No pictures I'm afraid, my phone camera doesn't work at the moment.Okay so I got this old compressor from a friend. It was kept in good quality over the years. Its called a Clarke Cougar 25. The manual is available on google by searching 'Clarke cougar 25-50 compressor'.So I haven't got any experience with these so I did my research, replaced the oil and checked some valves. I turned it on and it started with no issues. When I returned with some newly purchased tools and a hose I turned it on again, the fan nudged 1cm along with a buzzing sound for 4 seconds before it turned off.After more research I was told to replace the capacitor or give the fan a spin. I removed the plastic casing that houses the air filter and located the capacitor. Before removing it I decided to try something I read online. I turned the compressor on so it started buzzing, grabbed one of the now exposed fan blades and flicked it as hard as I could and the whole thing kicked into gear and started running fine.I have managed to get the compressor running perfectly every time using this method, and I squirted some WD40 in there and ran it a few more times loosening the fan a bit.My understanding was that the fan had crap in there that was causing it to stick and it couldn't get going on its own without a budge. So I went to remove the fan to give it a clean but there was no obvious way to remove the rounded bolt on the end. It seems there is a circlip that has no holes to remove it. I didn't even know what circlips were until just now but I understand I shouldn't reuse them and I don't want to risk damaging anything by trying to pry it out, nor do I have the funds to buy a giant circlip assorted box, as apparently none of the nearby shops sell them individually.So without messing with the circlip, I am not sure how to use this. In theory I could stick a makeshift air filter onto the pipe, and use it without the housing but the rapidly spinning fan blades right next to the controls concern me. I was thinking of cutting an opening in the housing so I can still budge the fan and start it, but I don't really want to damage it further.I tried looking for guides on removing the fan but I mostly get results for AC unit repair. Any advice would be appreciated. via /r/DIY https://ift.tt/2OYj8N3
