Who makes a good air compressor now?

If u are looking for super dry air yes this is necessary if your looking for dry ish air not planning on the body work end of things then those filters would be fine last thing u want is moisture in your primers and paints imo

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I'm looking at a Quincy rotary screw compressor - high cfm (16.6 at 150 psi), extremely low noise (62 dBA), low to nearly no maintenance required (no wearing parts in the system) and 100% duty cycle. The 5 hp/60 gallon one I'm looking at is single phase, 230V as well. Down side - cost - this one is $4000.00 but should be a lifetime purchase.

Steve

 

We had Boge, German made compressor at work, twin screw rotary, integral air dryer 15 hp, sounded like a taxi'ing 747 when running, not as loud DB wise, but still generated blower whine. We bought it to supplement our Champion 10Hp 120 gal horizontal 2 stage 3 phase...We ended up using the Boge and using the Champion to supplement instead, due to the efficiency, no lag time with a rotary screw, maintains constant pressure in the lines, never broke down and needed routine filter and oil change it was around 8K..wouldn't hesitate in owning another.

 

I worked in a shop that had a Quincy QSI-245 rotary screw compressor. It had a 50hp. 3-phase motor, and could do 243 cfm. It was absurd. The place was fully plumbed with 2" steel, with drops everywhere. The compressor had no tank, just the vast volume of the lines. Crazy sound.

 

Emglo 28 cfm contractors model small twin tanks, added my own big tank.

 

I have had numerous issues with the IR T-30 blowing head gaskets had 3 all the same issue, Now I have been using Champions "No headgaskets and no reed valves better design"

 

Find a commercial compressor service firm. They have recon big duty units for much less than what brand new would be. Plus you get the 'good ol' stuff that was made here to last. The more CFM @150 the better. 18 and up is the number you want for grinding, it might even catch up. Look for old Kellogg, Quincy or Champion pumps. Older Speedaires are good too. They'll live longer than you at the same price or a wee bit more than the best 'box store' units.

 

Interesting apparatus... I think with a little thought and planning we could use this concept with a single drain and make it cheaper.

 

Could probably make it cheaper by not using galvanized just use black iron but with the moisture I figured it would last longer.... I prefer the individual drains so u can tell how much water is coming out of each first one is definitely the one with the most

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I wouldn't go to black pipe, but with galvanized I would still have a filter at the outlets to catch any flecks moving in the air with age. Keeping the moisture trap close to the compressor should minimize that though.

 

Agreed

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I've also got a few old, small compressors with Webster pumps - very high quality cast iron and too good to get rid of - they're great for smaller jobs or when you need to throw one in the back of the truck to take to a buddy's.

Steve

 

Good point.

 

Hey just an fyi anyone who told you a screw unit is little to no maintenance is going to cost you a lot of money. I work for quincy and can tell you from 13 years of installing and maintaining these units they require a lot more maintenance than any piston pump on the market. And unless you can truly utilize a screw unit I would not believe the hype and buy one. Even I would not own one for home or hobby use. There are also a lot of wearing parts inside these units and have a projected life span of 15-20 years. The biggest killer of this unit would be the fact that you probably couldn't keep it running long enough at home to bring it up to a good operating temp, this can shorten the life of your filters as well controls. I would recommend the QR325 pump. it is a pressure lubricated unit and with proper maintenance (oil changes and an occasional unloader diaphragm belts and air filter) this unit will out live the screw in a home or hobby atmosphere.

 

I bought this Saylor-Beall because I needed it for my blast cabinet. It wasn't cheap but it is made in the USA.

 

I'll bet that sits in it's own "Tim Allen" corner! Mine does too...

 

I was given this 95 Champion 5 HP 80 gallon unit because it was popping the breaker at startup.

Three new capacitors and a lot of cleaning got it going again.

I had it all apart, it's pretty well built inside the pump. Champion (Gardner-Denver) has been producing that same basic pump for probably 50 years now.

 

Something that really seemed cheap on this Saylor-Beall was they didn't put a ball and cock drain valve. For $3.5K+ you would think they could have put a real drain valve on it. I haven't even hooked it up and I've had it over a year. Financial/X-girlfriend have put me way behind. But hey its a New Year and I'm not looking back. I need to raise $400.00 just for wire just to hook it up. I'm hoping this Compressor lives up to its name. I did look at Quincey here locally but the Saylor was cheaper since I ordered it out of state and No Taxes!!!

 

Is there a provision for a valve? Surely it must have at least a rad style petcock?

 

Keep the answers coming. This is an important topic ($ investment/maintenance) that should be saved for a reference.

 

There was a valve. It was a wing-nut type that screwed up into the tank. I just thought they would have put a REAL drain cock on this expensive compressor. Surely there profit margin didn't dictate this type of drain valve or maybe it did. It is an easy fix but i guess I should have asked when I ordered it.

 

Mine was originally 3 phase. It's a 10HP Speedaire with 2 tanks for a total of 200gal. I was going to sell it when I built the shop out back, but it would have cost me just as much for a smaller compressor that I could have sold this for. My solution was 10HP single phase motor from Grainger. Out the door, the motor was $645 back in '03. I got a smokin deal on this thing when I bought it for the shop ($750), so all in I'm still less than a unit with 1/2 the capacity and CFMs. 34.8CFM @175PSI. It runs so little that even on 220 1ph it's cheap to run. 1min 20sec cycle time, under 7min to fill from empty.

Anyone else reading this, it's not meant to brag. Just an example of what can be done with moderate research and creative thinking. A commercial duty air compressor is something a hobbyist should only have to buy once. Get on some auction sites and look for shops closing. I got mine from a shop closing in 01 and bought it before the auction.

 

Awesome unit for sure! I gotta ask though what amp draw does it produce with the single phase?

 

That will draw around 40 amps running and need roughly a 125 amp circuit. You'll also need a motor starter, that should be equipped with overload protection.

 

After reading a lot of reviews and checking prices online & in store I bought mine from North Central Air: http://www.ncaircompressors.com/

They were within $100-200 of anything else I could find and they built it to fit my needs...and they stock EVERY part so if I needed anything it would just be a simple call to get a new part on the way. I'm close enough I made the drive to get it but they ship too. Found out they have supplied Wal-Mart Tire & Lube with compressors and they make a lot of the ones that are rebadged and sold through farm supply stores. I've used mine 6 days a week for two years with no problems.

 

My dad bought a Quincy new in '56; we sold it with the house in 2007 and it was still running strong. I looked for a used Quincy for my garage in the '80s and couldn't find it, so I bought a 5 hp with a 2 stage Emglo pump. The Emglo has served me well for 25+ years. I still think you can't beat a Qunicy.

 

40amps full load draw.

It's this one:

http://www.grainger.com/product/1TMY9?cm_sp=HIO-_-HIDP-_-RR_VTV70300505&cm_vc=IDPRRZ13

A lot more $$$$ now than when I bought mine. I ran a dedicated 60A service to it and that was 10yrs ago. I believe the start/run on this was like 42/28 maybe so I figured I'd simply double the "run" spec. The lights dim for split second on start. The fact is that it runs so little in use that it doesn't cost that much. I did a porting job on some of the parts in the picture. 3 nights in a row I went out there until 11:30-12:00 running the die grinder. It always caught up with what I was doing and shut off, and I use a 1HP Dotco for those jobs. I don't think the average 5HP vertical would have caught up, most likely it would run nearly the whole time I was grinding based on past experience. Recently there were 2 of us running D/A sanders. It caught up with those after a bit over 2min. Maybe I should custom paint it and put a "Binford" logo in there somewhere? Actually I would rather see AA/AC...

 

I've got a twenty gallon Speedaire, home use for thirty years.
Used for air tools and some painting of parts, has served me well.

 

For mine which is a vintage I bought around 2 years back, previously I was searching for multiple platforms where I found many results but I am confused to go with one. I bought all material from air compressor to air tool of Pneumatic Device from Eaton Compressor & Fabrication

 

x2 i just bought one 4 mo ago the pump is made in italy . work real good keeps up with my sand blaster and all air tools. plus it has very quite