Bought a used Bauer Jr II

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cca50

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Jul 9, 2016
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2013 model, around 30 hours, no hour meter yet but on order. Original owner kept very explicit notes on it. Don't know if it got laid on its side or what, but been running almost an hour and not building pressure. It has enough to blow some nasty looking water out every 15 minutes. How long should it tale to show pressure on the gauge? Was operated just last week but made a long trip from the Rockies by FedEx. May be very glad I got a 30 day 'no questions asked return warranty" in writing. having to run it off the generator, all my hookups are backwards.
Shut it off at 2 hours, still no pressure. I noticed a place in the power cord that appears has been "mashed". Going to Home Depot in the Morning to hard wire the 220 circuit, going to terminate it with a 220 30 amp twist lock female to match the power cord. Before leaving, gonna get my fluke meter out and ohm the power cord from both ends.
Opinions please??
Charles.
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q320/pappy50/Untitled_zpst4wqgbln.jpg
 
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You should see high pressure at the whip end immediately. If you have it "dead ended" you will see it hit 2000 psi in as little as a few seconds. What gauge are you looking at? I am assuming you have closed the bleeder valve (psg relief)? I am assuming you have checked for leaks? You have closed all drains? I am assuming your guage is on the fill side of the valve on the end of the whip so that you can see the psg building without the whip attached to a tank? Since this is a used compressor your "gauge" could be down stream of the fill valve and was being used to monitor the tank pressure and line pressure when the whip valve is open. Sorry to be so elementary in this but since I can't see your unit I am trying to give some of the reasons that are "simple" fixes. If all else fails, mix up some dish soap and water in a spray bottle and lightly spray all the connections and see if you can find a connection that might have vibrated loose. What part of the country are you in? Did he ship it with oil in it, or did you have to add oil when it arrived?
 
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1st, this is the fill whip and the gauge is in the correct place
all the valves are closed, already been spraying the water and soap mixture. And yes, even though I discouraged it, the compressor was shipped full of oil. Before I purged the 3rd stage the 1st time, the hose was a little dirty, now it looks like the color of cream of chicken soup. Also, while looking the compressor over, I removed the intake cover to see the filter, about 2 tablespoons of oil ran out. I called the dealer, he encouraged me to run it to see. Well I saw and have decided this is his and FedEx problem. Sign on top of the box, http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q320/pappy50/Resized_20160916_120117_zpsveghsfn5.jpeg
I have gone well past what I would consider normal and will be more than happy to fix the problem with the crate
and put the compressor back in the box it came in. I do not need this as a problem.
Charles
 
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If the compressor was turned over, you could have too much oil in the valve systems of the cylinders. It might start working better after sitting for a few days. (here again I would check with the dealer on his opinion). You will always get a little oil in the water separator discharge so don't think something is wrong, this is normal. I usually catch my discharge in a one gallon jug just so I can monitor the amount of moisture and oil.

back to troubleshooting:

If you are able to purge the separator, which you are when you see the "chicken soup" (which is normal when there is oil mixed with the water) then you are getting high pressure to that point. So it sounds like the problem might be between the filter output and the valve at the guage. 
Do you notice the whip getting stiff at all when you pumped for several minutes? If not then there is no air getting to the whip. If your whip is getting stiff then I would look at the valve assy at the end of the whip. I have had those go bad. Also while we are on this end of the whip, are you getting any air out? 

Also you might have a check valve between the SCBA and the quick disconnect, it could be bad or even just backwards?

(I have owned a larger bauer but not one of the juniors, so I am not completely familiar with how you would normally purge the high pressure line to take your tank off. )
Is there a purge on the SCBA adapter pictured between the valve and your tank attach point? 
Or do you have to relieve the pressure down at the base of the filter/separator port block?

Might try taking the fill whip off without any pressure in the system. I don't know if you have compressor experience but if a fitting has any pressure on it at all you won't be able to break it loose so make sure to depressurize the system before trying to wrench on it.

If your distribution block has a second port you might check to see if it has airflow when running. Just keep working your way back to the 3rd stage separator since you know your getting pressure there.

IF you would like to visit over the phone, PM me and send your phone number and I will call you.
 
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"FunGun"If the compressor was turned over, you could have too much oil in the valve systems of the cylinders. It might start working better after sitting for a few days. (here again I would check with the dealer on his opinion). You will always get a little oil in the water separator discharge so don't think something is wrong, this is normal. I usually catch my discharge in a one gallon jug just so I can monitor the amount of moisture and oil.

back to troubleshooting:

If you are able to purge the separator, which you are when you see the "chicken soup" (which is normal when there is oil mixed with the water) then you are getting high pressure to that point. So it sounds like the problem might be between the filter output and the valve at the guage. 
Do you notice the whip getting stiff at all when you pumped for several minutes? If not then there is no air getting to the whip. If your whip is getting stiff then I would look at the valve assy at the end of the whip. I have had those go bad. Also while we are on this end of the whip, are you getting any air out? 

Also you might have a check valve between the SCBA and the quick disconnect, it could be bad or even just backwards?

(I have owned a larger bauer but not one of the juniors, so I am not completely familiar with how you would normally purge the high pressure line to take your tank off. )
Is there a purge on the SCBA adapter pictured between the valve and your tank attach point? 
Or do you have to relieve the pressure down at the base of the filter/separator port block?

Might try taking the fill whip off without any pressure in the system. I don't know if you have compressor experience but if a fitting has any pressure on it at all you won't be able to break it loose so make sure to depressurize the system before trying to wrench on it.

If your distribution block has a second port you might check to see if it has airflow when running. Just keep working your way back to the 3rd stage separator since you know your getting pressure there.

IF you would like to visit over the phone, PM me and send your phone number and I will call you.









Click to expand...
!st, thanks for your input.
I was catching the discharge in a clear container. One thing that really caught my eye, the 3rd stage pure line was a little dirty inside the hose before I did the 1st purge. Afterwards completely coated with the discharged milky looking substance. To me, this is an indicator the discharge had never been this color.
This is my 1st time operating a HPA compressor so it is a learning experience no matter how may weeks I have been reading. The pressure of the purge did seem to have pressure behind it, if what would be considered normal pressure, I have no idea. The 3rd stage had much more pressure than 1 and 2 which I would think would be normal. To add one thing that may be pertinent, with the oil buildup inside the intake filter housing which is on the same side as the 3rd stage may indicate the compressor was laid over on that side, which is also on the side the 3rd stage is on. I do not know if that may be a factor. I did not check the fill whip, it had been used with this setup the week before by the dealer filling 2 tanks last Friday with normal operation. I had asked him to to insure it was functioning properly before shipment, he agreeded.
No, the whip is not getting stiff at all and no air is coming out the end of the whip. I put a finger tip over it and cracked the valve, nothing, then even took a tissue and held it over the end of the whip, no movement. I did not inspect the check valve, but as said above, it had been used to fill tanks with this configuration just before shipment and was fine. Yes, there is a bleed valve between the bleed valve and my tanks, but with no pressure , I never hooked the tank to the fill whip. I was waiting for the compressor to show pressure before attaching it. I have no HPA compressor experience but was trained to deal with high pressure Liquid Oxygen back in my USAF days. I know not the same as the oxygen system had much more pressure, but same principal. There is no secondary secondary port, built to charge one at a time.I will send you a PM, would enjoy speaking with you about the issues. I have tried everything I know, from reading and past experiences with the liquid oxygen as mentioned. IMHO, I really think it has to do with the shipping and FedEx having it on its side at some point during shipment.As I have said before, I asked specifically if they were going to drain the oil, which I was told no. Seems FedEx paid no attention to the sign on the container. http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q320/pappy50/Resized_20160916_120117_zpsveghsfn5.jpeg
Charles
 
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It in now in the hands of the dealer to file a damage claim on FedEx or take care of the repairs, takes a load off me. He gave me the option of getting a refund or wait till it is sent direct to Bauer for a rebuild. That depends on timing, if the rebuild won't take months on end, yea I will wait (as long as the warranty agreement is extended by the dealer). If it is just being sent back to the dealer, who does not have the setup to rebuild one by his own admission. I will be getting a refund, but that decision will be Monday at the earliest also depending on FedEx.
Charles
 
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Charles enjoyed visiting with you and as we discussed it sounds like the relief valve for the filter canister may be open instead of being closed. Seems to make sense that if they changed your filter before shipping, they may have just forgot to close the relief valve that they had to open to be able to depressurize the cartridge canister. They probably opened the canister dropped you a new filter in and just forgot to close the purge valve before they shipped. Hope that is all that it is! Looking forward to hearing from you with an update.
 
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You hit it right on the nail head FunGun. Got home from Home Depot and got the circuit installed. Screwed the valve all the way out, since it actually screwed all the way down, plugged it in, turned the breaker on and flipped the switch. I guess in less than 1 minute, the gauge was registering 1900 psi. It had rained earlier and cooled everything off, even the humidity was down. Total time, including about a 2 hour cool (some football had to be watched) down was about 3 1/2 hours. I am fairly sure, reading the manuals I was emailed today, the times will be quicker, I have got to measure the intake filter or look for a part number and get one coming. I am sure it having some oil on it blocking the air from completely free flowing slowed the process down.
I appreciate all the help and advise.
Charles
 
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Great to hear Charles! Your going to have to invest in more lead now that you have your own compressor! I researched the subject of the HPA air filter cartridge needing to be in place and AFTICA was exactly correct, there is a bore hole located at the bottom of the chamber that the cartridge when in place will seal air-tight, without the filter cartridge in place air will vent to the atmosphere thus no pressure build. Something to keep in mind for the future. 
What you fixed was on page 24 of the manual if you want to read about it.

http://wssproducts.wilhelmsen.com/mediabank/store/528/JuniorII-InstructionManual.pdf

Here is the intake filter part number as I can determine.
http://www.filtertechs.info/products-page/bauer/AA-222201-PP  Air IntakeFits: N04823, Bauer
Removes: Dirt, Dust, Particles
Contents: Pleated Paper
Dimensions: 1.5" H x 2.25" OD x 1.187" ID
Micron Rating: 20 Micron
AA-222201-PPThis air intake is used on the U10, Junior and Oceanus models.

I also sent you a PM.



 
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"FunGun"Great to hear Charles! Your going to have to invest in more lead now that you have your own compressor! I researched the subject of the HPA air filter cartridge needing to be in place and AFTICA was exactly correct, there is a bore hole located at the bottom of the chamber that the cartridge when in place will seal air-tight, without the filter cartridge in place air will vent to the atmosphere thus no pressure build. Something to keep in mind for the future. 
What you fixed was on page 24 of the manual if you want to read about it.

http://wssproducts.wilhelmsen.com/mediabank/store/528/JuniorII-InstructionManual.pdf

Here is the intake filter part number as I can determine.
http://www.filtertechs.info/products-page/bauer/AA-222201-PP  Air IntakeFits: N04823, Bauer
Removes: Dirt, Dust, Particles
Contents: Pleated Paper
Dimensions: 1.5" H x 2.25" OD x 1.187" ID
Micron Rating: 20 Micron
AA-222201-PPThis air intake is used on the U10, Junior and Oceanus models.

I also sent you a PM.




Thanks for the info, have one on order now. It came with a quart of Bauer oil, topped it off this morning, maybe 2 tablespoons or so, just about the amount that ran out of the air filter when I removed the cover. Somewhere between Colorado and here, FedEx definitely had it on its side and did not pay attention to the sign on the top of the shipping container. Anyway, the quart should be enough for 2 oil changes with a little extra. Where is the best place to get the Bauer oil? I haven't found anywhere that has a different price that the one listed on the Bauer site.
All the help is greatly appreciated.
Charles



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Bauer recommends their oil PN OIL-0024. Typically costs around 37.00 retail per 1 US Quart.

Now with that said, I would recommend if you are still under warranty to follow their recommendations. So with that disclaimer I will tell you where they get their oil.

The synthetic compressor oil from Bauer identified as OIL-0024 is sourced from Chemlube 800. This comes directly from their MSDS documents.
Here is the information on the Manufacturer of the oil:
Ultrachem INC.
900 CENTERPOINT BLVD.
NEW CASTLE, DE 19720
302.325.9880

If you go to the http://ultracheminc.com/compressor-oil/ website, they will tell you that you can purchase the oil from Bauer, since they make it exclusively for Bauer. Did we just experience a round robin moment? YEP we did.

I use to buy mine from August Industries, you can google the name. I have also attached a link from the scuba links that talk about this very subject of what oil to use. Hope it helps.

http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/chemlub-800.410620/
 
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Thanks for the tip. Strange you mention New Castle, DE, That is where my Daughter in Law and my Grand Kids Mother is from. Use to go up that way all the time till they finally moved back home to Alabama about 4 years ago now.
I definitely have to do some reading on which oil and at what intervals. I know it won't get black from combustion at least. I have read so far at least annually on mine with the limited use. It came with a unopened quart of Bauer oil, so that should last a while. Trying to soak all this in this quick is tough on my old brain. Glad it is where I can easily find it.
Thanks
Charles
 
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