Question: burning down the house (with my silentaire)

[kellsbells]

My Silentaire compressor started making noises so I checked the oil level and it was ok. topped it off just a little bit any way. Now I have electrical smoke poouring out of the spot where the external electrical wiring enters the compressor tank. Can I jut replace some of the electrical components or am I in need of a new compressor?

 

[bildio]

Silentaire has very good tech support. Contact them and get their input.

Copied from their website: http://www.silentaire.com/silentaire/contactus.asp

"Any questions regarding technical issues with your compressor will be answered promptly by a technician. These include warranty issues, repairs, troubleshooting and any general operating questions you may have."

 

[Joe Jacob]

What model do you have? And please post your experiences in getting it repaired.

 

[Sam]

You DEFINITELY need to contact Silentaire customer service about this. This is not something you should risk trying to find a solution here.

Yes, keep us posted.

~Sam

 

[guzzi]

Sam is right.
Question: When was the last time you changed the compressor oil? General rule of thumb (and this applies to Jun-air too) if you use your compressor daily you should change the oil with the manufacturer's recommended oil every 6 months. If you use it occasionally one a year is sufficient, the reason for this need is that the fully synthetic 10wt oil used in both compressors is hydroscopic by nature. It readily absorbs water from the air (just like brake fluid) and since both designs use an air intake that enters the pump chamber where the oil resides the moisture in the air is absorbed by the oil. This process begins to breakdown the oil's ability to lubricate the pump, just as a car with dirty engine oil will burn more oil the same is true with silent type compressors which are basically refrigerator pumps that operate at high temperatures but in a closed loop system. jb

 

[Eugene Carkoski]

Most of today's electrical and electronic devices, secretly run on smoke, if you let the smoke out they will cease to function.
I hope you still got some warranty left.

 

[bildio]

Most of today's electrical and electronic devices, secretly run on smoke, if you let the smoke out they will cease to function.
I hope you still got some warranty left.

Off topic, but this made me recall that my L&R Quantrex ultrasonic cleaner is not only smoking, but also generating sparks. I turned it off when it started smoking. I noticed the sparks when I took the cover off to troubleshoot the problem. I used a long extension cord, and put the cleaner outside. I plugged it in, and immediately unplugged it when I saw the sparks/arcing. I hate to throw it away, but it's beyond my capability to reasonably repair it, and it's not worth sending it somewhere for repair. Too bad, it was a nice looking machine.

 

[monk]

yeah, what they said. i was given a new junn-aire, still in the crate. i've managed to read the manual at least 3 times. i keep the manual in plastic cover under my bench.

 

[James Roettger]

I just keep adding oil to my silentaire. Had it for about 8 years and all seems fine.

 

[Keirkof]

Thank you for the tip Guzzi! This certainly explains why the oil level on my Jun-Air seems to have risen instead of lowered in six months of daily use. I didn't have enough oil ready to do a complete replacement, but hosed out what I could and topped up with the bottle of new oil I had ready. My impression is the oil visible in the level glass looks darker than the old contents did. Anyway, oil is a lot cheaper than a new compressor.