. I also added a fan pointing at the compressor, not sure if needed but I had one anyway and did keep the outside case of the compressor cool at least :) As a secondary bonus I used the inlet (after the fuel/air filter) as a vacuum line to draw bubbles out of resin (hooked up to a homemade vacuum chamber)

This feels like information I wont need very often, but would be useful to know.

I converted the air conditioning pump on my truck a few months ago, it works great and being engine driven keeps up pretty well. Problem is these spit all their oil out very quickly. All the methods online seemed half assed, with some people packing the pump with grease (Which will lead to bearing failure) and the rest adding a few squirts of oil every time they go to use it. I decided to copy how much larger shop compressors work and fabricated an oil catch can stuffed with 3d printed baffles and stainless steel wool with a tiny bypass line at the bottom. Pump gets filled with oil, oil gets caught in catch can. Bypass line at the bottom recirculates the oil back to the air intake. Bypass line needs to be sized pretty small since it's essentially an air leak but it works well once it is dialed in. I like using these old fridge compressors as vacuum pumps for small fiberglass/carbon fiber projects.

last time I looked into doing something similar it was recommended to change out the oil as the oil they come with goes acidic when exposed to moisture

great videos man, just a piece of advice, its a bad idea to solder wires before crimping them into a connector or screwing them into a terminal, because copper is springy and retains crimp/screw pressure, but solder flows like goo but much slower, so when you crimp/screw a soldered copper wire it will be tight, but when you check it a few hours later it will be much looser, which significantly increases resistance and can even make the wire fall out, so when you solder wires like you did with the two orange ones coming into the capacitor, add a bit more flux and blast the whole connector with a blowtorch so both wires solder to the connector itself, which will be even stronger than just crimping

There is an element of danger modifying and welding a pressure vessel without testing it. It would have been a good practice to fill the tank with water and apply pressure to it with air or your pressure washer if you can adjust the pressure on the washer. I would suggest a pressure of 1-1/2 times the pressure you plan on putting in the tank. You need to fill it with water so that if it ruptures it should not harm you. If you only use air to pressure test the tank it may explode and injure of kill you.

though this is old and I'm not sure if this was mentioned but you should use an off-loader valve as well, some pressure switches include them and this purges the discharge line of all pressurized air so starting up the compressor motor isn't as taxing on it, also in AC system the capacitor shifts the phase of the supply electricity creating the conditions needed to get the motor started.

I took one out of a fridge for this project. The refrigerant used was listed on the side of the compressor. I pulled up the MSDS for my particular coolant and it was not harmful to people or the environment except when burned or in its compressed liquid state. No need to hire someone to remove it, I just (carefully) cut the copper line and let it vent.

I took an old compressor head and plumbed it up to a propane tank. Works good. I think I read that fridge compressors burn themselves up after a while pumping air? Cool project anyway!

Every single one of you videos is a delight, keep 'em coming XD

thank you for just giving such a good presentation of everything you are doing and trying to do. it feels like a buddy showing you how to do a thing. kind of random but cool and useful.

Excellent video as usual, I've been looking at a few of your projects and find every one interesting. What I like most of all is your straightforward commentary. Keep up the good work, you're a shining example of goodness.

Any chance you could give an update on the compressor. I really like these compressors but the oil loss problem is annoying. Did your loop solve the oil loss? Did you have to add an oil catch later to recirculate the oil?

The compressor in the video is a product that can operate continuously for a long period of time because the refrigerant that circulates in the closed circuit contains lubricant. Therefore, the compressor you built yourself will overheat due to the lack of lubrication oil recovery, and sooner or later it will fail due to the piston sticking.

I wish I knew how to do this kind of stuff. I love your creativeness.

I'm surprised he didn't scavenge the old compressor for parts

Commenting for support

All of your videos have been very informative and well done. They really make me want to build.

It's crazy how you got all those things to move without touching them! What kind of magic are you using?

This might be useful to remember. I pulled a mini-fridge out of a dumpster literal hours ago. If the fridge works, it will go in the garage. If not, in will become a vacuum pump.

Why didn't you use the tank off the dead compressor?

The pump is ludracated by pumping the oil out and back in again. That compressor will pump all the PAG oil out, then what?

at 11:52 ideally one should avoid soldering a connection before it's crimped if it's expected to be subjected to vibration. The solder will tend to fail, and it pushes the stress riser out the back of the ferrule of the terminal. NASA-STD-8739.4 and further their larger workmanship standards guide might be of value. You also might want to give those terminals a squeeze - I think you got the classic .81/.51 tab width thing going on.

is there any reason not to use the old parts from your compressor? I understand showing us all the parts you might need, but I'd use the old switch and tank from the old compressor.

Great work on this compressor. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎

I love your videos, please post more frequently 😩 your videos are really helpful

That is a good looking weld

I’d have made a DIY powder coating gun and powder coated every metal bit out of worrying about corrosion. And it would likely also make it possibly look more uniform more easily than when using water based spray paint, or even oil based.

Good Job .

When they don't have the color air compressor you want 😁 good stuff man!

You actually welded your pressure vessel? O.o Do you like getting shot? You should stick to safety and just use holes already made. The whole reason to use an already made pressure vessel is for safety.

The water part of the test is called hydrostatic testing, it the tank ruptures under your test pressure of 1.5x the working pressure it will burst with with out making an explosion similar to cutting into plastic water jug. You would fill the tank to the top with water and if using air to pressure it stop adding air when you reach your test pressure, If the tank were to burst it would not send shrapnel flying, it would just leak water onto the floor. If you use only air to pressurize the tank and it were to rupture it would be explosive and send shrapnel everywhere just like a large overinflated balloon does when it ruptures and sends balloon fragments everywhere. It could kill you or severely injure you. All pressure vessels made and piping is hydrostatically tested,

Could the same concept ne used to make a vacuum pump? Just in reverse?

"I got this already emptied" lmao

It's a very quiet air compressor as an added bonus!

not sure if anybody has ask this, why dont you use the old tank and bit

Cool but just so u know harbor freight has a 125 gallon air compressor for 150. Super creative but not easy

Do you think a propane tank would be a viable tank for pressures like these?

great channel. thanks for sharing your knowledge. sent by ramsey

Keep up the Good Work and Thumbs up! 👍

That thumb is healing up well.

It looks like you can buy a compressor cheaper then all the parts and tools needed and have a warranty.

Little bit of cringe on the screwdriver flare but looks like it turned out good. I have to do the same type of thing from time to time because of lack of proper tools. Well done! Definitely going to be making one of these

Welding on that tank definitely creates stress points if not properly heat treated. I would want to hydrostatically test the hole set up before pressurizing with air. Also it seems like the flared copper tubing with the hose clamp on the discharge side of the compressor may be a weak point.

Super impressive bro

Excellent project but where is the return valve? In a long time period, it will destroy the motor.

All I can think of at the end is "I hope he's going to cover those live terminals at the capacitor before one of the kids reaches under there..." Or is it 12V DC or something safe? (looked like you were wiring it into mains)

You can always empty it yourself into the big blue sky tank by cutting the line

love this video .. good job

Whatever you do for a living i hope you are making at least 200k a year otherwise you are grossly underpaid

Pretty cool, thanks for the info😎

Perfect for air assist on a CNC and a laser. Could it also be used for a vacuum table? Everybody using noisy solutions needs to think outside the box. Or pay the colossal price "for nothing."

Is it possible to build water Jet cutter machine, using propane cylinder + refrigerator like that?

I mean couldn't you get one of those non locking pressure relief valves set to go off at 120 or 150 I mean annoying it hissing randomly, but it could be done on the super cheap safely?

Nice work..👍

You do know it is not good practice to weld Black IP Malleable fittings?

Check valve? Maybe I missed it or it's not necessary as it seemed to restart without problems.

You could have put a T and a valve on the inlet and let it double for a vacuum pump for AC work.

If I can get my hands on a giant propane tank, the kind you see at a propane store, I’d love to use this little compressor to fill it up. Then I will have a silent air compressor with a huge cfm.

So cool, what would you estimate the SCFM to be on this?

Very interesting video.... keep it up 👍

I tried to weld a fitting in my propaane tank so I could use the pressure switch but the problem is that I don't have a super nice welder i only have a flux core welder and it dosent produce the best welds and i go to pressure check the weld with air and i spry the weld with soapy water i see these little bubbles

That’s awesome man. I was just thinking about making one a couple of days ago and this shows up. Will you have to add oil to the compressor over time?

Very cool!

That was cool

Awesome to hear that someone knows that capacitors are the only thing capable of storing electricity. Batteries create it. They don't store it.

With one comment I saw that said that the fridge compressor runs with oil running through the fridge system and that you did not include that part and the video is now 3 years old , is this air compressor still running ? how often do you top it up with oil ?

How many minutes that compressor last before overheating?

How can I avoid getting the oil into the Air? Or how do I catch it so it can go back into the system. Otherwise, it is a question of time for the compressor to run out of oil then burn ?

What do you do with the wire from the thermostat?????

Nice progect

Quite the late response a year after it’s been posted but do you think it would be safe with a 200psi output?

Sweet

Lovely. Cleaver man. What’s the size of the tank? Details please about the control tnanks

does the pressure switch assembly needs to be solidly attached to the tank? can it be connected to it via an aproppriate hose? i ask because i want to assemble a small air compressor on my boat and i dont have such a regular space (if that makes sense), ie, the components need to be a bit "scattered".

Great video. Been thinking about building my own compressor as well and this was very helpful. How much time and money did you spend on the entire build?

Gonna build one and leave the wiring to my wiremen

Post about anything you build, regardless of whether there are already videos about that. The way you explain or make it could be better for other people.

For air volume, why not use old tank from old compressor or double tanks

What size compressor should I use to power a 1 gallon tank my compressor motor just like yours had to be condemned but everything else is in good working order

what did you do to keep the oil in the compressor and not all ending up on the tank?

10:50 you put the PTFE tape in the wrong direction

Would this work with a 60 gallon tNk?

It would be nice to have the total dollar value of the purchased parts listed for fast comparison showing the savings

What kind of welding is this?

Which liquid you put before drilling

Can it work a paint gun?

Nice build! Do you have a circuit diagramme please?

That's awesome, nice job! Do you have a parts list of all the parts you used? Maybe an amazon link?

Hi what is the safe maximum working pressure you run the compressor at

Any idea what the CFM is?

Can you put fridge compressor on a 30 gallon tank? I only see them mounted on smaller tanks. Thank you

So much cheaper and easier to use old compressor as the base for this. Welding to a pressure vessel is just not a good idea. If that tank ruptures it could kill you.

How do you make sure it's empty before you weld on it? Do u purge it with a compressor or anything?

Cool

I am trying to get my compressor on i don't know if it needs more oil or it's the motor that is seized but I am using it with out the capacitor and when I go to plug it on it just hums any advice anyone?

Hey thinking of doing some hydrogen compression,would that work with a refrigerator compressor like that? Its important that the gas is not polluted by oxygen,it seems handy to have an input tube.

I also have a self-made compressor, mine is by far simpler (without any electronics)

Where did you find the electronic check valve that was it at your local hardware store or did you buy it offline because I'm trying to make a copy of this myself and not very many places seem to have what I'm looking for

Free fridge compressors or free fridges? Doubtful you'll find this in Denmark...