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View Full Version : Need Reccomendation on Air Compressor



ZJ TINS
04-27-2008, 12:02 AM
Well my yard sale air compressor went belly up after 8 years of solid service. Suggestions? Dont want to spent a ton of money just enough to reliably drive my 1/2" impact, weekend warrior use. Need to get something by next weekend so another yard sale score is out of the question. Sears, Home Depot, Lowes are about it (Maybe Sams or Ace hardware).

BTW, anyone know what CFM a 1/2" impact uses? or what's the minimum reccomended tank volume for a same?

Model and Make appreciated, either good or stay away from.

Anyone mention of HF and I will personally foward all my spam to you.

Thanks in advance.

nate
04-27-2008, 12:21 AM
Get something that is oil bath/pressurized oil... I have an oil less Craftsman and that thing is stupid loud. I can hear it in the house when it turns on and the house is a good 40ft from the shop.

fpkites
04-27-2008, 01:54 AM
Harbor freight has a 21 gallon 3hp compressor on sale for $139 John. I picked up that, an auto drain and 1 year replacement warranty for $150 out the door. Dunno if bumfuck IA has any HF stores though :D

elmer_fud
04-27-2008, 02:32 AM
1/2 in impact driver specs from sears.com

Product Overview:Item Weight:5.7 lbs. Compressor, Auto:Tool Air Inlet Size:1/4 in. Wrench:Torque Drive Size:1/2 in. Motor-Engine:Reversibility:Yes SCFM Use At 90 psi:5.0 SCFM Torque Maximum:500 ft. lbs. Color:Overall Color:Silver

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00918852000P?vName=Tools&cName=Compressors+%26+Air+Tools&sName=Automotive+Air+Tools

auggeren911
04-27-2008, 06:18 AM
I have the 21 gallon hft compressor, lets just say it does a good job at putting air in my tires. I had to buy a battery operated impact to use on my heap since I could fart more cfm than that compressor!

fpkites
04-27-2008, 10:29 AM
I had no problem with it yesterday - runs my Craftsman Pro Series gun. Then again, 115psi makes that bitch sing :D

nate
04-27-2008, 12:37 PM
I run my compressor to 145psi. The blow off goes off at 150psi, otherwise that's where I'd run it. 150psi is pretty much "shop standard" at every shop I've worked in. The tools get run at that psi as well.

Don't have time farting around with a gun at 90psi or whatever you are "supposed" to run them at.

nate
04-27-2008, 12:43 PM
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92504

That one would be too bad, though for another $100-200 you could get a 60 gallon at Lowe's

CurtP
04-27-2008, 08:37 PM
Well my yard sale air compressor went belly up after 8 years of solid service. Suggestions? Dont want to spent a ton of money just enough to reliably drive my 1/2" impact, weekend warrior use. Need to get something by next weekend so another yard sale score is out of the question. Sears, Home Depot, Lowes are about it (Maybe Sams or Ace hardware).

BTW, anyone know what CFM a 1/2" impact uses? or what's the minimum reccomended tank volume for a same?

Model and Make appreciated, either good or stay away from.

Anyone mention of HF and I will personally foward all my spam to you.

Thanks in advance.

It would help if you mentioned price range and if you want portable or stationary. My Ingersoll Rand compressor came from Harbor Freight - at the time, they were the cheapest.

Here's what I recommend: Under $1k - Ingersoll Rand. $1k to $2k - Quincy. $2k+ - Champion.

ZJ TINS
04-27-2008, 09:39 PM
$100-200 if possible I don’t know if that’s even real. Is a $200 compressor crap or 5 year throwaway or what? Seems like a lot of under $200 then a some between $200-400 mostly portable (I don’t care about portable, gonna sit in the garage). Saw Theisens (forgot about them on other side of town) has a Canadian/American made Iron Horse brand which is the low end of Eagle brand which seems to have a good rep. They have a 1.5 HP - 5.1 CFM @ 90PSI for $145 just don’t know if it’s too good to be true. Direct drive, fan cooled, cast iron, oil bath, 6 gal tank. Could always hook up my old tank as a second reservoir.
A bunch of high end $1000+ are out of the question, nice but MOAB is preffered.

nate
04-28-2008, 01:16 AM
I'd look at at least a 25-30 gal tank, 5-6hp if you want to be able to use it other than filling tires.

CurtP
04-28-2008, 09:57 AM
If your budget is only a couple hundred, then I'd look at repairing your current compressor. Unless your tank is rusted through, it will probably be your cheapest solution. It's not an oil-less compressor, is it?

A decent 60-gallon compressor will be around $500 - $600. There are cheaper ones out there, but I don't know if I'd want them in my shop if I depended on them on a regular basis.

DeWalt makes some nice oil-bath portable compressors too. I've got a single-tank DeWalt that has worked very well. I use it with just about all of my tools except paint guns.

Ted_Z
04-28-2008, 10:39 AM
There are only a few things that can go wrong with a compressor. It doesn't have than many moving parts.

Rusted tank -> you're fucked, buy a new one.
Runs but wont build pressure -> get a rebuild kit w/ cylinder sleeve and rings plus valve.
Wont run -> bad pressure switch, get a new one.
Smells really bad -> burned up motor, find a similar sized one at the surplus store or on ebay.

My neighbor got a busted 80gal vertical craftsman for free. ~$50 and a rebuild kit later it runs fine.