Used 1989 VT12 Bauer 3-phase Air compressor?

[Dubious]

Greetings all,

I keep an eye on wisconsinsurplus.com for work and saw a used 1989 vt12 Bauer 3-phase air compressor listed. Is this something worth exploring further? I know the 3 phase motor would need to be replaced to 1 phase motor. I really did not plan on getting a compressor anytime soon but this caught my eye.

As of today, the current bid is only $31.00 with 4 days left.

https://www.wisconsinsurplus.com/cgi-bin/mmlist.cgi?rlust155/90220

 

[tbone1004]

It's a fire department compressor which means it likely will have been maintained properly, has low hours, and was just replaced with a 6000psi unit. I'd budget a grand or two to rebuild it if necessary, but it should be fully functioning. Start it up once you get home and if it runs fine and all the pressures and temps are good, just replace the filter stacks and get an air test. Happy days.

You don't want to replace it with a single phase motor though. Just put a 20hp VFD on it and call it a day. It will be cheaper than converting since you'd also have to buy a soft start with the single phase motor, and it will be cheaper to run in the long run.

With compressors that big, banks are key as well. They fill FAST and do not like to be stopped and started, so you'll want at minimum 2 bank bottles, ideally 4, so budget another $2k for those.

 

[tmassey]

If you wanted the price to stay low, why did you post it here on scubaboard?

Seriously, I find most auctions like that don’t get going until the last day, and the last hour could really drive things much higher. I wouldn’t get your hopes up on a $31 compressor just yet.

Are you sure you can handle a 12 CFM compressor? The plate says it has a 10 horse motor. That’s 100 A of 240 V single phase.

Plus the other problem is: how long will you be able to run it? The recommendations that I’ve seen said that you really should run a compressor at least once a month, and for at least an hour or so to heat the compressor and its oil up enough to drive out all of the moisture. That’s 10 aluminum 80s in just one hour.

Given that you have 50 to 99 dives, unless you were certified last year, I don’t know that you’re diving anywhere near enough to be able to keep that size of compressor in good condition.

I’m sure you’ll get more advice from people with more compressor experience than I. Maybe your profile statistics are wrong, or maybe there’s a whole dive team/club that you’re involved with. But that’s an awful lot of compressor....

 

[Dubious]

With compressors that big, banks are key as well. They fill FAST and do not like to be stopped and started, so you'll want at minimum 2 bank bottles, ideally 4, so budget another $2k for those.

Thanks. As I mentioned, a compressor was not even something I was looking at but when I saw it it caught my interest.

If you wanted the price to stay low, why did you post it here on scubaboard?

You have a point, but the truth is I wouldn't mind if someone from this board would get it especially if it something they are more equipped to use.

Given that you have 50 to 99 dives, unless you were certified last year

I was certified last year with my wife so I have twice the tanks to fill. We got out most Sundays and a had a few weekend trips away from the kids. We bought drysuits for this season to extend our season but Covid-19 has kept us out of open water due to no childcare .