Need Air

[Dan Kralemann]

Hello,

I would like to get an air compressor to blow the dust and grit off of my projects between the changes in sanding grits. I will also use it to blow the dust out of the chuck and off of the lathe. I have no experience with using a compressor. Before I purchase one, I would like to know from you as to your experiences with how many gallon tank size that I should consider as a minimum for what I have stated that I would like to use it for.

Thank you,
Dan

[Marty Eargle]

I have a small, portable compressor meant for blowing off grit next to my lathe...it is 125 PSI and probably just at a gallon. Works just fine for all my lathing needs. Though I also have a 4 gallon compressor for larger tasks and putting air in tires. I would probably go ahead an get one with enough power for use with the lathe plus more. Better to have more than you need than not enough.

[curtis rosche]

search craigslist for an old quiet one with a large capacity.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I have a Borg compressor (30 gal.) which has an oil reservoir. They are much quieter than oilless. It meets all my needs from cleaning to spraying or running cut off tools.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dan - if you haven't been around compressors, the first thing you will note is that they are loud! Especially the oil-less versions! If you are just planning on using it to blow the dust off your lathe, you will not need a very big unit. However, Marty brings up a valid point in that it is better to have more of a system than less...

I have a 5 hp 20 gallon unit and it does everything that I need but it is heavy to haul around. Good luck with your search!

[robert baccus]

Roger the above. the big one's are not much more expensive. also consider spraying and air-grinders-sanders. the rating to look at is cubic feet/min at 90 psi. for dust and sprayguns 3-4 is fine. the air powered tools really need 8-9 '/min. you can get by on less but like buying a lathe...... --------------old forester

[Bernie Weishapl]

I would definitely get one if there is any thought of using air tools. I am glad I got my 30 gal unit because I have thinking of getting a Grex air sander.

[Carl Civitella]

I have a Portacable 150 pan cake compressor, it runs all the air guns from staples to brads to nails. I like it cause i can move it where i need it. Carl

[Andrew Kertesz]

I have a HF unit that is about 8 gals and has more than enough power to do what I need. While I don't run any air tools it does have the capacity. I paid less than $100 when it was on sale and used a 20% coupon.

[Gary Sichmeller]

I just went thru the process of getting a compressor. I had a smaller unit (2 gallon) that worked alright for blowing dust around. But, when blowing chips out of a hollow form, the capacity of the compressor left a lot to be desired. I bought one of the new Campbell/Hausfield 200 psi compressors (15 gallon) and what a difference. Yes, it's noisy when running, but once it's at capacity, I can blow chips out of my form with plenty of pressure and it does not need to recharge very often at all. I would recommend, if your budget can afford it, (my compressor was less then $200 at a big box store) the largest size compressor you can.(15 - 20 gallon size to start).

[Michael Menzli]

I have an older version of this.. http://www.harborfreight.com/25-horsepower-21-gallon-125-psi-cast-iron-vertical-air-compressor-67847.html .. decent price then add another 20% off with an online coupon and your at $130 or so .. i found they even discount the extended warranties so you can get one of those on the cheap should your unit fail. They are loud but only run for a few minutes unless doing heavy work.

[Rex Guinn]

Dan I had a 25 gal oil less for about 3 years it quit a while back. Bought a 60 gal tank for $20 from craigslist, had a 5HP 220v motor and a harbor freight 5 hp compressor, now just have to put it together. I should never have to worry about air again. Air tools will be the way to go in the future. But if you buy one of these new it will be about 800 to 1000. So far I have about 250 in it.:)

[Bill Bulloch]

Get one as big as you can afford and have room for and remember the more PSI the better. When you have one you'll find many things to do with it other than just blowing sawdust off your turnings. The Porter-Cable I had for years recently died and I was completly lost without it. It was a 135 PSI. I replaced it with, you guessed it, a bigger one with 200 PSI. And, if I have had more room in my shop I would have gotten an even bigger one.

[Jerry Marcantel]

I got my compressor in 1978 from WW Graingers, a Dayton 6 CFM @ 40# pump, 1 HP, 110 volt, 11 amp motor with a 20 gallon tank. It came on at 80#, and shut off at 100# when purchased. I discovered that wasn't sufficient for one nail gun that had to have at least 90# to sink a nail. I put in another on/off switch that started at 120# and shut off at 150# and went to a 30 gallon upright tank. . I've been using that same compressor since '78 and have replaced the reeds twice, and motor bearings once. With all the use I've put it through, spray painting, nailing, blowing off stuff, and now sanding with a pneumatic sander, it's still going strong. IMO,you don't need big hp. Also, check to see if the tank is ASME rated. I haven't seen any rusty water yet when draining the tank, which I do at least once a week.... .... Jerry (in Tucson) PS..... The daily use this compressor get's is equivilent to 3 hours constant running time...

[Justin Stephen]

If you have a permanent workshop and the space, you really are better off getting a large compressor. I would advise against small, oilless compressors as they are very loud and really don't have much oomph at all.

Knowing that a move was in my future, I decided to get something small enough to still be portable but with some chops. After substantial research, I picked the Makita MAC2400:

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-MAC2400-Big-Bore-Compressor/dp/B0001Q2VPK/ ($299 right now with free shipping)

It is very, very quiet for a compressor and puts off a fair amount of air (4.2 CFM at 90psi) so I can still run a substantial variety of air tools off of it without constantly having to wait for it to repressurize. Obviously, there are some sustained use tools (grinders, for example) that this thing isn't going to run very well. Another nice feature is the two outputs on the front where many other smaller compressors only have one.

[Prashun Patel]

A small compressor is a waste of money unless you're planning to do a lot of molding.

If you don't want to invest in a larger compressor yet, then you can do what I do: get a few cans of compressed air (the computer duster kind). They're not that expensive in 6 or 12 packs, and they last a decent while.

For cleaning between sanding grits, the best approach is to use yr shopvac with a nylon brush attachment. It's quick and doesn't blow the dust into the air.

[Chris Colman]

I am sure the other fellas have given you the best advice, I have listened too.

My compressor at the moment is an old compressor off a big rig hooked up to a motor off of a washing machine.

I do more vacuuming than blowing. Keeps the dust down better.

[James Combs]

Like a lot of the other creekers have said, generally speaking a small oil-less compressor is a waste of money "unless" you have to move it a lot. They are usually very noisy and the HP ratings are highly suspect. As also mention if you aren't into constantly moving it get the largest you can afford.
Things to look for:
HP rating - Make sure it states "Running HP" - 1 to 2 hp running is minimum in my opinion.
Capacity of tank - higher means longer times between compressor on's and off's
Pressure rating - not a critical rating but higher means longer times between compressor on's and off's
CFM rating - Critical, Look for a minimum of 4.5 to 5cfm @ 90psi, higher is better, watch that the 5cfm rating is not for 40psi.
Oil-less vs Oiled - Oil-less typically much noiser(a few exceptions) but less maintenance, Oiled means quieter but more maintenance(oil changes)
Cost - Oiled is typically higher.

Hope this is helpful.

[Jon McElwain]

I am going against the flow here and will recommend a small compressor. My first compressor was a large high SCFM unit permanently housed in my shop. Later I bought a super cheap BORG unit that came with a cheesy stapler for less than $50. I use that little guy all the time. It is easy to move around the shop (even though I have air lines running all over the place), I use it in the house when I need a brad nailer for something, and since it is about the size of a tool box, I can haul it around with ease. No, it does not have high horsepower, high SCFM, and it will not blow for 10 minutes straight, but for a quick burst of air to blow out a chuck, blow the grit off after sanding, and the occasional brad nailer, tire pump, etc. it works just fine. Believe me, I am a tool fanatic with high end for almost everything, but for 50 bucks, that little compressor has served me well. I am really glad to have a stationary unit for the primary, and a small one for portability.

[Dan Kralemann]

Hello,

I wish to thank you for your feed-back. In reading your responses, it expanded my view on what I could use a compressor for, as well as what to look for and look out for in a compressor. A member sent me a PM that was titled, How to Buy a Compressor, and this was also helpful. Thank you for your time and desire to help.

Dan

[Rick Markham]

I just went through this process, and I haven't had a chance to make a "gloat" of it yet. Shop space is an ultra premium for me, while I would love to have a 30 or 60 gallon compressor, I don't have the room. I wanted one with a high enough cfm rating to keep up with me, and found a small 4 gallon, Ingersoll rand compressor that is oil lubricated, and will do 4.3cfm at 90 psi, or 5 cfm at 40 psi. It's still not "quiet" but it's comfortable to be around when its running though it is far quieter than an oiless compressor, it's small enough (under 80lbs) to actually take somewhere if I had too, and it has a 100% duty cycle. Tractor supply has them ;) It's by far one of the nicer of the small units, and is definitely industrial construction. I love it, so nice to have air on demand now :)

[Greg Bender]

Dan,
Since I work for IR in the Engineering Development Lab I agree with all that has been said especially Rick.I'm guessing he got a P1 which is a great unit.We run the heck out of them under conditions the average consumer would never try. But we also run competitive units and there are alot of them. I like the Makita ,Rolair and the Emglo units.You can't go wrong with any of these oiled units.There quiet and they put out what they claim which is not always the case.And most importantly they are all tested electrically to be safe under full load conditions which without starting a war I do not see with some of the cheaper choices. If it is going to be plugged in ,in my shop which is in the basement of my house I'm not going to take any chances.Again ,I get to see some crazy situations with testing these compressors and they all don't breed alot of confidence in there manufacturing processes. Now if you go big the IR SS series,the L series and the T-30 models are at the top of the heap. I rebuilt a 2475-7.5 yesterday and the whole deal took an hour and with over 4000 hours onthe unit all the components looked really good. Good oil,cast iron components ,and slow speed motor.
Dan, just remember to buy within your immediate needs plus a little cause the worst thing oyu can do is buy so big that it does not cycle frequently, problems created by not running the heck out of it are worse than pushing it to it's limits. You bought a continuos duty motor and it wants to be pushed.
Greg

[Rick Markham]

Greg, the P1 is what I got. I have to say IR makes a super slick, little, industrial quality unit there. I am more than impressed by it so far! It's funny you mentioned the Makita, I had to choose between the two... did I pick right?

[Greg Bender]

Rick,
of course I'm biased towards the P1 but in general you can't go wrong with any of the three I mentioned plus the IR unit. My buddy has two of the Emglo units and one of them is over 15 years old and still performs to spec.And he uses the units in a commercial environment. What everybody needs to realize is the better you start with the better chance that the company that sold it will support it for many years. Getting a super cheap price on a disposable unit is kind of irresponsible at this point in time. Rebuild of a good quality unit is like going green in a small way.

PS I like the IR unit which I have under the Puma name which we also build and the small (59 lbs) Rolair unit for road work cause it is the lightest 4 cfm @ 90 psi out there.

Greg