What happened to Ingersoll Rand?

[OOOooo]

What happened to Ingersoll Rand? I had a Curtis that lasted for over 30 years. When it went out I replaced it with a cheap 5 HP unit from Lowes and was told by a competitor that it would not last long. It broke while still under warranty. I then got what my competitor recommended which was a 7.5 HP Ingersoll Rand that cost $1800. His motor went out in 4 years and mine just hit 4 years and I just replaced the motor at $1200! I called another shop for a different reason and they mentioned that their IR compressor was down and were told it would be a week before they would get the part they needed.

I talked to one of the service guys and was told that the motors don't like constant on and off so I have just linked my 80 gallon tank to another 80 gallon tank to double my storage. Perhaps this will help me get some more time out of this motor. I also went with a different brand motor. It would have been more than a week for the IR motor.

We do around 5,000 tires a year so I do put a heavy load on the compressor but I think 4 years is unacceptable for a $1,800 compressor. Am I out of line on this?

[alfredauto]

Your story is typical. I'm running an emglo compressor from 1990. I'll rebuild it when it finally wears out. Almost all the sub $5000 compressors made in the last ten years are China sourced, designed to last 3 or 4 years in commercial use.

 

My buddy buys the cheapest 80gal box store compressor every two or three years, it works out to $200 a year.

[Mario]

I have a 80 Gallon westinghouse from 1955, everything is original. It is one of the slower rpm pumps, takes longer to fill up the tank in the morning but with battery tools it doens't get the use that it did before. Hope to never have to replace it, its been dependable and only cost me $100 :-)

 

Friends I have that own shops have had issues with the IRs and Snap-On compressors. They are also very loud compared to my westinghouse. I have my compressor in a backroom and its very quiet. I can't stand working in areas with loud compressors.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Mario

[John Pearson]

I have a Quincy piston compressor that I really like and a CP screw drive that I really like so far I have not had any problems with either and they are run pretty hard.

[MarGar]

I had an old worn out Devilbiss I used for the first 3 years of biz. Cost me a couple hundred and I got my use out of it.

 

Napa had a sale on their Napa Industrial model made by Atlas Copco this fall, so we ordered a 7.5HP 24 CFM upright with the auto drain and it has awesome to have all the air we need for a change! Well worth the 2500 beans it cost us. We do a fair bit of tire work, and we never have to wait on air. My power bill went down since I did this.

[CMillet86]

We got really lucky and had a friend who owns a machine shop give us a 10HP Mattei Rotary Vane Air compressor, talk about volume.