Vintage air compressors

Shiny? Probably not.
I recently scored this fully functional '40s vintage air compressor from a local CL ad. I plan to use it as a replacement for my ridiculously loud Craftsman unit.

I mainly use my compressor to air up tires. My air tools are rarely used so this may work as my main compressor.

What do you have?

I just started a thread in "Garage" about my "new" 1942 Kellogg compressor. Luckily, my garage was already wired for 3-phase.

Crappy cell


20hp, 120gal, 125PSI, 80.1CFM

Got it as compensation for helping an old fellow clean out a service station that he closed down about 20 years ago. So far, I've only used it to air up a tire on my GS. Seemed to handle that duty just fine.

In a few weeks, I'll plumb my garage with hardline and have couplers every few feet. Then I'll give the old girl a more proper workout.

Wow, you scored big time. I also have a LOUD air compressor in the garage.

My friend bought a riding lawn mower at a garage sale, got it home and found a cracked gas tank. Went back and talked with the seller. To make up for it he got one of those vintage air compressors for free (or what ever it will cost him to fix the gas tank).

The strange thing is the electric motor never turns off. The air pressure cycles a clutch mechanism. I think the motor is going out (stink of ozone bad when it runs). Clutch works fine. Looks like some old timer "freshened it up" a few times with white house paint.

Cool pics. Texbiker really needs to get us a better pic of his 20hp behemoth. I am going to take a short video of mine while it's running and try to post it to youtube.

I've never seen a boxer compressor with an overhead cooling fan...interesting.

Pressure gauge to 4000 PSI, yoke for a scuba tank. That is a nice compact compressor for what it can do. I am sure it isn't fast but I am also sure it gets the job done.
Wouldn't mind one of those in my garage.

not sure if 1970 can be called vintage but mine is pure genius. Quiet enough to not be obscene from 4 feet away, and still works as if new. Well, because the compressor section got rebuilt totally by a factory tech right before I bought it. It now (after ten years of ownership) has only about 40 hrs on it. Plus it is effecient, the compressor section was on a 60galolon tank and is now on a newish 30 gallon tank.

I have an old school champion 3Ph 10hp 4 cylinder.

Have to snap some pics next time I remember to bring a camera around the shop.

I have an old DeVilbliss from the 1950's, but not having a picture of it handy at the moment, I will share this one from Death Valley....

In 1979/80 I worked as a compressor mechanic, there were a lot of old compressors plodding away in small factorys, out the back in a shed that no one went near. The most common compressor we worked on was the Broomwade AC41, we did so many that we had heads for them ready to go - change the oil and general service, and swap a head. On a quiet day I would make head gaskets for them. Seldom did any work on the crankcase, just valve jobs. For compressors to work on I enjoyed the Atlas Copco 2 stage compressor, powered by a 6 cyl turbo ford engine.

Broomwade AC41.

when I was a kid we would use old refrigerator compressors both as vacuum pumps and air compressors.

Old air compressors and brass fans just call me. Yeah, it's kinda weird but my wife is OK with it.

So I have been watching this 1953 Devilbiss air compressor on CL for several weeks and I couldn't take it any longer. I called and left a message. Asking price? ....$200

I got this from craigslist for $65



It's an early 70's 3cyl 3hp 60 gal SpeedAire runnin on 220...this thing rocks.

I would LOVE to have something like that.

$65? Whatta steal!!

I actually have one of these. A friend picked it up when he was cleaning out his deceased father's garage, then gave it to me years later. When I plugged it in, it merely tripped the circuit breaker in the shop, so it's just been sitting on a back shelf for nearly 15 years now. The motor won't turn, I believe the compressor pistons / rings are seized.

What's your experience with yours? How long does it take to fill a standard scuba tank to 2200 psi?

I'm trying to figure if it's worth repairing.

Stretch, the thing is absolutely worthless. Takes about a day and 1.21 gigawatts to fill a tank. Just send it to me - I'll be doing you a favor.

Hi, I was talking about this compressor