hydrovane 501 advice

[tom jackson]

hi all, firstly hope everyone is keeping ok , ok ive just gone and bought my first compressor it's a hydrovane 501 it was cheapxas said need bit off tlc so i went in blind and bought it , much to my horror when it arrived it was in much worse condition then stated and guy has blocked me so cant get in touch so im stuck with it, ok said it worked ok and yes can switch it on but there is no on/off button on the compressor it has been well to put it politely "bodged to feck " it was joined with tape an shoved behind where the switch should be and then wired direct to the plug so i used my head and switched it on lol, it seems to run ok and fills up and stops and turns back on when pressure is low so that's one good thing u guess, my concern is there is a red wire coming from the vane side which is not connected to anything what is this for ? can i get a simple on off switch to make good on the taped connection? ive not used it yet only to do a quick test and really want to get it wired correctly and make sure its not going to go bang on me , look forward to some advice and will post a picture once i work out how to do it , thanks

 

[tom jackson]

picture hopefully

 

[armalites]

I've PM'd the workshop manual to you

Mine has a control box with a no volt release in it. I have a funny feeling it has a red witre going in so I'm wondering if it's had the box removed. I'll have a look when I'm out there.

One thing to be aware the oil is special and needs to be the correct stuff. You also need to make sure the pressure in the air end has gone down before opening the filler.

They are brilliant things as they are so quiet but they need to be run, they are not ideal if you just want to pump up some tyre once a month. They need to be run till they get hot enough for the moisture to evapourate.

 

[GrahamGKD]

My HV02 has that red wire as well - it disappears into the control box. From a very quick look it looks more like a tube than a wire? I can take the lid off the control box later if no one with more knowledge turns up - I'm stuck in the house at the moment waiting for a delivery.


There used to be a chap called Gary900r who was really helpful and knowledgeable on the Hydrovanes but I think he may have left the forum.

 

[GrahamGKD]

No, it is definitely a wire - not sure that this is going to help but here are some pictures of the control box. The red wire you mention is the one pointed to by the green pen.

 

[daleyd]

Looks like thermocouple cable?

 

[armalites]

Looks like thermocouple cable?

That would make sense, cutting out if it got too hot.

 

[daleyd]

That would make sense, cutting out if it got too hot.

Yeah, it looks like compensating cable but the colours don’t match the usual charts (could be a weird or old standard though)?

 

[Daveleonard]

Hi tom can't help yo with the box but in my younger years I used to service hydrovanes , one thing that use to kill them was overheating the oil cooler always got blocked and the oil was also a big issue if you look at the oil filled it should have a recess that you can put a thermometer in to check the running temperature the one you have there looks like a 15 that were really good units but need to be kept clean . They used to have a factory in redditch and be really helpful also all hydrovanes have overhaul kits and service kits nice and easy to service and repair, hope that helps?

 

[tom jackson]

hi thks for all replies and the manual il read thougj it later as have a few probs for you guys , i can't see a recess you mention to test temperature , i got a on off switch and rewired the mess off wires the red wire ive just put a connector on for the time being, but on switching on i now think ive been sold a knackered unit, it is now making a vibrating noise and then a pop but will then go away gradually had a look around the fan which is where its sounds like its coming from with the pop coming from the black end cone only to notice the oil i changed less than a week ago has gone like a milky colour which i assume is water in the oil , dont seem to be having much luck lol

 

[armalites]

I wouldn't be worrying about the temperature as that will only be of concern once it's up and running.

I think you need to get back to basics and get it to the point it should be at.

The thing that people forget with these things is if you bought the equivalent of a 501 new today it would probably cost £3K+ compared to a few hundred for a piston compressor.

The oil will be cloudy most likely due to moisture, in a ideal world you run it till it got hot and then change the oil again once it had cooled down. I tend to suck the oil out through the filler hole (as it's less messy) with a air powered vacuum extractor using the pressure from the tank but you obviously need to be 100% sure you turned the compressor off or it will fire up.

If it's been used in the same way someone would use a small compressor at IE pump up some tyres use a fortnight or run an air tool every few months then it will never got hot enough to evaporate all the moisture, that can then lead to rust in the camber.

The black plastic cone is just a cover but you need to remove the nose to remove the hose to get it off. There is an oil separator in there that is part of the service kit.

 

[Peasy]

I've PM'd the workshop manual to you

Mine has a control box with a no volt release in it. I have a funny feeling it has a red witre going in so I'm wondering if it's had the box removed. I'll have a look when I'm out there.

One thing to be aware the oil is special and needs to be the correct stuff. You also need to make sure the pressure in the air end has gone down before opening the filler.

They are brilliant things as they are so quiet but they need to be run, they are not ideal if you just want to pump up some tyre once a month. They need to be run till they get hot enough for the moisture to evapourate.

Hi, would you be able to send me the service manual also?
I’d greatly appreciate it.
Thanks

 

[knighty]

anyone know somewhere decent to service these?

I have 3, forgot the numbers, 2 big tank-less ones and one smaller+tank like you'd use at home

new machine coming at work soon which needs 40cfm constantly

I'd service them myself but need them to be spot on so would rathe pay a professional....


had one years ago with a "thorite" sticker on the side of it, I lent it to someone and it came back not working right, he said if I sent it to them he'd cover the bill so thought I might at well.... bloody thing came back worse than when I sent it to them and with a £450 bill :-(

 

[galooph]

anyone know somewhere decent to service these?

You could try https://www.compressorman.co.uk, they rebuild Hydrovanes.

 

[mtt.tr]

Red wire from the vane housing is likely the thermistor

 

[mtt.tr]

anyone know somewhere decent to service these?

I have 3, forgot the numbers, 2 big tank-less ones and one smaller+tank like you'd use at home

new machine coming at work soon which needs 40cfm constantly

I'd service them myself but need them to be spot on so would rathe pay a professional....


had one years ago with a "thorite" sticker on the side of it, I lent it to someone and it came back not working right, he said if I sent it to them he'd cover the bill so thought I might at well.... bloody thing came back worse than when I sent it to them and with a £450 bill :-(

I'd just buy the service kit, they are pretty easy to do.