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woody with a view
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FIXED: Q Industries MV50 compressor just took a dump
i've had this compressor for about 2.5 years and it has always worked perfectly in baja. today i was plugging a tire on my wifes car and went to add
air and it started blowing air out the filter of the unit instead of out the hose. i took it apart and here's what broke. see the silver tab?
now how to get another one of these???? this is their parts page: http://www.qindustries-store.net/category_s/59.htm
i can't find any contact info for them. does anybody have any ideas on fixing this thing? i'd hate to have to spend $80 on a new one when a $2 piece
would fix it.
[Edited on 4-13-2012 by woody with a view]
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woody with a view
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that round hole next to the screw has an identical tab covering it on the other (ground) side. the trick would be to find a suitable thickness metal.
i'm thinking a TKT can should work.
gonna crack one right now and try it out.
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bajalou
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The valve is made out of spring steel so that it's always in the right position. A hacksaw blade is a bit thick, but on the right track.
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Taco de Baja
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A strip of fiberglass cut and shaped and attached with a sheet metal screw might work too. 
Got a ding repair kit for your boards? 
Or try, fiberglass mesh and epoxy, if you don't want to attempt to mix up a tiny batch of resin.
Just make sure the piston will not hit whatever fix you come up with at the top of its stroke.  The reed may be thin for a reason.
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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willardguy
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it looks just like the end of a feeler gauge. dont know how you would cut the hole though
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larryC
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I agree a feeler guage of the proper thickness would probably do the trick. they are made of pretty hard material, but should be able to put a hole in
one with a dremel and a diamond tip cutter.
I can't tell from the photo, how is the reed valve held to the head? Will the broken piece come out easily?
Larry
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woody with a view
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well, it turns out a TKT tab works wonders.... the broken piece was not magnetic. i just drilled a hole in the tab and put it on. turned on the
compressor and heard a god awful sound! that depression in the piston wasn't an accident, i needed to turn the whole assembly 90 degrees so that
depression lined up with the screw head
it pumped up to 45 pounds of air like day one.
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willardguy
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now your air compressor has sabor con caracter!
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woody with a view
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i just got an email from Q Industries. they were going to send me the part ASAP. i declined but everyone who needs a high flow portable compressor
should buy from these guys.
great customer service when you need it.
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landyacht318
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Thank you for showing me what my compressor looks like inside.
You have no Idea how much effort has been required on my part to not take it apart just to assuage my curiosity.
I did find that the inlet holes on my filter were mostly plugged with plastic flashing from the molding process and pretty restrictive to my lungs.
A little time spent with a razor blade greatly reduced restriction .
Nice fix BTW. I hope the aluminum does not fatigue too quickly.
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woody with a view
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me too! but i now how to fix it again if it ever does. TKT is never far from anywheres....
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dizzyspots
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Mood: rather be on the beach at Gonzaga
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these little compressors are amazing...recently a "high end" expedition magazine did a test on the $300-500 variety...ooh ahhh
another, shall we say "blue collar" 4wd magazine compared those AND the little Q50 amazingly enough, the little Q50 held its own very well
against the much higher priced contenders...
.I've had mine since my 1st Baja trip in 2007...I bought a 2nd one so that my air up stops would be a little shorter
come to think of it, I can buy one for each wheel and still be cheaper than the lowest priced "fancy" one
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Cyanide41
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I had a Q50 and it worked great until some scum bag stole it. I used it to inflate 35" tires, which are way beyond the recommended use. Granted it did
get a little warm, and had to take breaks, but it got the job done. I think I got mine for about $50 at costco. I can't find them any lower than $75
these days.
Nice MacGyver fix on that one Woody!
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woody with a view
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paid $60 from amazon. $79 now.
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woody with a view
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I just got an email from Earl at Q Industries offering me that part if i ever need it, or "anything else". pretty classy of Q Ind, i'm thinking Earl
is higher up the food chain there.
Buy from these guys!
[Edited on 4-21-2012 by woody with a view]
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Cyanide41
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Apparently the price has gone up. Q Industries MV50 SuperFlow High-Volume Air Compressor
**EDIT**
Sorry, after further review of Woody's post, I see that he later already mentioned the $79 price. I will now go work on my reading comprehension.
[Edited on 4-20-2012 by Cyanide41]
[Edited on 4-20-2012 by Cyanide41]
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landyacht318
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Amazon's price is back down in the mid 50's in the above link.
Yesterday I took mine apart to tap the head for 1/4 inch NPT standard air fittings, as the stock air cord is a joke of engineering and design. I
found that the few times I ran the unit without the misplaced air filter really gunked up the internals.
Also the Allen bolts holding the head on were literally finger tight, as reported by other's online.
There was even a piece of plastic baggie that was sucked into the intake and stuck in the intake check valve which Woody fabricated a new one of.
It is possible to attach normal air fittings on this unit using an adaptor:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RUS-660440/
I chose to re tap the threads instead:
Do note that the original air hose will pass air whether it is attached to a Schrader valve or not.
Standard air fittings will not do this, and turning the unit on can quickly build up pressures to beyond the unit's or air cord's capabilities.
It takes about 3 seconds to fill my 25 foot coiled yellow hose to 120 psi.
I modified a locking Air chuck so that the unit cannot damage itself by overpressure by drilling through the nipple which depresses the needle in the
tire's schrader valve:
Now I do not have to fiddle with the asinine stock threaded coupler when attaching the unit to my tires, or my Suspension helper bags. I used to lose
8 psi just removing the stock coupler from my airbags in the time it took to unscrew it.
I did a couple other mods to it too. The stock wiring has some very shoddy crimps which pulled apart alarmingly easily.
and no strain relief where the cord exits the back of the unit:
Anyway, now freshly cleaned and lubed with nice standard air hose fittings, and a cord grip on the back, I have full confidence in this unit and my
abilities to repair it if needed.
I ran some 22 awg leads from the relay to the exterior for a 2.3 watt 12 volt 40 mm computer muffin fan that I feel will negate the 40 minute maximum
run time when aimed at the head. But really this unit takes 4 of my tires( 30x9.5x15) from 32 to 45 psi in under 20 minutes. But it is certainly
very hot by then.
Here is the final result, minus the fan.
If you want a quality air compressor out of the box, spend more for Viair brand. If you have some mechanical skills, this Chinese knock off is
pretty simple to make reliable and convenient.
[Edited on 8-18-2012 by landyacht318]
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woody with a view
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i love the chuck.
last time i was stranded on the hiway with 2 flats it didn't turn on!!! i took it apart and the wires where they crimp were just as yours show-not
crimped well at all. i pulled them all apart before taking a good look at what went where and THEN thought, "oh Sheet!" i put them back together with
wire nuts and it turned on! i was worried the motor might run backwards....
and during the ordeal on hiway 1 i then noticed the power cord, just like yours had pullled the plastic plug. i still haven't fixed that cuz it
doesn't make too much difference to me.
BTW, you're prolly lucky the cops didn't find that baggie, eh?
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landyacht318
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You love the air chuck which came with the Mv-50, or my modification?
On mine, The only thing keeping the wires from pulling out the back were those horrific crimp nuts, I couldn't let that stand and happened to have a
nice Cord grip handy. Now I'd feel confident swinging the unit around by it's cord, well not really, but you get the idea.
The compressor would probably still work if the polarity was reversed. I did take note before cutting the wires and recrimping them with proper
crimps.
Regarding the plastic baggie, I have no idea what that was from, but have not seen such a color plastic baggie since I was last in Baja.
I don't touch 'papers' but perhaps the person I lent the unit to allowed one to get sucked into the intake. Wouldn't surprise me.
If so, it's been happily stuck in the intake valve for 4 years, which was the only time i ran it without the filter installed.
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woody with a view
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i like yours. good stuff!
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