Have a friend that had his Oceanus electric model wired improperly. It turns out that the electrician wired the motor backwards. Evidently this model will still fill a tank running backwards but the motor has tripped the breaker. His compressor oil was also black and burned when drained. His last few tanks filled also have an odd smell, I suspect some type of oil contamination. has anyone else encountered or heard of a similar situation and what the compressor consequences were? I have already told him to pull all his tanks until they can be professionally cleaned inspected, get an spectro oil analysis on the compressor oil. really wondering what type of other damage or contamination the compressor has suffered.
Oceanus installation screw-up
- Thread starter Div4scpro
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trident00
Contributor
I would be very concerned about the condition of the compressor since if it was run backwards the lubrication system was probably not pumping oil. The black oil is indicative of overheating and possible near siezing of aluminum parts. Near seizing would certainly cause the motor to trip out. I am no compressor expert, but I am sure there are some on here that can confirm or deny this. I would be talking to the compressor manufacturer and the electricians to determine liability. I'd hate to see what it did to the internals.
Good luck, Walt
Good luck, Walt
Doubler
Contributor
I'm thinking the "Electrician" should be replacing the compressor he hosed up.
rcontrera
Contributor
I had an oversea customer do exactly the same thing with a brand new Oceanus. It ended up burning out the third stage after about two hours of run time and we had to replace the piston and sleeve. I don't know who actually ended up paying the bill ... I just know I didn't.
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How many hours did it run backwards?
rcontrera
Contributor
Splash will always work as long as the compressor is spinning. It is the internal pump that will not work and in the case of the Oceanus, that leaves the third stage without much lubrication.
As for blame, that is really a grey area. One of the first steps in the owner's manual is to jog the compressor to verify direction. While the electrician hooks it up, it is really the owner/operator's responsibility to insure that it turns the right way.
As for blame, that is really a grey area. One of the first steps in the owner's manual is to jog the compressor to verify direction. While the electrician hooks it up, it is really the owner/operator's responsibility to insure that it turns the right way.
windyairman
Contributor
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Your best opton is to replace the compressor block asy & clean up filter housing asy with a new cart & air test.
Odd smell in tanks is down to the oil overheating fumes.
If it run that long 50+ hours i think it will have further damage due to over heating that may not show up till later in life.
For sure final stage has had its day.[a quick easy job to relpace]
The oil pump may also be damaged due to lack of lubrication & that is not so easy to check as is built in side the block.
Cooling air from the fan has also go the wrong way.In short the block has also overheated due to air flow over the block.
Let us know who pays the bill.
Odd smell in tanks is down to the oil overheating fumes.
If it run that long 50+ hours i think it will have further damage due to over heating that may not show up till later in life.
For sure final stage has had its day.[a quick easy job to relpace]
The oil pump may also be damaged due to lack of lubrication & that is not so easy to check as is built in side the block.
Cooling air from the fan has also go the wrong way.In short the block has also overheated due to air flow over the block.
Let us know who pays the bill.
divingtactics
Contributor
Hmmm, not a good situation at all. The oil pump is on the fan side of the block and looks a little like a bearing but has metal vanes inside that are sprung loaded to run around the inner surface of the pump housing. Even with lubrication, these do wear a little, so I would imagine that without lubrication, there would be substantial damage to the entire pump assembly. The crankshaft is splash fed, so the crankshaft bearings and crankcase should hopefully be okay. Excessive heat will melt first and second stage o-rings sealing the reed valve/valves and most likely the second stage head o-ring as well. The third stage doesn't have an o-ring between the head and the cylinder, but it does have one between the cylinder and the block, two between the sleeve and the cylinder and the valves of course. I'd pull it right down to every nut and bolt and then assess wear and what to replace. I agree that you will be best to replace the third stage sleeve and floating piston.
Good luck buddy, it's going to be expensive. I have a full service manual for the Oceanus if you are interested, just PM me.
Good luck buddy, it's going to be expensive. I have a full service manual for the Oceanus if you are interested, just PM me.
The damage is done, but I'm curious. Was the motor a single or 3 phase? The reason I ask is that these units are factory tested and generally left with leads ready to go in the correct rotation in a 230v, single phase. Basically, the internal wires are already connected for the correct rotation. All that needs to be connected to the power source are shown on the motor plate or a label on the cover of conduit box. In the USA, most motors show rotation from the lead end and in single phase changing rotation is usually a matter of swapping leads T8 & T5. It doesn't matter which source leads are connected to the motor leads as it does with 3 phase.
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