Air Compressor Thoughts

[Ryan T]

So I've been looking at air compressors pretty closely lately and I'm about to pull the trigger on one, but wanted to get some thoughts from those of you own/have worked with home sized air compressors. I love doing projects around the house, and as far as wrenching on cars I'd rather let air do the work rather than me straining and hitting shit with hammers. I'm lazy. The last compressor I used for any period of time was a 6 gallon unit we toted around when I put down hardwood floors in my moms house. I know I want something bigger than that.

What's the smallest you'd recommend? 20gal? 30gal? 60gal?

Most of the ones I've been looking at are 3-5hp and 155psi. Is that adequate?

Any particular brands you would stay away from? I've been looking at Craftsman and Kobalt, I'm not trying to break the bank on this, I've got a wedding to pay for.

Oil or Oilless?

Thanks in advance!

[ViPER1313]

I have a small pancake compressor which is fine for everything except an impact wrench. So far as specs you are looking for, the important thing is the compressor's CFM / SCFM of air it can deliver (not it's maximum PSI) - this shows how much air the compressor can deliver at a certain PSI over a minute's time period. More powerful tools like impact wrenches need higher CFMs to run properly. Tank size is only important for preventing wait periods where the compressor has to run and fill the tank back up. My little pancake has a really high CFM for it's size and will run an impact ratchet for small bursts of time, but has to fill back up every 2 bolts.

I'll let other people chime in on how big of a tank you should get / oiled vs oil-less (which I **think** is only important if you are planning to do paint work with the compressor, and you would need to buy an air/oil separator setup if you wanted to use it for that.)

[PDenbigh]

I have a Craftsman 30 gallon, 155psi, and can't remember the HP. It works quite well. I've done all the work on the XR with it, including body work and painting. If you're using an orbital sander, it runs out of air eventually, but will sustain about 70psi forever (90 is the recommended). More HP is the only way to solve that. For everything else, it's great. Kinda loud, but I currently have it in a different room with plumbing into the garage.

I have a vertical one and it's really much better on space use.

[Ole]

I think the one I have at the track is a Craftsman 30 gal. It works pretty good on what I need. If I were doing more I would probably want a more powerful model, but I haven't had any issues except with the cheap ass impact that came with it.....

[Steve85]

I've been using the 30gal stand-up (3.5hp 155psi) Craftsman for about 8 yrs now (knock on wood). In terms of home use I have never wanted for more. I've probably done a workload similar to Pete sans painting. It keeps up pretty well with a cut-off wheel, and a lot air ratchet use will make it cycle but you won't lose the torque from the tool. It's nice to be able to really crank it up too if you need break an axle nut loose or something like that.

I keep forgetting to drain the damn thing...

EDIT: It's 150psi 6hp. oiless. and loud.

[HAULN-SS]

I think lowes has that kobalt 60gal 6.5Hp one for less than 500$ most of the time right? I think that's what would get my money. For painting/sanding/whatever a car ive heard 60gal is about the minimum

[Evan]

campbell hausfeld 25 gallon. more than enough for what I need it for. Grinding or cutting takes a lot of air no matter what.
Get stand up.
buy good air tools. cheap air tools use LOTS more air than good ones.

[PDenbigh]

I agree with Evan on the tools. The two IR tools I have are fantastic.

[Steve85]

I agree with Evan on the tools. The two IR tools I have are fantastic.

+2 I have an IR 1/2" impact that was used at work and a Husky that I had for home use. Driven by the same compressor there simply is no comparison. The Cornwell 3/8 impact is stronger than the Husky 1/2". So yeah, don't skimp on the tools. One of those $120 7 piece air tool assortments will not cut it no matter what compressor you have.

[Ryan T]

So I picked up a Porter-Cable 4.5 gallon, 150psi, 6.0SCFM @90psi for $50 off Craigslist. It did what I wanted as far as blowing out the heater core on the Jeep and doing some framing work with a brad nailer, however I really think I'm gonna want/need a bigger one for use with an air ratchet/impact gun for work on the cars. The search continues for a bigger one, but this one will be awesome to keep around for blowing up tires, lugging around the house/to moms house and the farm, etc.

[DLingenfelter]

Chalk up another one to the Craftsman 30gal, I think I might have used my dad's more than he did. Painted cars, hardtops, and became hooked on impact guns. Compressing miata springs with hand tools with suicide sticks-1hr 45min (+lots of swearing and nearly dying twice) .vs. impact gun 5min.....I'd start saving for the 30gal, my dad's had his since 06 I think with no problems.

[Ryan T]

Not to bring one back from the dead but I bought a better compressor. Sold the Porter-Cable one a few months back and started looking for a bigger replacement. Picked up a Campbell Hausfeld 15 gallon, 200psi compressor from Lowes today. This model just came out in May or June of this year I believe. It's pretty quiet (quieter than the Porter-Cable was), fills up fairly fast. It's only 1.3hp but I'm not going to be doing any extreme work with it so it should be fine. First mini-test for it will be putting down quarter-round in my house. Other than that most of it's work will be filling up lawn mower/car tires, blowing out the garage and mower deck and rotating tires. Need to pick up a decent air ratchet and impact gun for it. If anyone has a nice one laying around they want to donate to the cause...

[.RJ]

Air ratchets are a pain in the ass. I bought one, and never use it. They're slow and loud...very, very loud. I'd rather just grab a ratchet.

Now, a small 3/8" impact wrench is money. Its fast, doesnt use a lot of air, can fit into tighter spots, and most of them have enough balls to do most everything. Pair that up with a 600+ ft/lb 1/2" for big stuff and you're set.

My $.02.

I bought a small (3 gallon) air compressor for bicycle tires and harry homeowner shit. So far, its great, easy to pick up and carry around the house. It has a 1hp oiled motor, fairly quiet and fills up really fast. The big 30 gallon compressor is still at my old house with G, I'll never use it here... but I wouldnt want anything smaller for garage use.

[NTIman]

Air ratchets are a pain in the ass. I bought one, and never use it. They're slow and loud...very, very loud. I'd rather just grab a ratchet.

Now, a small 3/8" impact wrench is money. Its fast, doesnt use a lot of air, can fit into tighter spots, and most of them have enough balls to do most everything. Pair that up with a 600+ ft/lb 1/2" for big stuff and you're set.

A 3/8 drive air ratchet is useless, but a 1/4 inch drive is great to use in tight areas for things like timing covers, etc... I have maybe used my 3/8 once, and I definitely agree that a 3/8 gun is where it's at. I use my blue-point gun every day.

[Seantn1k]

I have a Craftsman 30 gallon, 155psi, and can't remember the HP. It works quite well. I've done all the work on the XR with it, including body work and painting. If you're using an orbital sander, it runs out of air eventually, but will sustain about 70psi forever (90 is the recommended). More HP is the only way to solve that. For everything else, it's great. Kinda loud, but I currently have it in a different room with plumbing into the garage.

I have a vertical one and it's really much better on space use.

+1 to the craftsman tank. I used to use Pete's and liked it so much I got one too!