I need advice on buying a heavy duty compressor for my shop

Fellas, sorry if this is too O/T, but I know lots of knowlegable guys are on here who can give me some pointers.

I need to buy a good compressor for my shop. My current 60 gallon Ingersoll Rand is falling way short. I need something that will run my blasting cabinet for very extended periods of time. I have a powdercoating shop behind my house, so I blast several hours per day.

My requirements are that it be 220 single phase and will absolutely work like a dog for years.

Where to buy from ?
Any brand in particular? Anyone who says Cambel Hausfied will be ignored. I want good shit.
Any experience with Quincy or Champion brands ?

I'm not saying price is no object, but I don't want to have to buy again down the road, so price isn't a deal breaker. I know I will probably spend over 2000 dollars to get something that will fill the bill.

Kevin

 

I love my Quincy compressor... 10 years old, no problems....the upgrade next year will be a Quincy as well.

 

Go over to sister site "Garage Journal" and you can read for a couple of hours.

 

Call up a couple of places to give you a quote at your place of business tell them to come see what you need and give you some prices and specifications and recommendations at least you will learn more about what's available what the going prices are. I think there is a place in your area called McKenzie that does industrial air compressor stuff. They will probably want more money than you are thinking but it will give you an idea of what might be the the best choice for whatever it is your trying to do. Also check to see if there is some one around that makes custom air compressors , industrial types, this stuff isn't rocket science as the major components are pretty much the same, most larger cities have a couple places that build to your spec.

 

when I got my free quincy pump I went to the phone book and found a compressor place where people know what they are talikng about to get a motor that would power it.

if you want a real compressor you need to stay away from home improvement centers and Harbor Freight.

I used to sandblast quite a bit and that sucker will run forever. when I stop blasting it brings the pressure back up in the 60 gallon tank in about 30 seconds. it never drops below 90 psi.

can't go wrong with quincy.

 

Champion makes a good one.
http://www.industrialaircompressors.biz/

 

Kaiser rotary screw. All most all the other shop owners I know in our area are running them. Not cheap but beats the hell out of the old piston style compressors. I think we spent around $10k with a refrigerated drier in 2003.



http://us.kaeser.com/Products_and_S...d/with-V-belt-drive-up-to-22-kW/default.asp#0

 

This is a 120 gal, 7.5 HP from Eaton Compressor (do an online search). 33.9 cfm, so it does play nice with sand blast cabinets. For about $2200, it was delivered to my doorstep. The Pneumatech dryer next to it was an ebay purchase (used) at less than 750 delivered. Have had good luck with both for about the last 5 or 6 years that I've had them.

 

I love my 60 hp Gardner Denver rotary screw!!
Buy more than you need so you can grow in to it in the future.
this is our 4th compressor in 5 years, live and learn

 

Screw compressors are the way to go but can be a bit pricey and most are 3 phs. But still look cause there is no compairison. Other than that ya might think about stacking a few compressors in line to help eachother out. IR make good stuff, I just think it no were near as big as one that you would need.

 

Commercial Ingersoll Rand compressors are good. I have a 10HP T-30 I-R that keeps up with a Zero blasting cabinet just fine.

Grainger sells Speedaire which will do OK, but they are not top line like a Quincy. I have a 5hp Speedaire that is the backup for the IR in case of emergency or maintenance shut down.

With Single phase you are limited to 7.5HP maximum. To get enough CFM for your application with single phase motors you might need several pumps - there are OE compressors built with 2 pumps on one tank if space is an issue. Two other possibilities are two 5hp motors running one 10hp pump, or a rotary phase convertor to make 3 phase from your single phase to run a 3 phase compressor.

 

Look at Eaton, Quincy, and Bel Air(e).

 

A thing to remember, if its over 5 hp, and thats what you need, you are looking at 3 phase. Any thing else and your gona get problems. If you running that much air (several hours) you need to bite the bullit and get enough power to do the job, and you can't do with single phase, unless you buy 2-3 compressors.

 

I love my Eaton 3 cylinder w stage. If you go to their web site, you'll learn a ton about compressors. The thing that I like about Eaton is that they have better numbers than most the other top brands WHILE running at lower RPM. Lower RPM = quieter and cooler = longer life.

Quincy is good also.

 

I have an Eaton and like it. It is quiet too.

 

Look around and you will find something.

I just picked up a 80 gal 6hp 2 stage single phase compressor locally for $300.00.

Now i just need to build my 5x3.5x3.5 foot cabinet so I can start blasting bike frames and shit. lol

 

You need to think about the long term overall cost, not just the up front capital investment. That includes cost of energy and maintenance. When you are dealing with these sales guys, ask them to tell you the cost of ownership for your needs based on your needs. If they give you some bullshit, don't buy from them. You are going to drop some serious coin on a good compressor and they oughta be able to back up their product with that support.

I am throughly convinced that a screw compressor is the way to go. For most of the industrial refrigeration projects I've worked on we've pretty much quit using recip compressors. And these things are designed to run at 200HP 24-7 for 30 years. http://www.quincycompressor.com/qgs.html

As far as single versus 3 phase, get 3 phase installed or get a variable frequency drive (VFD or "freq drive"). Rotary converters are far too inefficient to be running at that power level. You should be able to wire the VFD in to the pressure switch for soft starting the motor.

 

I install and maintain compressors for a living.first let me tell you unless you are running it all day long at 60percent or better the screw is not for you.here is why,they are designed to run 100 percent continuous duty.that being said the lifespan of the screw unit will be cut down dramatically if you cant use it enough.its alot like not driving you car long enough to warm it up properly.one thing that happens is the the oil life is reduced due to condensate build up,a machine that doesnt run long enough to achieve high enough temp to burn it off ends up prematurely wearing everything from separator filters to air end bearings.the cost of these parts can be quite spendy.

 

Not sure what your air demand actually is but if you can only accomadate a single phase unit your lookin at a unit that can give you about 30cfm at 90 psi thats the best yer gonna do.we sell quincys and they do make units that will do it but for a new one you are gonna be in the 3500 range quick.and be careful they do make good,better and the best versions of each type.i could go on ...............lets talk air demand first.what kind of blasting?how many tools will run at one time?does you powder coating system use air?baghouses?figure all of that out and plan to expand a little.a compressor is something you always want to buy knowing whats coming in the near future.

 

You can also get in touch with my company
airperfectioninc.com we are owned by quincy

 

Basically, I need a unit that will let me run 20cfm for 30 minute stretches with some kind of healthy duty cycle. As far as powdercoating, it uses virtually no air at all. The demand is in the blasting. I am a one man shop, so no possibility of more than one tool being used at the same time.

I have been looking at the 7.5 horsepower Quincy units pretty close so far.

 

I will check into for you .have you looked at a qt-10?i think they have a single phase unit available that big.pressure lubricated is a must with this type of application do not let anyone tell you different.the 7.5 is a qt-5 and they do hold up well,we actually run our shop on one and it does fine.also make sure it has an air cooled aftercooler on it as well,this way should you decide to ever get a dryer you wont have to buy a high temp(wich are alot higher priced)in most circumstances the aftercooler is enough to run a standard refrig. Dryer.just planning ahead.

 

Wow are most of you guys just using these massive compressors for hobbies? Or do you all have shops?

 

Eaton, Champion, C-Aire, Bel-Air/IMC and a few others will fit the bill. Champions are very good... I have an IMC/Bel-Air that's good but, at 15.3 cfm, not big enough for blasting. You need at least 7.5HP and 24 cfm's...

 

My CNC machine uses a lot of air. The tool changer, the chuck, and the spindle oiling process all operates off of air.

At work we have two champion screw machines that are massive.

 

I'm actually a fireman, but I do take my shop and sideline deal pretty seriously.

 

Oh I would love to have one of those monster compressors just so I don't have to wait on mine to catch up. I have the old 5 hp/60 gal Sanborn compressor from sam's. It has lasted about 15 years so far but It is starting to make some funny noises occasionally.

 

Being out in the field has me at a disadvantage for getting good info lately but what i did get is the qr series pumps are what you may want to look into.pressure lubed 100% duty cycle and the 7.5 hp wich i believe to be a qr240 will get you 26cfm.if you can afford the next size up i would go that way.im not sure who is in your territory but im sure you can find someone close by.we are way to expensive at this point to even get one out to you.hope i helped good luck