No gap J so replacing the gaskets and cleaning everything up and will try again...
Any ideas of what to look for next?
Thanks for the help!
Any ideas of what to look for next?
Thanks for the help!
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Air Venturi 4500 psi compressor issue
- Thread starter Mikelo123
- Start date
Mikelo-
do a search on my treads in this sub forum. You will see I rebuilt my hatsan Lightning like less than 6 months ago. I put a lot of effort into that tread in efforts to help others. If your compressor doesn’t leak, like meaning the lines are all tight, next, check the filtration system to make sure no clogs. If all checks out good, save the high pressure side with the piston rings for the very last. Do the low side, which is the side where the air filter is connected to, and open that up to make sure the flap blade in there isn’t gunked up with soot and stuff. Check, clean, and reseal that LP side, button it up then check again for leaks. It should build pressure at this point. I’m confident it’s the low side. It should build pressure as now you’ve opened up the intake to the low pressure head. I doubt it’s the HP side at all.
But, if you see pressure build say to 2000 psi and it stops there and you have no leaks, then it’s time to dive into the High pressure side with the piston rings. No different than the low side, just a few added steps.
Find my tread and find find where I say- “if I had to do this all over again, knowing what I know now.. and you’ll see the advice I spelled out.
Mike, for what you do for a living, this will be a piece of cake for you. Just be careful you don’t damage your tools(your hands)
do a search on my treads in this sub forum. You will see I rebuilt my hatsan Lightning like less than 6 months ago. I put a lot of effort into that tread in efforts to help others. If your compressor doesn’t leak, like meaning the lines are all tight, next, check the filtration system to make sure no clogs. If all checks out good, save the high pressure side with the piston rings for the very last. Do the low side, which is the side where the air filter is connected to, and open that up to make sure the flap blade in there isn’t gunked up with soot and stuff. Check, clean, and reseal that LP side, button it up then check again for leaks. It should build pressure at this point. I’m confident it’s the low side. It should build pressure as now you’ve opened up the intake to the low pressure head. I doubt it’s the HP side at all.
But, if you see pressure build say to 2000 psi and it stops there and you have no leaks, then it’s time to dive into the High pressure side with the piston rings. No different than the low side, just a few added steps.
Find my tread and find find where I say- “if I had to do this all over again, knowing what I know now.. and you’ll see the advice I spelled out.
Mike, for what you do for a living, this will be a piece of cake for you. Just be careful you don’t damage your tools(your hands)
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Hopefully Humdinger pipes in, as he just went thru an AV rebuild like two months ago.
Dont forget to check your one way check valves, around the filter tower, to make sure they aren’t gunked up. In my tread I told you to find, I have links to replacement parts, o rings, seals, etc., and pics of all that you have already posted
Dont forget to check your one way check valves, around the filter tower, to make sure they aren’t gunked up. In my tread I told you to find, I have links to replacement parts, o rings, seals, etc., and pics of all that you have already posted
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Doc, I've been through all this before, well me, Bigragu, Humdinger and a guy... sorry but his forum name skips my mind from NY and we got them back up and running. Don't hesitate to call the other three and ask for help, haha just kidding, It looks your on the right path starting on the Lo pressure side. If it's not there then it's either the high pressure seals, a broken reed valve (two on the HP side), possibly a check valve not sealing, also two. Or..... if it's up and running no chance the rupture disc has blown. That's what happened to my guy in NY last week. Also when you have it running and the hose sealed off check all the fittings, including the filter housing for leaks. It souns like more than just a leak though if it wont build beyond 300psi. Holler for help if needed.
Jking
Jking
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Man got it back together and same issue!!!!
Builds about 500 PSI and just stays there...
As far as I can tell no leaks as just checked all fittings etc. when it was running but 500 or so PSI and just won't build pressure!!
Irritating!!
Builds about 500 PSI and just stays there...
As far as I can tell no leaks as just checked all fittings etc. when it was running but 500 or so PSI and just won't build pressure!!
Irritating!!
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https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/need-assistance-on-what-and-where-to-check/
heres the link to the initial tread I started, when I got in the situation you’re now in exactly. Big thanks to JKING in getting me kick started
heres the link to the initial tread I started, when I got in the situation you’re now in exactly. Big thanks to JKING in getting me kick started
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https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/anyone-ever-order-these/
link #2 as I was trying to source fitting parts
link #2 as I was trying to source fitting parts
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https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/to-fellow-lightning-owners-i-bring-us-hope/
the last link that shows me completely getting it back up and running, even better than new. I was able to top off my tanks from 3200 to 4500 in like less than 7 minutes.
in this tread, I list parts, pics, links to tuxingcn.com, etc.
just what the Dr ordered.....
the last link that shows me completely getting it back up and running, even better than new. I was able to top off my tanks from 3200 to 4500 in like less than 7 minutes.
in this tread, I list parts, pics, links to tuxingcn.com, etc.
just what the Dr ordered.....
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Thanks my friend!
This thing is irritating the hell out of me!!
Seriously I have dealt with meth addicts at the tail end of a 7 day bender and been less frustrated!
Hoping I can make some more progress tomorrow.....Everything is spotlessly clean, new gaskets and o-rings on both sides....New filter, swapped around air lines and same damn issue!!
This thing is irritating the hell out of me!!
Seriously I have dealt with meth addicts at the tail end of a 7 day bender and been less frustrated!
Hoping I can make some more progress tomorrow.....Everything is spotlessly clean, new gaskets and o-rings on both sides....New filter, swapped around air lines and same damn issue!!
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So, you’ve opened up the second stage head? The high pressure head? What did the piston rings look like?
what about the tunnel shaft that they ride in?
what about the tunnel shaft that they ride in?
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Nothing of note...no play etc. Cleaned all surfaces and new gaskets and o-rings...
Has to be a leak somewhere I am just not catching but have been over it 10 times now!!
Has to be a leak somewhere I am just not catching but have been over it 10 times now!!
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Did you find gunk and burnt oil on the two high pressure reed valves? Did you realign them properly? At first I did the same thing as you by replacing the rubber o-rings and gaskets which made no difference in performance.
On the low side cylinder you should clean off all low pressure plate corrosion and make sure it's thin inner reed valve seals flat against the plate. I found that I had to remove the V shaped middle reed valve from the pressure plate, polish it with 1200 grit sandpaper, and reverse it so that it rested flat against the holes on the pressure plate. Make sure the two metal air hoses are not leaking at their four threaded connections, They can be sprayed lightly with WD-40 using the can's hose. Do this while running the compressor as the WD40 will foam up and reveal any leaks. WD40 won't rust the compressor metal as soapy water tends to do. Did you disassemble the high pressure cylinder head including the round disk with 2 holes in the bottom? There is a check valve above the disk that has to be cleaned and correctly realigned.. It is sandwiched between 2 green o-rings. This round disc can be difficult to remove from the cylinder head and is held in place by a green o-ring. I used an allen key inserted in the top of the cylinder head where the air exits to tap out the disk. I placed the top of the cylinder over open vise jaws to support it while tapping out the disk with an allen key.
Nothing I did made a major difference in performance until I finally replaced the 3 high pressure piston rings. It greatly helps ease of installation to use the 2 piece delrin piston ring assembly tool from Pyramyd which both expands the one piece high pressure piston rings and compresses them into shape once they're in their grooves. Do not remove the silver flat spacers that fit in the 3 grooves of the high pressure piston underneath the piston rings. Try not to remove them from the piston when cutting and removing the old piston rings.
Cleaning out the low side and high side burned oil from the check valves, reed valve, and pressure plate and replacing the 3 high pressure piston rings was what fixed the compressor in my case. Very fine grit sandpaper does a good job polishing the check valves, low pressure plate assembly, and the low side reed valve below it. I think the pressure plate reed on the low side being flat against the plate is critical as well as making sure there are no leaks in the air connections. Even though your high side piston rings may look good to your eye, they probably are not sealing well enough to build pressure to 4500 psi. You can replace the piston rings without removing the high pressure piston by removing the upper cylinder sleeve that contains the water jacket. Turn the motor manually through the vent in order to extend the high pressure piston to it's maximum exposed position. I went through the same aggravations as you have performing multiple tear downs before installing new high pressure piston rings which was the ultimate solution.
I believe the previous owner caused premature failure of the Air Venturi by overfilling oil well above the red indicator dot. This sent excess oil through the cylinders and caused the valves to be clogged with burned oil. Another issue was using economy Harbor Freight compressor oil. It pays to use high quality non detergent compressor oil such as Filtertechs CF500 or Royal Purple Synfilm 100. People who have used #46 hydraulic fluid or motor oil in their compressors are saving money and ruining their compressors prematurely. The manuals that recommend these oils are badly misinforming their customers.
On the low side cylinder you should clean off all low pressure plate corrosion and make sure it's thin inner reed valve seals flat against the plate. I found that I had to remove the V shaped middle reed valve from the pressure plate, polish it with 1200 grit sandpaper, and reverse it so that it rested flat against the holes on the pressure plate. Make sure the two metal air hoses are not leaking at their four threaded connections, They can be sprayed lightly with WD-40 using the can's hose. Do this while running the compressor as the WD40 will foam up and reveal any leaks. WD40 won't rust the compressor metal as soapy water tends to do. Did you disassemble the high pressure cylinder head including the round disk with 2 holes in the bottom? There is a check valve above the disk that has to be cleaned and correctly realigned.. It is sandwiched between 2 green o-rings. This round disc can be difficult to remove from the cylinder head and is held in place by a green o-ring. I used an allen key inserted in the top of the cylinder head where the air exits to tap out the disk. I placed the top of the cylinder over open vise jaws to support it while tapping out the disk with an allen key.
Nothing I did made a major difference in performance until I finally replaced the 3 high pressure piston rings. It greatly helps ease of installation to use the 2 piece delrin piston ring assembly tool from Pyramyd which both expands the one piece high pressure piston rings and compresses them into shape once they're in their grooves. Do not remove the silver flat spacers that fit in the 3 grooves of the high pressure piston underneath the piston rings. Try not to remove them from the piston when cutting and removing the old piston rings.
Cleaning out the low side and high side burned oil from the check valves, reed valve, and pressure plate and replacing the 3 high pressure piston rings was what fixed the compressor in my case. Very fine grit sandpaper does a good job polishing the check valves, low pressure plate assembly, and the low side reed valve below it. I think the pressure plate reed on the low side being flat against the plate is critical as well as making sure there are no leaks in the air connections. Even though your high side piston rings may look good to your eye, they probably are not sealing well enough to build pressure to 4500 psi. You can replace the piston rings without removing the high pressure piston by removing the upper cylinder sleeve that contains the water jacket. Turn the motor manually through the vent in order to extend the high pressure piston to it's maximum exposed position. I went through the same aggravations as you have performing multiple tear downs before installing new high pressure piston rings which was the ultimate solution.
I believe the previous owner caused premature failure of the Air Venturi by overfilling oil well above the red indicator dot. This sent excess oil through the cylinders and caused the valves to be clogged with burned oil. Another issue was using economy Harbor Freight compressor oil. It pays to use high quality non detergent compressor oil such as Filtertechs CF500 or Royal Purple Synfilm 100. People who have used #46 hydraulic fluid or motor oil in their compressors are saving money and ruining their compressors prematurely. The manuals that recommend these oils are badly misinforming their customers.
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Ordered new rings today and have checked every damn connection 10 times now!
Hoping new rings do the trick!
Ordered another gasket set as well and trying to find a complete low side head so I can just saw that out but have not found one as yet and Air Venturi is not answering the phone or responding to emails apparently!
Hoping new rings do the trick!
Ordered another gasket set as well and trying to find a complete low side head so I can just saw that out but have not found one as yet and Air Venturi is not answering the phone or responding to emails apparently!
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Anyone know where I can order rings for this damn thing??
I thought I had them sourced but not the case....
I thought I had them sourced but not the case....
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try these guys @ Davv, my davv looks like your Air Venturi, they have a large line of machines, mine is a model SCU60S but a SCU60 is the same but different
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone:+1（909）200-2619
DMC USA COMPRESSOR INC
1001 N TODD AVE STE 103
AZUSA,CA 91702
https://www.davyenergy.com/?portfolio=043
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone:+1（909）200-2619
DMC USA COMPRESSOR INC
1001 N TODD AVE STE 103
AZUSA,CA 91702
https://www.davyenergy.com/?portfolio=043
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Doc, AirVenturi although you didn't make contact will still be your best bet. The last time I bought some they were actually for the Nomad but they worked very well so you might ask them for those since the 4500 was out of stock for a long time.
Jking
Jking
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Appreciate it!! Have had no luck by phone or email so still waiting on a response...
Find it hard to believe it is the rings but....
Was running absolutely great with barely double digit hours on it....
Find it hard to believe it is the rings but....
Was running absolutely great with barely double digit hours on it....
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My Lightning quit building pressure right at about 14 hours of use, and two years ownership. There were no signs leading up to it. It worked fine the week before.
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good luck getting ahold of someone at air venturi. my buddy had his lock up a week ago and left a message and heard nothing at all last week. pretry poor service when u cant go through your coicemail and make a 2 minute call to give an rma # for return or tell him to throw it away. would take 2 minutes.
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