i am looking to get one. something that will run air tools and paint gun that is not huge to or $$$$$. any thoughts??
For my money, I can't work with less than 9.0 cfm at 125 psi...continuous. That's the max for my 6 hp compressor with an 80 gallon tank. Most air tools work fine with a little less but with air sanders and the like.....they really demand alot of air. To get that much capacity usually requires something 220 volt powered.
I bought the Sam's big model which is 18.6 cfm, 80 gal, 5hp dual, plenty big for paint and air tools (though I've got a CH 30 gal for tools). It was just a bit over $800 and is a rebranded IR selling for $1300 at northern.
Anything that you want to run a paint gun with will probably be bigger than expected, I would say for the bare minimum just to get by you would need something around 5-6 horsepower and 60 gallons, cfm is important to look for when buying a compressor. I have sprayed paint from a craftsman 3hp 33 gallon and I had to stop spraying every couple of minutes to let the compressor catch up and I'm sure the compressor would have a very short life if I did that a few times, not to mention the lack of proper atomization for paint.
Never underestimate used tools. Craigslist will amaze you. At least in So Cal. I've seen horizontal 60-80 gallon units from gas stations going for 400-500 bucks here regularly.
Buy older used quality if only for one reason. Noise. Cheap compressors can be extremely loud. Especially the cheap of the cheap oil-less models.
so really an oil model is better? i really dont want to have to stop every few to build up but i am also not going to running contiuous either. i figured the harbor freight crap wast worth messing with. whats a good brand to look for?
Your sanders ( D/A or Air Board) will consume the most air (continuosly). A 60-80 gal. that puts out about 13-15 cfm at 90psi is necessary to keep up. 5-6 hp, 220amp is about all that will put that out. I've never seen a 115amp one that can. If you have the money, a 120gal. worm drive is ideal.
like others said, 5+hp and a 60 gallon or more tank. yes that's big! but to rund sanders and paint, it's necessary. YES i've gotten by on smaller units at times, but it SUCKS! nothing is more frustrating than being able to sand for a minute, then having to take a two minute break for the compressor to catch up.
I'm sorta in the same boat, I'm using a friend's compressor but its too small for work that requires a lot of air-sanding, cut off wheel, etc. It just sucks waiting for the compressor. I second craigslist. They have an amazing variety of sizes and costs. My small suggestion is buy bigger than you think you'll need. 220 volt seems to be the price of admission. In a paint-u-cation video I have they discuss compressors, and suggest don't get too hung up on HP numbers, it's all about the cfm and psi continuous. EDIT: I've never heard anybody complain they bought too big a compressor. Anyway I'm sure others know much more than I .
IMO, I wasted more $ upgrading several compressors over time, now I have a 80 gal 8 hp w/220 volt If I add up all the useless compressors i bought I would have been further ahead by buying a good one to begin with In other words you get what you pay for.
CFM and DUTY CYCLE are key to compressor life. i have a 80gal 7hp 2 stage devellvis that covers everything i do and doesn't run constantly. stay away from the oiless ones,they scream loudly! bigger is usually better. when i purchased mine 10 years ago at costco for $700 i really had my fingers crossed and so far have been lucky. change the oil and drain the tank and your compressor should last for years.
The oilless type should be considered loud toys for temporary use. The only ones that will last long at all will have a crankcase with oil. I use a 90 cfm @ 90 psi for most everything including spraying and body tools. I have always extended the capacity of whatever compressor I had by adding a few propane bottles in the system. I know people will warn you about explosive gasses, but if you fill the tank completely with water, then drain, they will have nothing but clear air from the atmosphere in them and will be safe to use at the usual 100-120 lbs of a non-industrial air system. A few good bottles (the 5 ft tall ones) will store a lot of air and greatly extend the length of time you can run a large tool or air gun without a break. I also string a lot of large diam copper line (read that as slow-moving air) from the compressor, zig zag it up the wall and then zig zag it down the wall as a cooler/condensor to get the water out before I run it to the tanks. Small diam with fast air will blow the water along with the air. Don't use small lines. Large diam with slow moving air will let the water settle out easily as the hot air cools on the way to the storage tanks. I have a tee with a cheap ACE drain valve to empty water at every low spot. The air I get out at the very end is nice and dry even after a lot of tool use when most systems will start spitting water.
you can get a decent ingersoll at tractor supply for about 900 to 1200 bucks.dont worry so much about pressure the key is cfm.most air tools run at 90 psi and spray guns use much less than that.i install compressors for a living and constantly see people buying high pressure stuff only to find it does them no good at all.stay away from husky(home depot)those things are grenades.i myself am a quincy man even being an installer those babys are pricy.but bang for your buck would be the IR. any unit that can claim 18 cfm or better at 90 psi will do anything you need unless you are doin truck tires or have more than one thing goin at a time.and you will have to get a 220 single phase unit.
also beware that hp numbers are all over the map....some brands have a 5hp that will put out 20 cfm (usually this means it's an older compressor), other cheapies are rated 5hp and will put out less than 10 cfm. note that cfm rating is meaningless without a pressure rating with it (see, what I wrote above is kind of meaningless because I didn't say at 90 psi) I have an old 5 hp two stage 80 gallon compressor I got well used from a friend who needed gas money to move out of state....at the time I got it 15 years ago new ones with the same specs cost $1200 and up, it cost me $600 and was worth every cent. It seems no matter how big your compressor is, you'll eventually need a bigger one...especially if you get into sandblasting.
all good advice, thanks. looks like the one i need will have to wait cuz the costs are higher than what i can afford. air tools will have to be phase 2. as far as hvlp, whats the smallest i can use?
I did a lot of shopping around 2 years ago, when I bought my 8horse, 80 gal at Lowes. It was around $850 I don't know if anyone else mentioned this, but vertical tanks take up a lot less floor space than horizontals do. It holds up fine with sandblasting, sanding, painting and everything I need.
I bought a pretty small 17gal Craftsman (vertical tank) a few months ago because it was on clearance at the local Sears store. It was dirt cheap and does a great job with an impact wrench, air wrench ,etc.. When I was drilling my crossmember for my transmission, I had to wait....a lot....and it got pretty frustrating. It also happens to be the loudest piece of small machinery, I've ever heard in my life. Seriously. My buddy has a 100gal compressor at his shop and I swear mine is a LOT louder! So, for about $150, it's sufficient for loosening/tightening lug nuts, using the 3/8" drive air wrench that came with it for random nuts and bolts, quick drilling work and stuff like that, but not much else. My next project is going to be a lot more involved, so I see a much bigger (and hopefully quieter) model in my future. A agree that it's well worth the dough to overbuy when it comes to capacity. I didn't have $800-$1000 to spend this time and I was sick of hand cranking everything, so this little one will work for now.
I have a 60 gallon Chink compressor from Harbor Bomber Freight, loud piece of shit. I found a Quincy 325, no tank, including a 7.25 HP gas motor fo $200 with the original paperwork, made in 1981. My plan is to use the tank and electric motor, junk the compressor and replace it with the Quincy. I understand these compressors are pretty much good for continuous duty. The electric motor from the HF compressor, I believe is a 3.5 HP, 220V. Think it will be enough? Do I have to put the compressor up on top of the tank like it originally was? Or can I just run a longer air line and leave the compressor and motor on a skid on the floor? The Quincy weighs a couple hundred lbs.
I sold my 60 gallon, 5 hp comp when I moved three years ago. 15 year old Campbell-Hauseld and it was still running great. Bought a Ridgid twin tank comp like roofers use. A bit of a mistake since both outlets are regulated and it bleeds off at the regulator pretty fast. Even so, it's been great for keeping the tires up, + small and out of the way. One thing you can do is add tank capacity. To that end I made up a manifold so I could plug in the 5 gallon portable air tank and a 6 gallon tank off an old comp. The old comp had everything removed except axle and handle. It takes a while to pump up all the tanks, but it does make moderate air tool use possible. In my case, just some sheet metal air-driven shears. I'm keeping the manifold and extra tank to go with the 60 gallon wonder I bought yesterday. That'll help a lot when sand blasting etc. Fwiw - my little brother built his own compressor many years ago. A 1 hp motor driving a small single cylinder comp and feeding a 200 gallon tank. Takes a while to pump up, but it seldom runs out of air when painting or using most air tools. Anyone need a like-new Ridgid air comp?
hang on to the little one Jay, you can never have too many compressors! keep it in the house for "dusting" and construction jobs
Good point Squirrel. Dragging it to the other end of the house in the fat-tire Radio Flyer would work. One thought I had was, it would make a great compressor for the car trailer. Course then, I'll need a generator. Gettin' pretty plush in there, even have a couch. And other times, it ain't so plush. After getting re-hooked - didn't take much - at the nostalgia drags at the local airport last October I'm going to make a few changes in the roll bar/cage dept on the 31 and take it to SpeedWorld now and then. And maybe give the local Camaro troops a bad time at the street drags & airport drags done once a year here in Kingman.... Felt kinda strange skating around on the top end in an open car. Done it in some coupes and a flathead fuel dragster, but never in a roadster.
With electric motors you want to use real HP ratings, most use PEAK HP as it is a higher number and looks better. Example 3HP peak will actually be a fraction of that in REAL HP!
The compressor I got yesterday only showed peak HP on the label. 220V. It did show 15 amps if I remember right. 746 watts = 1 HP . . . I'll let the math police take it from there....
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