Prochem Performer Rebuild ( Pics, Detailed)

[Lee Stockwell]

Go to the Prochem website and print out the owners manual with complete wiring and plumbing diagrams. Laminate that book and keep it in the truck.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Go to the Prochem website and print out the owners manual with complete wiring and plumbing diagrams. Laminate that book and keep it in the truck.

Already ahead of ya boss I got a binder with every detail of the machine in it with each page in a protector

 

[Austin Willoughby]

So after doing some more research the manual says the blower is running at 2650rpm but is capable of 3600 also the motor is only running 2400 rpm buy can run at well of 5000 rpm can someone explain what I'm missing here? Lol I attached a pic from manual

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Your car can go well over 100 mph....

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Your car can go well over 100 mph....

Lolol seriously tho also found out it's a 70hp motor so should handle the 47 blower no problem

 

[Nomad74]

Jets cruise at 80% throttle. There’s a reason why.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Jets cruise at 80% throttle. There’s a reason why.

Ok and at 80 percent throttle it should be running somewhere between 4000 and 4500 rpm not 2400 wouldn't that allow me to get way more out of my blower especially since it's running at 1000 rpm less than it's capable?

 

[Nomad74]

Ok and at 80 percent throttle it should be running somewhere between 4000 and 4500 rpm not 2400 wouldn't that allow me to get way more out of my blower especially since it's running at 1000 rpm less than it's capable?

Try it and see I guess. I just know weird things happen when you start trying to get more power. Harmonic vibrations with the 47 blower are a problem.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Lolol seriously tho also found out it's a 70hp motor so should handle the 47 blower no problem

That was the Performer 805.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

That was the Performer 805.

http://datsun1200.com/modules/mediawiki/index.php?title=Horsepower this is a full detail of the a12 motor look for the rpm and horsepower chart

 

[Lee Stockwell]

That had a progressive 2bbl carb. I had that motor in a 71 Datsun and I thrashed the dickens out of it for several years when I didn't fear death so much. Did you know they would go 95 in third gear? Didn't hurt it a bit.

Keep oil and water in it and you can't hurt it cleaning carpets.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

That had a progressive 2bbl carb. I had that motor in a 71 Datsun and I thrashed the dickens out of it for several years when I didn't fear death so much. Did you know they would go 95 in third gear? Didn't hurt it a bit.

Keep oil and water in it and you can't hurt it cleaning carpets.

Yea it's a hell of a motor that's all I keep reading about basically indestructible but I'm trying to figure out how to maximize it's capability to get the most out of my machine.

 

[Nomad74]

I’m wondering why more tm’s Aren’t built out of VW motors. They are tough as nails and sip the fuel. Tom’s VW TM is killer.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

I’m wondering why more tm’s Aren’t built out of VW motors. They are tough as nails and sip the fuel. Tom’s VW TM is killer.

That's true and they naturally run at a lower rpm usually 2000 to 4000 rpm which means you can get maximum power easier plus they're toque monsters which is what ya want to drive you're blower.

 

[TConway]

I’m wondering why more tm’s Aren’t built out of VW motors. They are tough as nails and sip the fuel. Tom’s VW TM is killer.

Yeah I sure miss my VWTM one of these days I will get her mounted in a van.

 

[BIG WOOD]

Austin, I would try to set the engine and blower at 3000rpm. You'll need to get different size pulleys on the blower and water pump to set it correctly, and the water pump will need to stay at the same speed it's been running at. I'm surprised that's a 70hp motor you've got. I'd be sure to double check everything just in case. That just seems like a really big motor for the size tm you have

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Austin, I would try to set the engine and blower at 3000rpm. You'll need to get different size pulleys on the blower and water pump to set it correctly, and the water pump will need to stay at the same speed it's been running at. I'm surprised that's a 70hp motor you've got. I'd be sure to double check everything just in case. That just seems like a really big motor for the size tm you have

http://datsun1200.com/modules/mediawiki/index.php?title=Horsepower

That's a link to everything about the nissan a12 motor

 

[JS41035]

Put that thing back together bone stock. You will have all the heat and suction you need.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Yea that's the easiest thing to do but I never like making projects easy lol. I have a chance to possibly trade my 45 for a 47

 

[TConway]

Number 4 blower I think you could gear it so that the motor could spin as little as possible and be smooth, #4 isn't gonna put that much of a load so put smaller pulley on the blower and spinner up. 4 cyc should have good heat.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Number 4 blower I think you could gear it so that the motor could spin as little as possible and be smooth, #4 isn't gonna put that much of a load so put smaller pulley on the blower and spinner up. 4 cyc should have good heat.

You're right I didn't consider just gearing it and keeping the motor rpm low the only thing with that is I'm loosing HP at the flywheel if its running at 2400 rpm vs 4000 which is what I'm proposing

 

[JS41035]

Fair enough. If you are determined to swap out the blower, you might look for a donor 405. The waste tank will need the inlet tube cut out and replaced with the larger inlet. Also the stainless tube that goes through the center on the machine and splits to 2 2” vac inlets will need to be swapped out. And the larger silencer. If you swap in a blower that isn’t a Sutorbilt 4ll you will also have to make a bracket for the air pump. As someone who owns an 870, I have to say one more time....put it back stock the extra vacuum won’t make that much difference. Use all that effort and energy to get more work. Use some 2.5 hose. A bone stock prochem performer will cook and hold 225 230 at 6 flow. You really don’t need to run the engine faster.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Fair enough. If you are determined to swap out the blower, you might look for a donor 405. The waste tank will need the inlet tube cut out and replaced with the larger inlet. Also the stainless tube that goes through the center on the machine and splits to 2 2” vac inlets will need to be swapped out. And the larger silencer. If you swap in a blower that isn’t a Sutorbilt 4ll you will also have to make a bracket for the air pump. As someone who owns an 870, I have to say one more time....put it back stock the extra vacuum won’t make that much difference. Use all that effort and energy to get more work. Use some 2.5 hose. A bone stock prochem performer will cook and hold 225 230 at 6 flow. You really don’t need to run the engine faster.

Thanks for giving so much info and insight on this build. I believe I'm gonna stick to your route for now and in the future may do a custom built machine once I've had a few rebuilds under my belt. I can clean the hell out of some carpet with the way it was running and I know it wasn't running at peak capacity probably running at more like 70-80 percent power.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Fair enough. If you are determined to swap out the blower, you might look for a donor 405. The waste tank will need the inlet tube cut out and replaced with the larger inlet. Also the stainless tube that goes through the center on the machine and splits to 2 2” vac inlets will need to be swapped out. And the larger silencer. If you swap in a blower that isn’t a Sutorbilt 4ll you will also have to make a bracket for the air pump. As someone who owns an 870, I have to say one more time....put it back stock the extra vacuum won’t make that much difference. Use all that effort and energy to get more work. Use some 2.5 hose. A bone stock prochem performer will cook and hold 225 230 at 6 flow. You really don’t need to run the engine faster.

Do you think it would be worth changing the pulley on the blower to get it spinning any faster? It's an easy mod just swapping the pulley plus its only running at 2650 rpm its really barely doing 300cfm when its capable of around 400?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

No

 

[JS41035]

Well, would it be worth changing? Again I fall back on the long term. If you want to swap a pulley to spin the blower s bit faster...sure why not. But if you have a blower with thousands of hours that is working fine...maybe spinning it faster isn’t the best idea. If that shortens the life a few hundred hours would it be worth the gain in cfm? The reason the performers have such a long life is based on excellent components that aren’t run at max settings.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Smaller pulley, less contact area, new shorter belts, which will have to be a bit tighter to compensate. Results in more side load.

The devil is in the details and unintended consequences.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

Well, would it be worth changing? Again I fall back on the long term. If you want to swap a pulley to spin the blower s bit faster...sure why not. But if you have a blower with thousands of hours that is working fine...maybe spinning it faster isn’t the best idea. If that shortens the life a few hundred hours would it be worth the gain in cfm? The reason the performers have such a long life is based on excellent components that aren’t run at max settings.

Yea I see you're point they get way more life by running at 50 to 75 percent capacity. For now I'll just do a stick rebuild and may do something different later on

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Many guys here are tweakers and tinkerers, and you will from time to time see examples of their sweat and genius.

However, they will all warn you NOT to do this with your one primary "bread and butter" money maker.

I had a shop full of fun expensive projects that drove that home to me.

 

[Rob Grady]

Listen to Lee.