Air compressor

[Steve K]

I'm looking into purchasing an air compressor but I'm not that familiar with them. I want one that will be powerful enough to let me use some air wrenches to take lug nuts off/on, painting, etc.

Anything in particular I should stay away from?

What PSI, gallon, HP, etc.?

Thanks

[Duane Bozarth]

Oil-less compressors...

Look at some the types of tools you plan on using to see their requirements.

Things like air wrenches are fairly air-consumption hungry...10-12 cfm @

100 psi kinda' numbers. More is better is a good rule of thumb--you can always use a regulator for lower pressure but you can't get more volume than what the compressor can put out.

[Joey]

Steve,

Others here might not agree, but I would stay away from the direct drive compressers. Get the one that has a belt from the motor to the compresser. A 2HP should work fine for home use, those small pancake compressers won't do the job and they are not belt driven, normally. Don't buy a stand-up compresser if you plan on moving it, get one one wheels that you can manage. A larger tank means more air between compresser recharges not necessarily more PSI. Most every air tool I use runs around 90-100 PSI and that includes all my air nailers. Most other tools actually require lower PSI which can be controlled with the regulator on the compressor. For home use, I've learned that a 200 foot air hose is great to have and also get the quick disconnects for the hose and your tools.

Joey \\

Steve K wrote:

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Most any compressor today will put out enough pressure. Some are rated at

135 psi, but in reality, most tools are run at 90 to 100 psi. Some compressors have a built in regulator to adjust as needed.

For filling tires, running nail guns, the smallest will do. For air tools, you need to be able to keep up to something that uses between 5 and 10 cfm. Look at the tools you want to use and size accordingly. Keep in mind that even a small compressor will have reserve so an impact wrench that needs 10 cfm does not need a compressor that large for a 15 second run of a bolt. But, a sander that runs for 10 or 20 minutes non-stop will need it.

Bigger is most always better. The larger the tank, the more reserve you have, but the larger the tank, the longer it takes to get to pressure when all you want to do is top of the kid's basketball.

[barry]

May I suggest "DAGS"? This question gets asked often enough that there is available treasure-trove of opinions recorded on the subject.

J

[J.C.]

I would highly, strongly and most emphatically suggest staying away from anything that has the name Campbell Hausfeld on it.

-- Some people call this Northeast Hell We just call it South Texas

J.C.

All spam forwarded to: [e-mail]

[Larry Bud]

The main thing you need to look for is CFM. The pressure can be regulated, but you can't get more than the maximum flow of air than the compressor is designed!

Air wrenches have a vastly different CFM requirement than a paint gun. Take a look at the tools that you're going to use first, determine their requirements, and size the compressor for that. Then you can look at the different kinds of compressors.

You might get into a 220V compressor, which you'll then have to determine your eletrical situation.

[ds549]

get at least a 60 gallon tank, a 2 stage compressor(180lbs) is best but a single stage oil bath belt driven compressor (125lbs) with

10cfm at 100lbs is the lowest to go.

[Pop]

: > J : >

: : I would highly, strongly and most emphatically suggest staying away from : anything that has the name Campbell Hausfeld on it. :

That's interesting, but not very useful: Why?

: : -- : Some people call this Northeast Hell : We just call it South Texas : : J.C. : : All spam forwarded to: [e-mail] : :

[Joshua Putnam]

Depends also on what you'll be using it for. My compressor has plenty of CFM, but can't get over 100PSI. It's great for most continuous-flow air tools (wrenches, sanders, etc.), but my air nailer won't quite bury a full 16d nail in hard old lumber with less than 115 PSI.