What happens if a pneumatic drill is under powered?

[mike sato]

Having never owned or used pneumatic tools, what happens if the scfm of the air compressor is less than the rated scfm of a pneumatic drill?

I have a 6 gallon pancake Porter Cable compressor that's rated at 2.6 scfm at 90 psi. Most 90 degree angle pneumatic drills seem to be rated at 4 scfm (Harbor Freight has one for $34.99). Will the drill just slow down in rpm but with sufficient torque? I want to use the drill with a flat drill brush to clean our carpet. (Yes, all of the carpet on hands and knees :), but mostly in the high traffic areas.)

I found an Irontron 0-1500 rpm variable speed 90 degree angle drill rated at 2.3 cfm. But all finds say "does not ship to your location". We have a trip scheduled for Las Vegas. Anyone know of a place that sells the Irontron pneumatic drill in Las Vegas?

Another possibility is buying a 3 cfm 90 degree angle grinder from Harbor Freight for $13.99. But it comes with a 1/4 inch collet and flat drill brushes seem to only come with the typical quick change hex shaft. I haven't been able to find a 1/4" collet to hex adapter. (There are a lot of hex to collet adapters)

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-angle-die-grinder-32046.html

Any ideas for using a flat drill brush with my small compressor to clean our carpet appreciated,
Mike

[Greg R Bradley]

Not that it matters but, a pneumatic drill fed by that compressor would drill for a very short time until it ran out of air and then stall completely.

A $5 cheap scrub brush used by hand would be 1,000 times more effective than the first idea and 10,000 time more effective than the second one with the link. No brush with bristles is designed to run that speed without exploding.

Using a powered brush on most carpets is a skill and also requires lots of power and very low speed.

[Mark Bolton]

I would be looking for a different drill. Any air tool will just power down as the air runs out and ANY pneumatic tool other than a nailer is going to run on a small compressor for seconds (likely single digit seconds at that). You have to be up in the 5Hp, large tank, range to ever be able to run an air motor for any period of time.

Whats the motivation for air? If your running a scrub brush electric would be fine and you wont freeze your hands lol.

[mike sato]

Not that it matters but, a pneumatic drill fed by that compressor would drill for a very short time until it ran out of air and then stall completely.

A $5 cheap scrub brush used by hand would be 1,000 times more effective than the first idea and 10,000 time more effective than the second one with the link. No brush with bristles is designed to run that speed without exploding.

Using a powered brush on most carpets is a skill and also requires lots of power and very low speed.

I've been scrubbing soiled areas of our carpet using a scrub brush by hand over the years and it's a lot of work. Trying to let tools do most of the work as I'm getting older ;). I was thinking that maybe I could set the drill to a lower speed by maybe taping a slim block of wood on the variable speed handle.

You have all good points and I appreciate your response,
Mike

[mike sato]

I would be looking for a different drill. Any air tool will just power down as the air runs out and ANY pneumatic tool other than a nailer is going to run on a small compressor for seconds (likely single digit seconds at that). You have to be up in the 5Hp, large tank, range to ever be able to run an air motor for any period of time.

Whats the motivation for air? If your running a scrub brush electric would be fine and you wont freeze your hands lol.

I'm getting an education on pneumatic tools. Thanks.

I was thinking of using pneumatic since liquids are involved in cleaning/rinsing to eliminate any risk of electric shock. I've used my bosch cordless impact screw driver with the drill brush to clean our bathtubs and it works really, really well. But the driver gets fairly warm and the height of the impact driver makes controlling the drill brushes harder, though it's easier than using my Bosch cordless drill which is even higher. Thought a 90 degree tool would be much easier to handle.

I'll drop the thought of using pneumatic since my compressor is inadequate.
Thanks,
Mike

[Greg R Bradley]

I've seen some brushes that attach to a reciprocating saw. Not sure if that would work well or not.

We've found the best process is to lift as much dirt as possible out with a really powerful vacuum, then lift as much out with a carpet extractor which is really a convenient way to spray cleaner on the carpet and suck the wet solution out really well.

Another process that works well is a good cleaner and then cheap terry cloth towel under each foot and scrub with your feet. Don't let them get very dirty before you replace them and then toss the whole bunch in the washer at once.

[Jerome Stanek]

With an air drill or grinder you will need hearing protection

[Frederick Skelly]

Hey Mike? I keep wondering if a high speed brush setup like you are trying to put together might damage your carpet (higher speed or torque than a normal carpet scrubber)? It will depend on the brush and on the carpet, but I could envision a high speed brush turning the making the fibers get fuzzy or frayed. Might be nothing to worry about, but I'd sure run a test in a closet or something, first.

Good luck.
Fred

[Geoff Crimmins]

I have an air-powered Grex 2" ROS. Once the tank on my small compressor is empty the sander still runs, but at a slower speed. It never stall completely. I don't know how a drill would compare to the sander.

[mike sato]

We've found the best process is to lift as much dirt as possible out with a really powerful vacuum, then lift as much out with a carpet extractor which is really a convenient way to spray cleaner on the carpet and suck the wet solution out really well.

Yes, that is how I've been cleaning our carpets. First vacuum really well using our vacuum cleaner with a powered rotary brush attachment. Then spray cleaner with scrubbing, paying attention to more dirty areas. Only about 2'x3' sections at a time to minimize evaporation of the cleaner without soaking the carpet too much. Then rinse with plain water and suck the liquids out using our Bissell wet/dry vacuum cleaner that has a spray/suck head. Found that rinsing really well with water is key to not having the carpet acquire a light brown look after it dries.

Because I'm cleaning the carpet myself, I only clean half of the carpet, leaving the other half as a path to walk on until the first half dries. Then clean the second half.

Thanks.

[mike sato]

With an air drill or grinder you will need hearing protection

Yes, I always wear over the ear hearing protection when using loud tools. Thanks.

[mike sato]

Hey Mike? I keep wondering if a high speed brush setup like you are trying to put together might damage your carpet (higher speed or torque than a normal carpet scrubber)? It will depend on the brush and on the carpet, but I could envision a high speed brush turning the making the fibers get fuzzy or frayed. Might be nothing to worry about, but I'd sure run a test in a closet or something, first.

Good luck.
Fred

A definite common sense approach. Thanks.

[mike sato]

I have an air-powered Grex 2" ROS. Once the tank on my small compressor is empty the sander still runs, but at a slower speed. It never stall completely. I don't know how a drill would compare to the sander.

That is the kind if info that I'm looking for. Have you noticed that the torque is still sufficient when the tank is empty but your sander is running at the slower speed?

Maybe setting my compressor's output psi to a lower value than the tool recommends will lower the rpm and prolong the air usage from a small tank. In my application I would want a lower rpm. Would doing this damage the tool? I don't see how it would damage a pneumatic tool but that's just a total guess.

Thanks,
Mike

[Jerome Stanek]

Would that high speed melt the fibers togther

[Gene Takae]

There is a rechargeable powered scrubber called Turbo Scrub made specifically for your purpose.

[Ronald Blue]

You might lower the pressure with a regulator since full rpm may not be a desired thing. Lower pressure would reduce air usage and make the air supply easier to maintain. While for prolonged use a larger compressor might be desirable I don't think it's a necessity. If you were doing this often obviously something to consider but I think for infrequent use you will be fine. I use air tools frequently and some are high volume. Even with a 37 cfm compressor it cycles often. Good luck.

[marty fretheim]

I usually rent a carpet shampooer. Much easier on the knees.

[mike sato]

Would that high speed melt the fibers togther

Would need to have a lower rpm for sure.

[mike sato]

There is a rechargeable powered scrubber called Turbo Scrub made specifically for your purpose.

Thanks for the tip.
Mike

[mike sato]

You might lower the pressure with a regulator since full rpm may not be a desired thing. Lower pressure would reduce air usage and make the air supply easier to maintain. While for prolonged use a larger compressor might be desirable I don't think it's a necessity. If you were doing this often obviously something to consider but I think for infrequent use you will be fine. I use air tools frequently and some are high volume. Even with a 37 cfm compressor it cycles often. Good luck.

While in Vegas I'll probably buy the Harbor Freight pneumatic grinder for $13.99 to use as an angle grinder since it's so cheap and is rated at 3 cfm (close to my compressor's 2.6 cfm). I occasionally have use for a right angle grinder and I can gain some experience with pneumatic tools with it.

Thanks,
Mike

[mike sato]

I usually rent a carpet shampooer. Much easier on the knees.

I used to rent the rug doctor carpet cleaner to clean our carpets but there were some things that were inconvenient:

.... I cleaned all of our carpets in one day to save rug doctor rental costs. (hard work)

.... This required moving our dining room glass table (heavy) and chairs into our patio room ahead of time to have clear runs for the rug doctor. Also had to move our heavy living room coffee table and miscellaneous items into other rooms ahead of time. Then moving everything back from room to room after the carpet dried. --- Cleaning the carpet using my own equipment allows cleaning half at a time so furniture can be moved to one side of the room, carpet cleaned and dried, then furniture moved back into position easily on the cleaned/dry carpet. Plus cleaning can happen over several days at my own pace (lots of breaks ;)).

.... Cleaning all of the carpets in one day meant all of the carpets were damp which required laying a lot of bath towels for paths to walk on.

Thanks for your input,
Mike