Hydrovane 501

[munchyboy]

Hi Chaps,

Excuse the intrusion - I normally lurk over in the MIG newbies section.

I've been given a Hydrovane 501 - nice looking thing and it was free so I couldn't say no. It's been sat in a (dry) garage for the last couple of years, so I imagine it needs some sort of service / oil change or something.

Would anyone have a service manual for the beast, or any other advice ? I'm pretty mechanically minded, but this is the closest I've been to a compressor - before the urge to plug it in takes over I thought I'd ask the experts !

Thanks.

James.

 

[tigler]

Basically Hydrovanes look after themselves as long as they get oil changes as per the schedule. I advise you use genuine Hydrovane oil , run it until it's reached a good working temp , drain and refill with new oil. Oil change intervals are normally by hours run , Hydrovane oil is 2000 hour service life but if you don't use it for that many hours just change it every 2 years. Thats the routine I use on mine and it's fine , now over 15 years old.

 

[munchyboy]

Thats good to know - thanks very much. I've found this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item= 170418506352

Which seems like the right sort of thing. Any idea how much oil it takes ?

All the best,

James.

 

[Gary900r]

PM me a email address I'll send you a manual.
It holds about 1ltr oil.
If you only run it for short times now and then the oil will need to be changed frequently.
If they don't run hot then condensation builds up inside the pump unit and the oil either gets pushed down the airline or it emusifies.
In the last 3 months I have seen 3 writen off due to major internal corrosion.

 

[tigler]

Good point. Mine is always run to full temperature.

 

[munchyboy]

Thanks for that Gary - received. Seems to indicate that it's best to run it up to temp then drain the oil - so perhaps no harm in seeing if it works before I splash out on the oil + filters etc.

Wish me luck !

 

[Gary900r]

Yes get it hot before draining the oil. It should run at around 65C above ambient temperature.
The oil is quite a thick oil when cold. When its hot it will flow easily.

 

[munchyboy]

Well, it didn't explode ! Seemed to work well, no strange noises or anything.

There was some emulsified cack in the tank that I drained off. I'm still wondering if it's worth getting it professionally serviced / checked over - any recommendations of a suitable company ? I'm in Brighton.

All the best - and thanks.

James.

 

[tigler]

If it raises to pressure promptly , runs smoothly and quietly I wouldn't waste money on a service. Get a service kit , fit that , change the oil , jobs a good'n !!

 

[Gary900r]

If there is much oil in the tank run it until its hot then let it switch its self off.
Time how long the pump unit takes to vent its self. It should be between 2 and 4 minutes.
If its outside this range let me know.

 

[munchyboy]

Hi Gary,

I'm not sure what you mean by the pump unit venting itself. It ran smoothly up to 10 bar in about 3.5 - 4 mins and then shut off. I sat there and stared at it for 10 mins or so - nothing happened...

I'm sure I looked a bit odd - a bit like waiting for a kettle to boil :-)

Thanks again for all your help...

James.

 

[Gary900r]

There are two gauges on the machine. One is plumbed into the tank. There is another higher up on the pump unit/air end(part no 56391 item 13 page 22 in the manual). This one should drop in pressure once the motor stops.

 

[munchyboy]

All done + serviced - I appreciate all your chaps help - fantastic !. It takes almost exactly 4 mins for the front gauge to drop to zero. The old oil was pretty horrible: