Ingersoll Rand SS3L3 3-Horsepower 230-Volt 60-Gallon Vertical Compressor

Comment: This is the worst air compressor I have ever owned. I bought it new from a local distributor (Precision Pneumatics) and had it in operation for all of 2 months before it gave up. I called Precision Pneumatics and they came out IMMEDIATLY to evalutate the problem.It appears that the motor burned up. They removed the motor and then a couple of days later removed the entire unit. They gave me a loaner (thankfully) to use while they fixed the IR. I have been using their loaner (not an Ingersoll Rand by the way) almost two weeks now without a problem.
I got a call today from Precision Pneumatics saying that they were refunding my money because IR has been less than cooperative with the warranty. IR told them that it could be anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to 2 years before they were able to get a replacement unit/motor out for the warranty.

In order to save a customer and do the right thing Precision Pneumatics will be giving me a refund on the IR and they will fight with IR. Thank goodness for shopping local and using people who care about doing business the right way....too bad I can not say that about Ingersoll Rand.

Comment: I'm in the process of building a kit car in a one car garage. I needed a powerful enough compressor to run a DA sander and paint sprayer, which can be air hogs, but take up little floor space. Cost for performance, you can't beat 10.3 CFM @ 135 PSI in a vertical package. Be advised of a few things:
1. This unit uses 220 volt power, best to hard wire it in.
2. Order the start up kit, you need the oil, and you get an extended warranty from IR on the pump.

Comment: I bought this compressor to replace a six year old Porter Cable 60 gallon unit that broke down after about six years of moderate use (turned out to be motor capacitors that were easy to replace). This unit seemed to be a step up from the Porter Cable so I spent the extra money and "upgraded". Installed it and ran it through a break in period according to the manual. Six weeks after that I heard it running in the barn when it really should not be and went to check on it. The air pump had blown its head gasket and gotten so hot that it melted the air filter off. I called Ingersoll Rand and they referred me to a service center and are trying to schedule a technician to come and inspect it to see if this repair will be covered under warranty. They even require a credit card number just in case they "determine" that it is your fault. The guy at the service center told me that the pump is made in India but did not fail too often (inspires a lot of confidence). My advise is that if you need a compressor that is this size, just buy the cheapest one that you can find - the premium for this Ingersoll is not worth it.

Comment: If it says this is a kids review just ignore it. I am not a kid I just did not feel like logging in.

I have owned this air compressor for about two years now and it was worth every penny. The compressor is excellent, So far I have run my compressor about 100 hours thus far. It has always supplied my with an ample amount of air when using air tools except if I run my impact for 10 minuets continuously then it drops to 70 psi. I would recommend this compressor to any one with out hesitation. I turned it on two years ago and it has been on ever sense it kicks on about every hour because there is a leak I have not fixed in my air system. As to the previous reviewer he is full of bull. And as to the allegations that it is cheap and would not hold up to extended runs I routinely run It for 3 to 8 hours at a time continuously and have done so at least a dozen times in the summer on 90+ days. Yes it puts of a lot of heat but if you do the math PV=nRt you will see that a lot of heat is given off compressing that much air. Yet with all this heat it has never caused it to malfunction, and the motor has a thermal over load/over heat button which has never tript on mine even after 8 hours in the summer. As well as the complaints as to the power of the motor if they were true that would mean that the motor was only 30% efficient thus it would be putting out 2320 watts of heat which it is not. It is drawing more than enough power for 4 HP even with efficiency factored in so it is putting out at least 3 HP. As well as the problem with the lack of rod bearings. They don't have them because there is no way to get a round ball bearing on to the crankshaft with out cutting them in half. As well as every small engine I have rebuilt and ever car engine I have seen they have had nothing more than the rod bolted around the crankshaft without any bearing of any kind. Finally the issue with the valves being cheap..... Why do you need to make it more complicated if it works reliably with such a simple valve. Also in response to the allegations that the tank was going to over pressurize If the switch failed and it continued to run there is a spring loaded safety valve on the power switch on the compressor so it is not possible to over pressurize it, mine hits about 133 before it kicks off. It is an excellent piece of equipment I highly recommend it.

Comment: This air compressor is identical to my Ingersoll Rand SS3L3 compressor that I purchased through Northern Tool in the early summer of 2005. This is the first air compressor that I have ever owned, so it was a learning experience from the start.

It is recommended that you purchase the IR SS3L3 startup kit as the compressor is delivered to you without any oil in it. In some cases the warranty is not valid unless you have purchased the startup kit.

One thing I immediately noticed was that the pressure switch was flimsy. When I plugged in the compressor to test it out, I found that the motor continued to run even as the gauge on the tank passed 130 psi. As it creeped closer to 135 psi (the limit printed on the tank), I pulled the plug. I ordered a new switch from Ingersoll Rand for ~ $35 and this fixed the problem. Perhaps I could have made a warranty claim, but it was easier to order the switch as there is an authorized IR dealer nearby and I had the switch within 2 days.

I ran the compressor off and on for several months without any major issues. I used it for several things... a little bit of die grinding, I rotated the tires on my car using the impact wrench and air ratchet, I used it to blow dust off my work bench and check the air in my tires on a routine basis. I bought the compressor because I have several project cars, and I would like to begin the serious work of restoring them. Recently, I have been looking at plans for a sandblasting cabinet, and I am starting to doubt that this compressor will stand up to the task of sand blasting for extended periods. Things I have learned about the compressor since its purchase that have led me to this conclusion:

1. This unit uses a 3 HP "split phase" motor, which can be run on a standard 30A 230V household outlet - it draws about 15A during continuous duty. (I swap between my compressor and my dryer on the only 230V outlet in my house). The motor does not output a true 3 HP at all times. At startup the motor may approach its 3 peak horsepower, but during normal operation it may only be outputting half that power, so in truth it is essentially a 1.5 HP motor. This borderline false advertising is similar to peak and RMS power ratings in audio amplifiers, though it is fairly standard operating procedure to rate motors in this fashion. It is not a question of efficiency - it is an intended feature built into the windings of the motor.

2. The motor runs at 3450 RPM. Though it is quieter than a direct drive unit like the 30 gallon compressors sold at most hardware stores, 3450 RPM is still quite fast. With the pulley ratios, the compressor crank spins at 1200 RPM. Heavier duty systems might have the AC motor running at 1200-1750 RPM with the compressor running at ~700 RPM or less, resulting in a much quieter setup. If I could do it over, I would consider a slower, beefier unit with a true power rating that runs at a slower, more quiet speed.

3. There is apparently no available rebuild kit for the compressor itself, according to the local IR dealer, though they do sell gaskets and the oiling kit. It is a very simple design, consisting of essentially three parts; a cylinder head, cylinder block, and crankcase. It is a two cylinder, single stage compressor. The "valves" in the head are what I believe are called "reed valves", which are simply spring loaded "fingers" that cover holes in the cylinder head, and they move with the blowing/sucking of air as the pistons move in the cylinders (no mechanical actuation of the valves). The pistons are aluminum, and though I measured, I don't remember the diameter... something on the order of 60 mm. The rods are also aluminum, and there are no rod bearings. The crankshaft is cast iron machined at the journals, and the aluminum rods rotate on the crank without any rod bearings. The crankcase does not have a removeable oil pan, and the cylinder block bolts to the crankcase. I was somewhat disappointed to discover the absence of rod bearings and the use of aluminum rods.

4. The compressor can run fairly hot, especially when pressurizing the tank from zero pressure. I would like to add an intercooler in line to the tank as the compressed air is quite hot, and I think the compressor itself could use some more cooling. I bought some copper to fab up a larger heat sink for the compressor housing, though I haven't made it yet. I think this will make the unit run much cooler, and therefore extend its life. The flywheel on the compressor is designed to move air over the unit, but I still think the design needs improvement.

5. There is a flimsy petcock drain valve in the bottom of the tank that is difficult to access. It is irritatingly small, difficult to reach, and awfully flimsy. I have not yet installed a regulator and filter in the system, and I haven't checked how much condensation has collected in the tank. I would like to replace this drain valve, if possible, though I have been putting this off simply because I don't want to lay down on the floor and fiddle with it. (Note: Added 10/10/06 - I added a Swagelok right angle 1/4" male NPT to 1/4" tube adaptor to this drain orifice, then plumbed 1/4" tubing out from under the tank and connected this to a ball valve. I angled the tubing downward so that condensation is sprayed in pretty patterns on the floor. On any given day I release about 1/4 cup of oily, rusty, watery residue. This makes me want to install a condensor between the compressor and tank).

6. I have made several trips to the hardware store to find the correct fittings to get the unit running properly, though most fittings were readily available. It seems to me that a lot of the fittings on the system are kind of cheap, though I am used to the Swagelok fittings that I use at work, which are expensive and well worth the price. Copper tubing is used to route compressed air from the compressor to the tank, and I think some improvements could be made there, as well.

(Note: Point #7 added 10/13/06)
7. The oil reservoir drain plug is on the bottom of the crank case, however this is no practical way to drain the oil without spilling it all over the top of the tank. One could remove the compressor to change the oil, but a better soultion would be to insert a ball valve in the oil drain plug for easy draining. I have not yet done this, as I'm procrastinating over the necessary oil spill that will come with project. I suspect that the threading on the oil plug is standard NPT like all of the other fittings on the tank - possible 1/4" or 3/8".

IR sells the SS5L5, which uses the same 60 gallon tank, but a 5 HP split phase 3450 RPM motor running a different two piston single stage compressor. For someone considering more power, this unit is still quite affordable, but it will still have some of the drawbacks of this system. It turns out that 5 HP is about the most one can get out of a 30A single phase 230V household circuit without flipping breakers.

My biggest complaints are the use of the split phase motor, the relatively cheap design of the compressor (aluminum rods and lack of rod bearings), the flimsy pressure switch, and the cheap fittings used all over the machine. I will continue to use this unit for some time, but I am already considering either building my own low RPM, true 4-5 HP air compressor from various parts suppliers, or just purchasing a new one from a company like Eaton Compressor. Ingersoll Rand makes the Type 30 series which is a step above the SS series, and I have considered these units as well, but I would almost feel safer building the unit on my own so that I know exactly what is going into it.

For someone that needs something better than the cheap 30 gallon direct drive units sold at most hardware stores, this unit is more than adequate. However, if you are considering something for medium-heavy duty, you might want to consider something with a little more quality, and therefore more cost. Like houses, I think good advice for someone looking to buy an air compressor is "buy the most you can afford". I for one like the idea of a compressor running at a quiet 750 RPM at a mere 73 dBa, as opposed to my high revving 1200 RPM SS3L3.

(Note: Added 10/10/06 -- As far as safety is concerned, this item will never blow up and injure anyone - IR has installed safety valves all over this tank as the other reviewer mentioned. IR would never permit such a liability to pass into the hands of the consumer, of course. Meanwhile, my criticisms of this unit are based on what I'd like to see in a compressor, that is all. I thought I was paying for more than I got.)

And as a final note, I will say that IR has excellent customer support. With authorized IR dealers all over the country, getting parts (like gaskets, pressure switches, and oiling kits) is pretty painless.