Sherpa Big Air Compressor Repair

[Howard70]

We’ve been using a Sherpa Big Air Compressor infrequently for about a year. Initially we were delighted with it’s performance after we re-wired the unit for our application. A month ago, it’s performance seemed to decline and it completely failed two days ago.

The immediate cause of the failure was that a thin-walled brass tube between fittings connecting the cylinder head / tank / air fittings broke.


The longer term issue is a design flaw (in my opinion) where the only support for the tank and air fittings is this thin walled tubing. As the compressor runs, the tank & fittings vibrate a lot. That vibration seems to stress the tubing & I think leads to the failure. I hope to fabricate some additional support for the tank & remove the problem.

Anyway, while I have a request in to Sherpa’s technical support my previous experience there suggests a quicker resolution could come from finding the parts myself. I’m wondering if anyone recognizes these pieces (the check valve components fell out when the tube failed) and could suggest a United States based source? The threads are metric pipe. Here’s another image:


Thanks for any suggestions.

Howard

 

[jgaz]

McMaster and Carr

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[Howard70]

McMaster and Carr

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

Thanks for the suggestion. I should have mentioned that I tried McMaster Carr before posting - no luck.

Howard

 

[sideburns]

I know this is an older thread, but in case you're still waiting on sherpa 4x4. I had this same issue with mine(my fault), and bought this off amazon. You'll need a 3/8" npt coupling as well. I also had issues with the head bolts coming loose, it would no longer go past about 80psi, so it wouldn't shut off. I bought new bolts so I could trust them not to strip out, the two bolts that weren't loose were very hard to get out, the threadlocker needed some heat. They've came loose since and I just retighten them. I also had the switch break on my, as well as the gauge. I replaced the nitto fitting before it could fail, it was trash. I didn't trust it anymore and switched to dual viair 425c compressors. I'll probably keep the sherpa around for when I go out with others, instead of handing them my backup 88p viair I'll hand them the sherpa.

 

[Howard70]

I know this is an older thread, but in case you're still waiting on sherpa 4x4. I had this same issue with mine(my fault), and bought this off amazon. You'll need a 3/8" npt coupling as well. I also had issues with the head bolts coming loose, it would no longer go past about 80psi, so it wouldn't shut off. I bought new bolts so I could trust them not to strip out, the two bolts that weren't loose were very hard to get out, the threadlocker needed some heat. They've came loose since and I just retighten them. I also had the switch break on my, as well as the gauge. I replaced the nitto fitting before it could fail, it was trash. I didn't trust it anymore and switched to dual viair 425c compressors. I'll probably keep the sherpa around for when I go out with others, instead of handing them my backup 88p viair I'll hand them the sherpa.

Thanks for the reply! I did get some replacement parts from Sherpa (the cost was reasonable although shipping from Australia made the total a bit high). I made a "saddle" to support the small air tank in hopes that the parts won't break again. I like the basic design of the compressor and when it works well it really moves air. However, the attention to detail in the assembly seems lacking.

Howard

 

[Howard70]

Above I mentioned fabricating a "saddle" to support the air tank on the Sherpa Big Air to hopefully stabilize the tank and prevent fatigue and failure of the connections that provide the only support in the compressor's stock configuration.

Below are two shots of the "saddle" that I made by cutting 3" and 4.5" diameter holes 1 3/8" apart in two pieces of 1/2" plywood. I then cut and discarded the top and bottom of the plywood leaving two "U"s. Bolted the two pieces together for a thickness of 1" and ran a SS hose clamp around the tank and the motor to keep everything tight and in place. I would have preferred to place the "saddle" further from the cylinder to provide better support, but that conficted with the switch on the cover (cover not in place in the photos. So far everything works well, but my fingers are crossed.

Two images:




Howard

 

[67cj5]

Above I mentioned fabricating a "saddle" to support the air tank on the Sherpa Big Air to hopefully stabilize the tank and prevent fatigue and failure of the connections that provide the only support in the compressor's stock configuration.

Below are two shots of the "saddle" that I made by cutting 3" and 4.5" diameter holes 1 3/8" apart in two pieces of 1/2" plywood. I then cut and discarded the top and bottom of the plywood leaving two "U"s. Bolted the two pieces together for a thickness of 1" and ran a SS hose clamp around the tank and the motor to keep everything tight and in place. I would have preferred to place the "saddle" further from the cylinder to provide better support, but that conficted with the switch on the cover (cover not in place in the photos. So far everything works well, but my fingers are crossed.

Two images:
View attachment 693244

View attachment 693245

Howard

If those parts came from Australia then all those threads will be Metric as Australia switched to the metric system around 1970. and you should be able to get any parts from the EU or the UK,

hope that helps.

 

[sideburns]

If those parts came from Australia then all those threads will be Metric as Australia switched to the metric system around 1970. and you should be able to get any parts from the EU or the UK,

hope that helps.

They're made in china, tank is actually 3/8 npt inlet and 1/4 npt outlet.

 

[67cj5]

They're made in china, tank is actually 3/8 npt inlet and 1/4 npt outlet.

Thats odd, because just about everything that comes in to Australia is mostly metric,