Eastwood QST 30/60 air compressor

[Cole2534]

3mo in and it's still doing great. It's quiet and keep up with my needs.

I did sister it to another compressor I had to add additional storage capacity. It doesn't seem to mind the extended runtime in lieu of cycle frequency. An hour-meter should be here this week.

At this point, quiet air is so effin nice that I couldn't go back to a hi-speed recip unit.

 

[mazade]

2-years going well

Popping out for a moment...
We bought one of these two years ago(received & put in operation June of 2018).
Ours is run with the fancy top shroud removed.
There have been a few issues:
- The oil level sight window, being a thermoplastic, allowing oil to spew out once things get hot; I'm rather certain they removed it from future models, seeing as how they told us we must remove ours(I actually liked it, after tightening it down better).
- Just a couple months ago the pressure switch froze up on one of the contact-points and the unit wouldn't run -- fortunately the switch has 3 terminals with only 2 in use(240V); found the dead contact(no continuity when the pressure switch is engaged), and swapped its wires to the unused set of contacts.

Upon seeing that it can toast a pressure switch in only a couple of years, I went ahead and purchased a 40A contactor(that outta do it) and ran the pressure switch power output to the contactor coil, and now I don't need to buy replacement pressure switches



We're a machine shop with 2 Haas mills going on an average day; we plumbed the Eastwood unit into the backup 80 gallon Husky so we have more draw-down capacity; even then the Scroll compressor can kick on once every 5 minutes(if we're blowing-off & changing-out parts often), and it does a good job keeping up with our limited demands(no blast cabinet in operation here).
Overall it has been a positive experience for this family operation(4 of us here).

Being a salvage & make-do kind of guy, I heard where someone experienced one of their motor capacitors exploding after some years of use... so I have ordered my own replacements(a start capacitor, and a run capacitor) in the event that ever comes about.

 

[Cole2534]

Popping out for a moment...
We bought one of these two years ago(received & put in operation June of 2018).
Ours is run with the fancy top shroud removed.
There have been a few issues:
- The oil level sight window, being a thermoplastic, allowing oil to spew out once things get hot; I'm rather certain they removed it from future models, seeing as how they told us we must remove ours(I actually liked it, after tightening it down better).
- Just a couple months ago the pressure switch froze up on one of the contact-points and the unit wouldn't run -- fortunately the switch has 3 terminals with only 2 in use(240V); found the dead contact(no continuity when the pressure switch is engaged), and swapped its wires to the unused set of contacts.

Upon seeing that it can toast a pressure switch in only a couple of years, I went ahead and purchased a 40A contactor(that outta do it) and ran the pressure switch power output to the contactor coil, and now I don't need to buy replacement pressure switches

View attachment 291845

We're a machine shop with 2 Haas mills going on an average day; we plumbed the Eastwood unit into the backup 80 gallon Husky so we have more draw-down capacity; even then the Scroll compressor can kick on once every 5 minutes(if we're blowing-off & changing-out parts often), and it does a good job keeping up with our limited demands(no blast cabinet in operation here).
Overall it has been a positive experience for this family operation(4 of us here).

Being a salvage & make-do kind of guy, I heard where someone experienced one of their motor capacitors exploding after some years of use... so I have ordered my own replacements(a start capacitor, and a run capacitor) in the event that ever comes about.

I had mine not cycle on last week, didn't notice until the VMC was waiting on air for a tool change. I cycled the power switch and all is well.

I tied in the Harbor Freight air dryer yesterday. I'm into the setup about $2500, and I feel that's as good as I'm going to get barring some sweetheart deal on a large recip.

 

[ripperj]

I appreciate you guys keeping this going. I’m still considering one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Scruffy887]

Good thread. I wanted one for my garage, but it is not heated yet. I considered getting one for work when air demands are low, even considered getting 3 for work and setting up a sequencer controller. But bought a Kaiser 10 hp air tower. I have a dedicated compressor room and would need to fabricate a rack for 3 Eastwoods. Not enough floor space.

 

[Cole2534]

Good thread. I wanted one for my garage, but it is not heated yet. I considered getting one for work when air demands are low, even considered getting 3 for work and setting up a sequencer controller. But bought a Kaiser 10 hp air tower. I have a dedicated compressor room and would need to fabricate a rack for 3 Eastwoods. Not enough floor space.

Mind sharing the delivered price?



Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

 

[aarongough]

Mind sharing the delivered price?



Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

When I got quoted on an SM10 Aircenter (10HP w/ drier) it was about USD$9,600 plus commissioning, delivery, etc... Total here in canada was the equivalent of about USD$10,500 plus tax. I ended up buying one used. One thing I will say is that they're really not as quiet as I was expecting. They are not thumpy loud like a piston but they make quite a loud air rushing noise. Measuring mine with my noise level meter I get about 73dba @ 6 feet when it's running.

The Kaeser literature says 63dba but they don't specify the measurement distance unfortunately. It could be that my unit is louder than a new one, but I know a friend with a new unit and he has the same complaint.

I would bet that overall the Eastwood unit is a lot quieter as it's cooling fans are much smaller.

 

[Homebrewblob]

Had a family friend that owned a mechanic shop, I grew up visiting and sneaking around the shop learning. He Was a good man, all my life there was a HUGE metal “box” in the back of the shop about the size of a 4 door sedan, we’ll fast forward about 20 years and the man finally shuffled his mortal coil and we was at the shop with his son helping get things in order to sell off as the son and mother didn’t wish to continue the shop without him. I went back and looked at that big ole box and it turns out it was a GIANT rotory air compressor from a local Mercedes dealership that moved locations. He bought it hoping to hook it up and solve his air problems forever, that machine sat for 20 years and I watched it get hauled off on a flat bed to be scrapped 20 years later.

Whatever you get, use it. After seeing this happen again and again I thought to myself Too small may not Always be as bad as too big

 

[dkmc]

the man finally shuffled his mortal coil

That happens to me when I mix to much Taco Bell with low grade barley pop.

 

[Cole2534]

Well here I am, about 10mo after my last update and I really like this thing. No change in noises, temps, or air flow.

 

[ripperj]

Thanks for the update. Glad it’s working out.

I ended up getting a small Husky Ultra quiet. It’s pretty quiet(magnitudes better than the pancake or 20 gallon craftsman)
It runs my Fadal, I’ll keep it until it dies and get something better


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Scruffy887]

Mind sharing the delivered price?



Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

When I got quoted on an SM10 Aircenter (10HP w/ drier) it was about USD$9,600 plus commissioning, delivery, etc... Total here in canada was the equivalent of about USD$10,500 plus tax. I ended up buying one used. One thing I will say is that they're really not as quiet as I was expecting. They are not thumpy loud like a piston but they make quite a loud air rushing noise. Measuring mine with my noise level meter I get about 73dba @ 6 feet when it's running.

The Kaeser literature says 63dba but they don't specify the measurement distance unfortunately. It could be that my unit is louder than a new one, but I know a friend with a new unit and he has the same complaint.

I would bet that overall the Eastwood unit is a lot quieter as it's cooling fans are much smaller.

Forgot about this thread. Good to hear the OPs scroll is still going.
My 10 HP air tower was a little bit more coin because I added some after filters and an auto drain for tank and after filter. But the only water seems to come from the fridge unit. I made my own oil coalescer unit for the condensate that empties into a 5 gal bucket. My shop has AC and I have never emptied that 5 gal bucket. But compressor may not get turned on for days/weeks. Even so a 12 hour day adds maybe a quart of condensate. Most of it evaporates from the bucket

 

[Mike Henry]

I ended up getting a small Husky Ultra quiet. It’s pretty quiet(magnitudes better than the pancake or 20 gallon craftsman)
It runs my Fadal, I’ll keep it until it dies and get something better

The compressor looks like the kind that California Air uses on their similarly sized compressors. I bought one (the CA unit) for very intermittent use with a small import CNC mill and it died with a failed pressure switch less than a year after purchase. CA were fairly helpful but told me that the compressor is not intended for frequent use. I replaced the switch, and the pump later, and it has been working ever since but is a lot noisier than the dB rating they advertise, perhaps because I run it at 120 psig, which is about max for the unit. Not bad for the money but it does have some issues.

 

[Mike Henry]

For those of you that use one of these QST-30/60 air compressors, can they actually be safely run from a 20-amp 220 VAC breaker? The specs claim a 4 HP motor that draws 17 amps - that seems like too few amps for 4 HP, and a 20-amp breaker seems under-sized for a 17-amp power draw.

 

[Cole2534]

For those of you that use one of these QST-30/60 air compressors, can they actually be safely run from a 20-amp 220 VAC breaker? The specs claim a 4 HP motor that draws 17 amps - that seems like too few amps for 4 HP, and a 20-amp breaker seems under-sized for a 17-amp power draw.

Sorry I'm just now seeing this, I'll check my breaker tomorrow but I'm 99% sure it's on a 30a.

Also, bumped to the top for another potential buyer to see. Little over 2 years in and performance is the same. Quiet, reliable air. I never have put the sheetmetal top back on, it seemed dumb to trap that heat for no reason.

Edit- found this snip on their Q&A page, looks like it will work on a 20a circuit.

 

[Mike Henry]

Sorry I'm just now seeing this, I'll check my breaker tomorrow but I'm 99% sure it's on a 30a.

Also, bumped to the top for another potential buyer to see. Little over 2 years in and performance is the same. Quiet, reliable air. I never have put the sheetmetal top back on, it seemed dumb to trap that heat for no reason.

Edit- found this snip on their Q&A page, looks like it will work on a 20a circuit.

Thanks! I'd be putting the compressor in a Chicago-area townhome garage. Do you think that I'd have complaints from neighbors or a problem with Chicago temperatures? It would see very light duty.

 

[Cole2534]

Thanks! I'd be putting the compressor in a Chicago-area townhome garage. Do you think that I'd have complaints from neighbors or a problem with Chicago temperatures? It would see very light duty.

Haha, not a damn chance.

Programmed via Mazatrol

 

[geistinthemachine]

I'm thinking about ordering the Eastwood Scroll compressor, but it won't quite fit in the cabinet where I keep my compressors (don't worry, it has baffled airflow). Can someone who own's this compressor confirm that it's not crazy to separate the compressor from the tank? Also, I've been seeing the Youtube videos of water in the oil tank and people needing to drain it all the time, has anyone else experienced this? I assume it's temperature and humidity dependent - I'm in the PNW, it's not Florida, but I wonder if it's too humid...

 

[john.k]

Compressors that run cold will always condense volumes of water .........some industrial units have water eliminators and piddle a constant stream of water from the drain.......but youre talking Sullair money to get that.

 

[geistinthemachine]

Hey John,

Thanks for the reply.

Just wanted to reiterate my first question so it doesn't get lost:

Can someone who own's this compressor confirm that it's not crazy to separate the compressor from the tank?

Thank you!