Need opinion on Sears compressors to use for finish and brad nailers

[Louis Brandt]

Hello,

Since your posts have convinced me to buy an oiled lubed compressor instead of an oilless one, I went to Sears (the only place that I can find oil lubed compressors locally), and I looked at two of them. Since I value all of the opinions on this forum, please give me your opinions on these.

They both have essentially the same specs as follows:
125 psi max
2.4 cfm at 90 psi
1 HP
Direct drive motor

According to the requirements listed on the Sears 16 gauge finish nailer and 18 gauge brad nailer, 2.4 cfm should be sufficient to power them, since the 16 gauge nailer indicated a requirement of 1.4 cfm, and the 18 gauge brad nailer listed a requirement of .9 cfm. I plan on buying Porter-Cable nailers, but I assume that the requirements for them would be about the same.

The only difference in the two compressors is that one is a two gallon and one is a three gallon. Does the number of gallons really matter if the other specs are the same?

What’s your opinion on these compressors? The 3 gallon is on sale for $89, and the 2 gallon is about the same price (not on sale).

Again, I only want a compressor for nailing. I don’t plan on ever using a compressor for paint spraying, and I don’t have room for a big compressor anyway.

Thanks again,
Louis

[Paul Ryan]

Louis,

Contrary to what you may have been told you really don't need much for a nail gun. Don't worry about a serviceable oil lubed compressor for a nail gun. It isn't going to run that much any how. Unless you are are running a shop where you are putting lots of stuff together every day. That is a different story. If you are hobbiest like me you just need a small compressor. I am not necessarely recomending this compressor, but I am just using my self as an example. I have a tiny 1 gallon husky compressor that I use for nail guns, finishing. I have a larger 5 hp 35 gallon compressor that I use for spraying, air tools, etc. If you are going to just use the compressor for little things like nail guns, and blowing up bike tires don't waste the $$ on a oil lubed compressor. That little husky I have is 12 years old, I paid $49 for it new. When I nail something up that little husky probably runs every 35-40 nails, it runs for a minute then it is off. The borgs have plenty of small compressors for nail guns and other stupid things that will work great for many years. When it finally goes to hell you buy a new one. But unless you will be using it all day every day don't worry. A couple of times a week, it will last for years.

I forgot to add. If you want to buy one of those two compressors either one will work great for nailing. Personally I would buy the lighter of the 2, it is easier to move. Either one will be pretty small though. I use bostich guns and they should require the same amount of air as the PC guns.

Tank size and hp determine the contious amout of CFM the compressor can put out. A larger tank it wont have to run as often. Higher HP it will run a shorter amount of time. A compressor with a larger tank and more hp will put out more CFM.

[Jerry Bruette]

Louis,

I have a Sears 1.5 HP, 3 Gal., 125 PSI compressor. Originally I bought it for inflating tires and blowing off things around the garage. Then I bought a Paslode 18 ga. brad nailer and it powers the nailer just fine, Drives 2 inch brads into everything I've tried so far without fail.

Don't know why it wouldn't work for a 16 ga. nailer also. I think it would be fine for your work and it's fairly light and easy to move around,

Jerry

[Jim Kountz]

I couldnt agree more. You dont need that much compressor just for brad/trim nailing. In another thread I posted that I use a much larger compressor but there again Im running multiple tools and two to four hoses off one compressor. There you need bigger.
A while back reconditionedtools.com was running a sale on a small lightweight Hitachi compressor for like $79 +/-. I took a chance and bought one just for doing roofing. I thought being so small it would be easy to move around and even take up on the roof if I wanted. It has turned out to be a real nice little compressor and I have framed and everything with it. I wouldnt recommend spraying anything with it but for nailing, stapling etc, its great and didnt cost an arm and a leg!!

[Chip Lindley]

Any small compressor is fine for brad/finish nailers UNLESS you try to use them like a *machine gun*! Your trigger finger will get wayy-tired before that happens!