RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

...Long story short.... bought this on Ebay... thought I would back up my airbrush kit...as one of my winter builds will require it




the mistake was not looking very good....and that the seller didn't say whether it was working or not
it was cheap...ended paying 45 dollars..shipping incl. and it came very very fast...about three days from Ill

Come to find out though..it was pretty roached ...the plug wire was fried... the internal insulation crispy and brittle ,,,I had not noticed in the guys picture
that the wire outer casing was shredded ...

There is a silver lining.... on these Millers ... it has a foam air filter on the bottom of the piston housing... this allows the piston to breath while pumping... so since the cord was trashed and totally dangerous... the guy never test ran it ... this was a good thing because that foam air filter was also old and falling apart...so if he had run the compressor parts of the foam might have got sucked into the piston compression area
Fortunately... since I had to disassemble the whole thing to refurbish it... that foam fell out in one piece ...one wasted piece ...but one piece all the same

Anyway...after a number of hours... the compressor is running perfectly.... I installed a new cord ... touched up the gnarly areas and put a new base gasket/air filter on it... also a foam mat under to buffer the vibration
This is the result





this is the old plug wire


this is after cutting away about 6 inches of cord...as you can see the internal insulation is fried to a crisp...
Changed it to a more up to date cord...

These compressors were quite the item back in the day... I remember them costing close to 200 dollars back then...they are very well made...and have a solid piston mech instead of a diaphragm ...made in the USA... Many survive today... and are going for some really good prices on Ebay... I just didn't get all that lucky this time lol

I was going to ask you all what I should do for a feedback... but I already gave the guy a positive... just because it came so fast...and it still could be rebuilt

HAPPY TANKING GENTS


ALPHA

I don't think it was a bad deal at Alpha. An extension cord used to fit and a new foam filter being all it needed I think you made out great! I gotta get me an air compressor too.

Hey don't forget to get a good water air/water separator so you don't mess up those GUP paint schemes.

Alpha,
Looks like this turned into a very good thing. ;o) Great job on the rebuild.
Regards,
Painless

jackalope wrote:I don't think it was a bad deal at Alpha. An extension cord used to fit and a new foam filter being all it needed I think you made out great! I gotta get me an air compressor too.

Hey don't forget to get a good water air/water separator so you don't mess up those GUP paint schemes.

Well when I went to Ebay to get the photo's from the auction..apparently there were a few that went in August for a little less... not sure about the shipping though.. as it couldn't be calculated being the auctions were done and over with

Water trap and regulator I got...but my other compressor ...a Badger Piston model... is kind of old too...so just in case that one breaks down ..at least I have a back up
all my hoses have quick releases so no problem with that as well... and I also use a foot pedal...as these are tankless so don't have a pressure activated on/off

I don't feel really bad about the deal... actually enjoyed refurbishing it... thing was... I guess it could have been a little better... that being the cord being good so I could test it right off... but things worked out...and I now have a good back up if not primary compressor

These are really good Jack...totally serviceable ...and they put out a good amount of air

ALPHA

PainlessWolf wrote:Alpha,
Looks like this turned into a very good thing. ;o) Great job on the rebuild.
Regards,
Painless

Thanks Painless... It's lucky this is from a time when things made in the US were done with pride (Date on the underside of the motor was 69)....it was super easy to disassemble ..and reassemble... this model has a metal fan belt shroud... which was riveted... a tad loose...just put a metal dolly under it to tighten it up...everything went pretty smooth...and she pumps a good amount of air...though I kind of wish I looked for one in August...saw some that went for 20 dollars

ALPHA

Well done that man just think rebuilt to the way your happy with it will last for years, I think you got a good buy

hi Alpha ,
thats a nice old compressor and a rather nice resto , we dont see many Miller's over here in the UK , shame as i know how well made they are , one of my uncles had one built into his old auto workshop , it was huge and worked year after year without complaint , TBH im a bit jealous

alphatiger88 wrote:hi Alpha ,
thats a nice old compressor and a rather nice resto , we dont see many Miller's over here in the UK , shame as i know how well made they are , one of my uncles had one built into his old auto workshop , it was huge and worked year after year without complaint , TBH im a bit jealous

Yeah...Miller was one of the best compressors back in the day.... reason I was surprised to see some priced so reasonably on Ebay....I mean these little guys could supply enough pressure for a full sized paint gun....so in a way I'm still glad I got this one...the Larger three phase units are really rarely seen...but yeah IMO the best a shop could have
Back when I was in high school they were almost everywhere... One place that I was employed at back then... the owner loved the large Miller so much when the lower oil reservoir housing cracked... he just welded it up ran forever

With that said...this is one I also got...15 mins after this one
http://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/v ... 78#p124278

Have a good one 88

ALPHA

Well the adventure went into PHASE TWO 19.99 +9.95 shipping...not bad right?
photos from auction





It took awhile to arrive...almost a month...it finally arrived yesterday afternoon
again...spent a little time cleaning it up ...even though it looked pretty clean in the original photos ...there was a lot of overspray and general grunge in the tight areas....there was also another reason it was so clean....with no rust like my previous purchase




Here's the catch....reason it was so cheap...and also the reason there were similar bargains in August ...The first thing I noticed was there wasn't much weight to
the box.... it was very light in comparison to my other Millers .....upon opening the carton and lifting the compressor out of the box I found out why....

Apparently... at some point of manufacture...Miller changed their method of manufacture.... Now the compressor is almost completely made of plastic
reason there is no rust on it ...just a lot of crud ...the only metal components are the belt pulleys ...the motor...the crank/ piston assy... and the finned compression head ....Even the main housing supporting the crank is plastic

Though the general plastic structure doesn't detract from it's performance...(it pumps just as strong as the metal versions)....the plastic almost makes it feel like a toy..not a tool ...though I do have my doubts about it's durability...it did withstand the trip to Hawaii from New York ...no cracks ..no damage at all... it wasn't even packed all that well too

Anyway...the reason I am posting this is for those who might be shopping for a Miller... they are excellent compressors .. but there are these floating around with the metal brothers...the give away is the three pronged grounded plug ...also the honeycomb reinforcement castings in the base

It's still good... light and very portable... with demonic air pumping capability ....but if you are shopping...and think you made a score on a metal Miller...just be aware that what might show up on your doorstep is one of these plastic babies
I have a hunch it's what caused the company to finally disappear
So ................ Lesson learned... so something gained


Happy Airbrushing Gents

ALPHA

PS..because I'm pretty much sold on the performance of the Millers... thought one of these would be a good parts source for the other...don't think any parts can be interchanged between the two ...so HA HA for foresight