Can I convert this into a compressor to drive small models?

[NickG]

Hi all,

You may be able to help me. When I moved into this house, there was a cocacola cooler thing left in the garage (see attached pics) and I was about to chuck it out, because it's taking up room, but I decided to plug it in to see if it worked and was surprised to find it works well. So I'm now thinking of sticking it on ebay if it's worth doing.

I turned it over because was curious as to how it works and it seems like a conventional fridge. There's a compressor with is very quiet then a radiator? type thing and a fan that blows over it.

My question is, could I take the compressor and connect it to some sort of tank to run steam / air models at low pressure. It'd be good because it's so quiet, I've heard about people using compressors from old fridges for that reason. But how would I go about it? Also, if I cut those pipes, presumably some sort of refrigerant is going so spew out - is this a hazard or is there no problem doing it?

Cheers,

Nick

[mklotz]

Coke "stuff" is avidly sought by collectors.  Sell the thing and use the money to buy an airbrush compressor.

[andreas]

This stuff is an excellent beer cooler for parties!!! Thing twice before making it pieces

Andreas

[NickG]

Thanks guys, I'll stick it on ebay and see what I can get for it then. I've missed a trick though, should have advertised it before the world cup - never thought 

Nick

[cedge]

Funny you asked. I've been doing some surfing to get info on building a silent compressor and there are 2 avenues that are fairly popular. refrigeration compressors are apparently very easy to adapt to compress air and do it quietly and efficiently. The other route, and the one I'm going to take uses an automotive compressor of the old "York" style and a small gas engine. I've seen this adaptation at work and decided to build one for outdoor engine shows I've been attending.

A quick google search and you will see it's been done and quite successfully at that.

Steve

[old-biker-uk]

One thing to remember when using a fridge compressor is that when in the fridge it is a closed circuit, ie. the lubricant goes around with the gas (freon or whatever) if you use it to run models you need to squirt the occassional drop of oil down the inlet. DAMHIK
Mark

[John-Som]

I have tried a variety of compressors for running my small model steam engines at shows including a home built compreesor based on a 'fridge pump and fire extinguisher holding tank.



My best success has been with this 'Spray-it' compressor produced by Thomas Industries, Inc., Sheboygan, Wis. USA. Whilst they are no longer produced they do turn up on ebay for around £25 and any restoration needed is simple and straightforward. They produce up to around 60 psi but more importantly the volume of air is sufficient to run a number of engines on a continuous basis. Anyone interested will find details of this and other compressor options on my website http://start-model-engineering.co.uk/

John-Som

[NickG]

Thanks guys,

I'll still look into it because I would like a quiet compressor. You were right about the interest in the cooler though, I put it on ebay and had loads of people watching, but people were asking for a buy it now price. I said to someone he could have it for £50 and he almost snapped my hand off, wish I'd let it run now!

Nick