Videos on Compressor Safety (11m) & Yong Heng setup (20m) and operation (19m)

Having learned so much from y'all here, the dozens of videos of watched, and yes - tips, tricks and traps I've learned myself, I thought I'd share my knowledge acquired to make it easy for others following our footsteps. Many thanks to everyone here, on YouTube and other forums that not only gave me the confidence to buy a compressor, but share their secrets and failure so we would not have to duplicate their misery.

If nothing else, I recommend everyone see the safety video where I discuss the necessity of using a cable hose choker - something I haven't seen others seem to talk about or use in their videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKqGeVYh5Z4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeoRG1DCNI8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kUfN8U4nqE

I look forward to your critique - you'll find a few times I "misspoke" saying the HY consumes 20 Watts (actually 2,000 Watts), 95CF vs 85CF tank, etc.

Happy trails,

Michael
 
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Michael,

Great videos!
I'm sure that these will help a Lot of people!

Regarding the initial 'stall' . . . This is most likely due to the fact that an extension-cord is being used..
To prevent that, I suggest plugging the compressor cord directly into a wall outlet, 
and even better - try to use a dedicated circuit / outlet [Outlet straight to breaker - not used by anything else]

Over the years, I've had the same thing happen when using certain 110v MIG / TIG welders..

I'm no electrician - so I can't speak 'technically', but, wire gauge, length of wire, etc. 
will all have an affect on the overall efficiency. *Safety too - as too much draw can/will heat up the wires.

Hopefully that makes sense and helps out a bit.

*Thumbs Up*

Sam - 
 
Thanks Sam.

Yeah, that certainly surprised me, too! Being an Electronics Technician in years past, I'm knowledgeable about power wire length and wire gauge sizing that affects voltage drops. So based on the YH pulling 20 amps, and running a (long) 50 foot cable, it requires a heavy duty 10 or 12 gauge wire.

https://www.homedepot.com/c/factors_to_consider_when_choosing_extension_cords_HT_BG_EL

In my situation, when I moved the power cord a/c circuit from the dining room to the garage I was fine. So clearly there is some sort of problem with the dining room circuit, which I suspect that the electrician didn't ensure a good connection between the house wiring and the a/c receptacle (something on my to-do list that continually grows).

At any rate, I actually had put my "Kill-a-Watt" digital meter with storage on the circuit when I used the dining room circuit and was flabbergasted to see the voltage at the YH compressor was only 77 VOLTS - YIKES!!! So clearly, while the circuit seems to work fine in the house for low-current draws, it's bad news when hooking up a compressor. Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe I'll do some more testing on the circuit using some of my high wattage lights and the meter to help resolve the problem (hope it's not the connection in the circuit breaker box being loose, corroded... or worse).

Michael 
 
Michael,

Great job! We appreciate the effort and time you put into these videos. A big +1 from me to you! I would like to submit a little food for thought on your first video, regarding the water flow direction. I don't think it makes enough difference, but there are two reasons why flowing water into the lower connection on the head and out of the upper connection would be better. First, by flowing upwards, you will clear all the air bubbles out of the water jacket in the head on startup. A downward flow could allow air to remain trapped in the head. Second, you get more heat transfer by flowing upward. Temperature difference is the driving force in heat transfer, and upflow means the water is at its coolest when it goes through the relatively cooler lower piston area. Then, as it warms up on its journey, it encounters the hotter upper piston area, thereby maintaining the highest average temperature difference between the water and the cylinder jacket along its path and increasing the amount of heat transferred to the water. We use a very similar approach in refrigeration processes.

Again, thanks for all the information. I did not know about those cable choke devices. I am always careful to position myself as much out of the way as possible, but now I know there is a way to safely deal with the threat.
 
Michael,

Great job! We appreciate the effort and time you put into these videos. A big +1 from me to you! I would like to submit a little food for thought on your first video, regarding the water flow direction. I don't think it makes enough difference, but there are two reasons why flowing water into the lower connection on the head and out of the upper connection would be better. First, by flowing upwards, you will clear all the air bubbles out of the water jacket in the head on startup. A downward flow could allow air to remain trapped in the head. Second, you get more heat transfer by flowing upward. Temperature difference is the driving force in heat transfer, and upflow means the water is at its coolest when it goes through the relatively cooler lower piston area. Then, as it warms up on its journey, it encounters the hotter upper piston area, thereby maintaining the highest average temperature difference between the water and the cylinder jacket along its path and increasing the amount of heat transferred to the water. We use a very similar approach in refrigeration processes.

Again, thanks for all the information. I did not know about those cable choke devices. I am always careful to position myself as much out of the way as possible, but now I know there is a way to safely deal with the threat.

Many thanks TheIceman - that makes perfect sense, especially as things begin to heat up internally and would especially be true for closed loop systems under pressure. It seems a shame that my 25 Watt 400-600 Gallons/hour pump isn't allowed to move more water but with a 1/8 hose connector on the Yong Heng, the compressor's ability to circulate water with a better flow is quite limited. On the other hand, the water exiting the compressor isn't really all that warm so I've learned not to fuss about it, instead taking 5-10 minute breaks if necessary when the head temperature goes above 55C (which turns out more like 65C on the 2nd stage piston using a laser temperature gauge).

Cheers and thanks again, Michael