Choosing an air compressor

[LCHIEN]

...Does it make more sense then to get a small compressor now? Then if my needs require more, I can use the first one as a portable?

unless you absolutely know you need lots of air, that's probably the best way of doing it.

[Whaler]

I have the Ridgid OF45150 oil less twin stack. It is not quiet but compared to my old PC pancake it doesn't break your ear drums.

I don't do any paint spraying so I don't know how it would do there. It does drive my framing nailer with no problem.

[JamesDad]

I have sold and repaired air compressors and agree with what others have said in that what you buy is based on what you are going to be doing. Buy a small portable if you are sure that's all you're going to need. If there's a high
likelyhood you are going to get into higher air consumption operations like sandblasting, air grinding and cutting or use a HVLP conversion gun having a larger unit is a must. Whatever you buy get quality. In a portable the Thomas Airpac pancake that's been mentioned is a quality unit. Being oilfree the guys that installed trim liked it a lot. The pump head is also real easy to rebuild when the teflon seal on the piston wears out. If you opt for a larger unit the belt drive oil lube units run a lot quieter. My Ingersol Rand Garage Mate runs very quiet which is a must in a basement shop.The only negative is that it's a vertical unit. If it was a horizontal unit it could go under a workbench or mount on a wall.
Whatever you get you'll be glad you've got one even if you don't shoot as many nails as Norm. ( who could?)

[Peter59T]

How about the 4 gallon Central Pneumatic pancake

My steady source of cheap stuff, Harbor Freight, has a oil lubricated 4 gallon pancake from Central Pneumatic on sale for $89.9 less an additional 10% coupon. Are they just junk, or probably fine for the occasional user? A bit if finish nailing, some crown molding, etc. Maybe supplement with an extra air tank on the wall (like the $35 craftsman) for the infrequent small spraying with a critter spray gun?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38898

I figure it is cheap enough that you can afford to learn on it, and then either keep it as a drag around for around the house work, or as a boat anchor.

[fim]

This is where I get confused.
>> Maybe supplement with an extra air tank on the wall

I was asking about adding extra tanks, but it sounded like a "kludge" and not a recommended route.

In terms of portable compressors, do people prefer the pancakes or the horizontal hotdog (or dual hotdog) styles? I guess the pancakes are shorter in height, but wider. I would think the smaller footprint is more useful. The pancakes seem like a departure from the usual hotdog shape (vertical and horizontal).

[LCHIEN]

This is where I get confused.
>> Maybe supplement with an extra air tank on the wall

I was asking about adding extra tanks, but it sounded like a "kludge" and not a recommended route.
...

Maybe he didn't read the preceeding posts or
maybe he understands its a kludge and doesn't mind living with the compromises.

Using an auxiliary tank, depending on how you plumb it and whether you add more regulators has varying degrees of effectiveness and also affects how portable or even movable (note he said he'd attach his to the wall) it is.

Two things are facts:
one, the total average CFM available fom the compressor does not improve, although short term bursts of agreater air flow can be had, short term might be many seconds of air if the tank is big enough. But If you intend to grind or spray for 5 minutes continuously then you'd need a HUGE tank and then see item two below. Eventually the motor will run continuously and still not keep up and the pressure would fall too low and your tools will function poorly until they stop altogether.

Two, the tank system will take longer to come up to pressure when you first turn it on, and run longer when it does kick in to replace air used.

POINT: auxiliary tanks are not a good substitute for more CFMs, generally speaking.

[Lance]

Another thought on Air Tools

FIM,

I had been considering a compressor purchase as well, thinking to use it for nailing, spraying finishes, blowing off dust, and later add other tools. (cutoff, sander, impact wrench, etc.) I gathered a bunch of info, and came to two conclusions:

1. To do a credible job of anything beyond nailing required a bigger compressor than I wanted for my tiny shop & budget. (6+cfm @ 90psi)

2. For less money I could get a small compressor for nailing, and a starter HVLP setup, like the one from Rockler/HF, and go electric for the other tools (sanders, etc.).

For now I have decided to hold off on the compressor, until I have a project I really need it for, and plan to talk myself into an HVLP kit this spring.

Good luck with your decision!

-Lance

[LCHIEN]

FIM,

I had been considering a compressor purchase as well, thinking to use it for nailing, spraying finishes, blowing off dust, and later add other tools. (cutoff, sander, impact wrench, etc.) I gathered a bunch of info, and came to two conclusions:

1. To do a credible job of anything beyond nailing required a bigger compressor than I wanted for my tiny shop & budget. (6+cfm @ 90psi)

2. For less money I could get a small compressor for nailing, and a starter HVLP setup, like the one from Rockler/HF, and go electric for the other tools (sanders, etc.).

For now I have decided to hold off on the compressor, until I have a project I really need it for, and plan to talk myself into an HVLP kit this spring.

Good luck with your decision!

-Lance

After using brad nailers I'll never go back to the old way, you seldom see me with a hammer except in demolition mode.
Couple hundred dollars for a compressor, some hose and a couple of nailers is a good investment, it also gives you something to clean out the saw of dust (works good on Personal computers too) and air up the car and bicycle tires. The smaller compressors like the 3-4 cfm units work with the critter sprayer ($40) for a spray printing option.

Don't be so fast to dismiss a compressor.

[fim]

Maybe the poster was referring to a separate tank that you can manually fill with a compressor. Then connect some low psi, low vol tool to the spare tank. I guess this saves your compressor from constantly recycling, but uses are fairly limited.

I hear a lot about HVLP. I assume that most of these compressors (with adequate sized tanks, 20+ gallons?) can handle this?

I've also thought about getting a pressure washer. Does this factor into the equation at all, or is it a completely separate tool with no overlap?

[sacherjj]

I also went with a small (1.5 Gal) portable oil-less compressor to get started. I quickly had to attach it to an 11 Gal air tank, to get things done. With building the shed with a framing nailer, I ran it pretty hard. Since I was building solo, there were very few times that it couldn't keep up, but it ran much past its duty cycle, I'm sure.

I started looking at compressor upgrades and looked at the 20 Gal and 60 Gal at Home Depot (both Campbell Hausfeld). The price difference was fairly small (~$40). The only catch was 220V for the 60 Gal. From what I have read, you can never have too much compressor. The only pain was moving into place and putting in the 220V. Now I love this beast. I don't think I'll need to upgrade again. That makes it cheaper in the long run. It looked like the 20 Gal was iffy for running some tools that I might want in the future, so I went with a little overkill. My girlfriend likes to describe the compressor as "taller than her."

[mpc]

Be careful with the CFM ratings on some compressors... like the "peak HP" numbers is seems some manufacturers are lying. I have an older Sears Craftsman 2HP 6.something CFM @90 PSI compressor that serves my needs well enough. A friend bought an oilless Coleman unit that supposedly is 6CFM as well. No bloody way. He borrowed my air die grinder which my compressor keeps up with easily; his dropped pressure after just a few minutes of use. It was pathetic. His oilless unit is also MUCH louder than my oiled unit. I've never noticed oil spray either with my compressor; I use mine all the time to dust out the garage, workbench, etc.

Sears now has a newer version of my unit, in the tool catalog (not in the stores) with a 25 gallon tank. That was dad's Christmas present - he'd been begging me to upgrade so he could have my old one. Instead I gave him a new one that's slightly better than mine. It's even quieter; not loud at all. At 150 psi so he can air up tires on the motor coach. I really like that unit; it's a nice 'sweet spot' for use at home. It'll power normal use air tools, sprayers, pump up tires, etc. It is of course much bigger than any pancake unit though with it's 25 gallon tank. It rolls easily on its wheels at least.

One thing to watch for on many Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. compressors is the size of the regulator. Most use a 1/4" style regulator, rated for "1 to 2 HP compressors." Mine did. It sucked. For a long time I ran a "T" fitting between the compressor and regulator so I could have "unregulated" air for my higher-CFM tools; I tweaked the compressor's auto-on/off switch to cut off at 90 PSI so the tank pressure matched my air tools... I did this to get enough CFMs for those tools; the regulator was a bottleneck. Just recently I decided to fix this "the right way" and tried a larger regulator - rated for "2 to 10 HP compressors" that I found at Sears; it has 3/8" or 1/2" (I forget exactly) fittings but comes with adaptors to neck it down to 1/4". It works MUCH better than the original regulator. So that's what's on my compressor now, the "T" fitting stuff is no longer needed and I've reset the auto-pressure switch back to factory settings. I'm sure any pancake or small sized compressor will have the same low-flow regulator issues so factor that into the cost considerations.

Just from talking to other folks around me, and my friend's experience with his crappy Coleman unit, I'd avoid the compressors that have the smaller pump heads - those with the cutesy plastic covers. Find those that have the larger finned piston assemblies - if it looks like a Harley or real motorcycle engine it probably will live up to the CFM claims. Those dinky things just can't move enough air volume for most air tools.

Another gotcha to watch for, learned this with dad's compressor: the ratings are "CFM" or "SCFM" - "Standard Cubic Feet per Minute." Okay, got that, no big deal. That means airflow at sea level altitudes. Dad lives at 5000+ feet... air is thinner there so his 6 CFM compressor really delivers about 5 CFM. If you live at higher altitudes, you'll need a larger compressor than your air tools claim because of the thin air.

Air compressors are similar to chopsaws/compound miter saws: once you have one you'll find you use it a lot more than you expected to. They really are handy. My air powered tools work better than the electric ones as well. My recommendation: don't skimp on the compressor. The 120 volt/2HP ones that are true 6CFM @90psi really are the sweet spot. Anything larger needs a 220 volt outlet and is no longer portable. For nailers only, the smaller compressors are fine... but if air tools or paint sprayers might be in your future I'd bite the bullet now and get a 20-30 gallon tank, oil based, 2HP model.

mpc

[fim]

Any comments on the pressure washer?

I think the critter or HVLP conversion gun is probably the biggest tool requirement for my forseeable future. Would a 2hp (4.5 SCFM) 6gal tank be enough for this? The other uses would be mostly nailing and the occasional ratcheting

[sacherjj]

I've not seen pressure washers that hook to an air compressor. Most were electric or gas powered. Is there a cheaper version that uses the compressor for power?

[radhak]

Any comments on the pressure washer?

I think the critter or HVLP conversion gun is probably the biggest tool requirement for my forseeable future. Would a 2hp (4.5 SCFM) 6gal tank be enough for this? The other uses would be mostly nailing and the occasional ratcheting

dunno about pressure washer, but its enough for the critter and nailing. cannot speak for any other HVLP gun, though.

[Peter59T]

Pawn shop is a source of tools

I just picked up an oil free 6 gl 135 psi Porter Cable pancake at one of my local pawnshops for $60 and then got some bits and pieces including an 18 gauge brad gun at my local HF for 19.99 on sale. The air compressor seems fine. A bit worn but appears to be in good shape. Pressurizes quickly, and seems to hold pressure well. Realistically, I will only use it so often so it should last me a good while even if it may be a bit worn.

I fooled around indiscriminately brad nailing away in a board that had the misfortune of not looking much good for anything else. So far so good.

What should I look for as far as compressor failure or maintenance? Judging from the instruction manual there is nothing to do except for draining water from the tank at the end of use? No filters to clean or anything? I a almost disappointed! There is no equipment in the world that I can't take apart and reassemble slightly worse than it came!

Also, I can see how this can be addictive. What are your thoughts on the next nailer? It appears that a 16 gauge finish nailer would be an excellent all round next purchase, for general home improvement, molding, lists, whatever? I can always rent a framing nailer or roofing nailer and would have a hard time justifying that.