I have heard mixed reivews about the Kobalt and the oil less 110V machine I’m borrowing right now is very loud and does not put out that much air. (expected because its 110) BUT it does advertise 5HP/1.7 running which I cannot believe at all.
That’s what I have, I’d recommend it. Aluminum pump with cast iron cylinders, runs quiet.
What size would you need to paint your car in the garage?
Thinking about this one as well. Lowes 10% off along with some gift cards from Derek can price this at $520.
I have to dig up this picture of a custom compressor that was installed on a lab building I worked on… It was so big they had to install it before any of the exterior was put on because it wouldn’t have fit into the building in parts and pieces
^ Seems like a good choice for Minglinglinger
If you want to stop over and hear how loud it is you are welcome to. just pm me
I like my 5hp 60gal from sears.
Ordered that black friday sale Craftsman 60 gal from Sears for like 490 after tax. We’ll see if I like it.
I’m looking for an air compressor that will have enough capacity/cfm to paint/spray a car in my garage. Being able to use air tools as well. I don’t think I’m going to use air tools very often but I would like to not have any hick ups when using a grinder or taking lug nuts off. Any recommendations?
thx
I have the larger compressor 60G unit from Lowes, and it works awesome. Haven’t run into any issues with using it yet; and I’ve run die-grinders (at 60psi) off it for hours straight. I have to say get a good multi-stage filter/water seperater/regulator though; the only thing I’ve noticed is it tends to send a lot of oil/water down the lines and into the filter setup I have.
I’ll let you know how it works for painting in a week or 2, but I don’t see any hiccups doing HVLP work.
And there was a utility trailer behind that with tanks and more pumps!
I know a thing or two about compressors… here is my latest stash i am rebuilding/putting together to sell.
Not all compressors are 100% duty rated, especially consumer grade units. they have max run time, actually MIN run times and cool down times. Coupling tanks is not a good idea unless you know the dutycycle for the pump will handle the volume. Heat as it works harder will build and so will humidity. if its working harder to fill 120 gal non stop instead of a 60gla with cool down times its going to piss an awful lot of water into the tanks/air lines.
You need to understand your needs. All your air tools will have a CFM rating to get you in a ballpark. CFM @ XXXpsi is what matters. a machine rated at 15cfm @ 80 psi isnt going to do shit at 175psi and might get about 8cfm at 100psi. So, when your impact needs 10 cfm and about 120psi to bust some lug nuts off that machines window of actually working the gun correctly for you is short… 10 lugs in it will kick on and not be able to keep up so you’re waiting. NOT real life #'s just figures. I will tell you that an IR titanium behind a 60 gal full tank with 12CFM @175 will work fine on its own, say ripping a car apart and using it almost non stop. BUT, the moment someone else grabs another gun at the shop it will be running non stop and sit around 80psi until you take a break and let it refill. Or if someone runs a DA, forget it you dont have enough to even bust 32 lugs off a truck at the same time. Even a small nozzle syphon fed sandblaster you get about 2-3 minutes of blasting at 100psi regulated at the blaster then it dips and 1-2 mins later you’re at 60psi and going nowhere. All that was my experience at my old shop with my old comp.
I’m building a new shop and I need air, lots of it. Sandblasting, DA sanding, die grinders, air chisels, impact guns… in order of priority based on air requirements. The blaster is a hog and I would need to use all the air by myself, current nozzle/jet I need 32cfm @100psi to not sit there all day blasting a valve cover. 2 DA’s running at once around 20cfm at 140psi, all the rest of the stuff is no problem as long as my comp will get me 32cfm @100 for me biggest hog. Approach your needs much the same way to pick the comp.
Keep in mind, as mentioned oilless comps don’t make shit for air. 8cfm at 80psi for a 32gal craftsman setup would run an impact for about 16 lugs and then kick on and not have any balls to break loose #17 .
The IR ones from tractor supply and such might be fine for occasional use but if you’re in the garage every day using them 2 years is all I would expect from them, then you’re rebuilding them for half the price you bought them for or getting a new one. Same for any other big box units for $6-1k.
DO NOT be afraid to get a used “old” compressor. Major overhaul kits for say an OLD ingersol rand type 30 243; piston rings, rods, crank bearings, valve fingers, gaskets, etc are like $220 and cake to do. I just rebuilt one I bought with a 80gal tank for $200. $60 for a 3hp 220 motor on cl, I have about $500 into it all said and done rebuilt and running. it makes 12cfm@160psi. It’s a tank, I abuse it and cant kill it. Infact I cranked it up to 200psi and it had no signs of slowing down. I would take that over a lowes special anyday. It can run hard but it wont pump as much moisture into the tank/lines. When you max out a consumer grade, short stroke, high rpm pump for long periods of time it will overheat fast… yah it will make air but it will be wet. this IR 243 i mentioned is only running a small blaster right now, thats it. feeding a 80gal tank. no moisture trap at all, and I have zero moisture issues in the blaster running it for a few hrs (allowing for catchup/shut off after say 10mins straight use).
The pile in the back of that tuck. Is a type 30 253 head I am JUST about to run here. Almost done with the referb. IRC its around 18cfm@160 and would run anything the ave joe would need for a 1-2 man part time shop. It will be for sale soon. The rest are Quincy’s… and big fuckers at that. They are 100% duty rated, forced oiling, industrial bastards. The biggest one I am keeping for my new shop, its 40cfm @180psi, something like 30cfm at 225psi and is rated 24/7 dutycycle up to 250psi, max pressure is 325psi! that’s what 600lbs of compressor head alone gets you! It will run off a 220 single phase 10hp motor for my needs around 200psi The others are smaller but still easily twice the performance of a $1200 IR from tractor supply, but about 3 times the value and quality. Once im done with them they will be for sale $1400-2200 depending on model/config.
I know it’s a book I blasted out here but if you have specific questions feel free to ask.
what are you using to run those? 4 cyl gas engines? lol.
how is that one pump not getting any moisture?
thought about running the big one with a diesel and over revving it for more cfm lol.
They were pulled from production at a dry cleaning plant, they ran the presses and what not they said 24/7. I have all the motors that ran them and not a single one is past 7.5hp 3phase, and they ran just fine. I am running the biggest one pictured there on a 10hp 220 single phase. If you dont need the PSI 250+ then they dont need the grunt HP wise. They have unloaders so restarts are not that hard on a “smaller” motor.
The little T30 243 crank is running ar 750rpm as per my laser tach. Shes a thumper but a runner. the bore and stroke on the heavy duty pumps make up for more displacment, so to get the cfm they dont need to spin at 1200rpm. Less rotation, less wear, less heat, etc. They are also intercooled, the comp pump has the spokes on the pully like airplane wings and it moves air over the pump body and the intercooler tubes from the high/low pressue jugs. The 243 has 1 tube. the 253 I am finishing up has 4 larger ones. and the big bastards have intercoolers about the same size as hot water baseboard pipes/fins! I also have a box fan blowing over my 243 in question, lol, becasue i knew i would be pushing it and the little pully on the pump wasnt going to move alot of air so I am sure that fan helps alot.
Anyone doing media blasting with their “hobbyist” sized air compressors?
ive been looking around at the 60gal range of compressors but wasn’t sure if at this mid-range they could really handle a blasting job the size of a car frame or not.
Here’s my setup in my back garage. I ran 1/2" black pipe to the shop so I don’t have to listen to the thing. Switch for the dryer and for the compressor. Going to get a set of louvers for the wall as it’s the non weather side. There is now a 1/2" filter in place and routed a touch differently.
My 80 gallon with a 3.5hp motor(someone replaced the bad motor with a smaller), using a DA or palm sander I notice it slow down after a little while. It was supposed to come with a 7.5hp motor but when it went bad they replaced it with a 3.5hp.
im hopping it will be fine for when I paint my car. You can hear the 3.5hp struggle when the tank is almost full since it has to battle the pressure in the tank.