Question Noob looking for help with Bauer Junior 2

[IMADMAN]

Recently pick up a Bauer Junior 2. I like to hook this up to my home (outdoors)
I have a few questions- I need an outlet plug, do I have a single phase or 3 phase unit? Will it work with my 240v dryer outlet?
It was made in 1999 when I do an oil change do I need to stick with mineral type oil or can I use synthetic? I read some where that the 225 Bar version can be adjusted up to 5000psi. Is this something anyone can do or does it need to be done at Bauer?
TIA! for any information to get me started.

 

[Gone for diving]

See the nice name plate on the side of the motor. That will tell you what you need to power it.
Do a bit of Googling you should be able to find a manual on it. For some of your questions.

 

[IMADMAN]

See the nice name plate on the side of the motor. That will tell you what you need to power it.
Do a bit of Googling you should be able to find a manual on it. For some of your questions.

Not seeing the Phase on the plate?, just RPM and some other info. The power wire coming out of the compressor is 3 wire.

 

[Mudbags]

Looks like a single phase unit.
Check the plate on the electric motor, it will tell you the operating voltage.
If it's 240V you will need a 15A outlet as the running current is about 13.9A.

Stay with mineral oil if you're just pumping air. There's no benefit to changing to synthetic unless you want to run nitrox through the machine.

All Juniors are good for 4800psi/330 bar. The only difference is the setting of the final safety valve and the type of cylinder connection on the filling valve. The adjustment is simple but safety valves shouldn't be adjusted by untrained people, get a compressor tech to help.

Edit: just saw your close up, it's single phase 220V. Isn't mains power in the US 110V?

 

[tmassey]

Not seeing the Phase on the plate?, just RPM and some other info. The power wire coming out of the compressor is 3 wire.

The plate says 1 P. That means one phase. It says 220 V, so that means 220 V. It needs 14 A of 220 V. So you will want to power that off of a 20 amp circuit or greater. A dryer or oven circuit would work fine. If it’s something you’re going to be using regularly from a single spot, you will likely want to install a plug at that point.


That could be done with a NEMA 6–20 R receptacle. If it were me, I would wire it with a four wire outlet for a (different) device in the future that might need split phase. At the very least, if I were running wire from my circuit panel for this application, I would use four conductor wire and not three conductor. I am not an electrician, nor do I play one on television, so make sure you sanity check that.

 

[IMADMAN]

The plate says 1 P. That means one phase. It says 220 V, so that means 220 V. It needs 14 A of 220 V. So you will want to power that off of a 20 amp circuit or greater. A dryer or oven circuit would work fine. If it’s something you’re going to be using regularly from a single spot, you will likely want to install a plug at that point.


That could be done with a NEMA 6–20 R receptacle. If it were me, I would wire it with a four wire outlet for a (different) device in the future that might need split phase. At the very least, if I were running wire from my circuit panel for this application, I would use four conductor wire and not three conductor. I am not an electrician, nor do I play one on television, so make sure you sanity check that.

This is my dryer plug and outlet. So there is no need for another switch in between? This is the power cord coming out of the power box on the compressor, it has 3 wires in it. I have not opened the power box to see where the wires go, yet.

 

[IMADMAN]

Looks like a single phase unit.
Check the plate on the electric motor, it will tell you the operating voltage.
If it's 240V you will need a 15A outlet as the running current is about 13.9A.

Stay with mineral oil if you're just pumping air. There's no benefit to changing to synthetic unless you want to run nitrox through the machine.

All Juniors are good for 4800psi/330 bar. The only difference is the setting of the final safety valve and the type of cylinder connection on the filling valve. The adjustment is simple but safety valves shouldn't be adjusted by untrained people, get a compressor tech to help.

Edit: just saw your close up, it's single phase 220V. Isn't mains power in the US 110V?

Yes, standard home voltage is 110v.
I’m looking at filling/ topping off 4500psi SCBA tanks.

 

[MarkA]

The cable looks like a European cable. Brown = live. Blue = neutral. Green/Yellow = earth.
The IP on the motor nameplate stands for ingress protection and is stamped 44, that is usual for that type of motor.
The nameplate is marked CE meaning it is to European standards. I can’t read the frequency in the photo. Is it 50Hz? US is 60Hz.
Normally it would be wired into some kind of starter.

How did the people you got it from power it?

 

[tmassey]

I can’t read the frequency in the photo. Is it 50Hz? US is 60Hz.

Thank you for mentioning that: I forgot. I can’t read it either. You need a 60 hertz motor. If it’s the wrong frequency, it can overheat the motor and at the very least drive the compressor faster than it was designed.

The dryer outlet has a four conductor plug. That supplies two hot, a neutral and a ground. Your compressor has three wires. It just needs two hot and a ground. That’s not a problem: you can wire it to a four pin plug, just one of the pins will be disconnected.

Which, and which colors go to the other pins, is an exercise left to the reader. Remember the part where I said I’m not an electrician? Well, it’s pretty obvious you are not one either, and I don’t want to be the blind leading the blind here.… You’re going to have to get somebody willing to take the liability for a mistake to explain that to you in further detail – which means you’re almost definitely going to have to pay them, or be really good friends with them.

As for your other question about a switch: if you want to be able to control the compressor from a switch, you will need to add one. You can simply plug the compressor in to start it and unplug it to stop. Again, details about how to make all of that work are exercises left for the reader.

Given the questions you’re asking, and given the subtleties involved as well as the fact that this may be a European compressor that you’re trying to use here in North America, you really should consult a local electrician. None of these questions are hard for a knowledgeable person to figure out. Doing it wrong, though, leaves the distinct possibility of destroying your compressor or burning your house down.

 

[IMADMAN]

Thank you for mentioning that: I forgot. I can’t read it either. You need a 60 hertz motor. If it’s the wrong frequency, it can overheat the motor and at the very least drive the compressor faster than it was designed.

The dryer outlet has a four conductor plug. That supplies two hot, a neutral and a ground. Your compressor has three wires. It just needs two hot and a ground. That’s not a problem: you can wire it to a four pin plug, just one of the pins will be disconnected.

Which, and which colors go to the other pins, is an exercise left to the reader. Remember the part where I said I’m not an electrician? Well, it’s pretty obvious you are not one either, and I don’t want to be the blind leading the blind here.… You’re going to have to get somebody willing to take the liability for a mistake to explain that to you in further detail – which means you’re almost definitely going to have to pay them, or be really good friends with them.

As for your other question about a switch: if you want to be able to control the compressor from a switch, you will need to add one. You can simply plug the compressor in to start it and unplug it to stop. Again, details about how to make all of that work are exercises left for the reader.

Given the questions you’re asking, and given the subtleties involved as well as the fact that this may be a European compressor that you’re trying to use here in North America, you really should consult a local electrician. None of these questions are hard for a knowledgeable person to figure out. Doing it wrong, though, leaves the distinct possibility of destroying your compressor or burning your house down.

Thank you everyone! The plate says 50Hz, there is an on/ off switch on the power box where the power cord exits from. It seems this compressor was purchased in Munich.