Beginner air compressor question

--------------------------------------------------- "Le>>> So what exactly do you plan to do with your compressor? Probably >>> not

---------------------------------------------------------- Buying an air compressor is like buying a SawStop.

You buy it once and it only hurts once.

If you plan on using air tools including spray guns, you need a real compressor, not a toy.

I had a 5HP, cap start, cap run, 240V motor, driving a 2 stage compressor with intercooler and placed on a vertical 80 gal tank.

It resided in the corner.

Cost was about $800. Today the same unit is about $1,300.

You going to need about 15 SCFM to drive a decent spray gun on a continuous basis.

My unit did that.

When you are shooting $200/gal LP, you don't want to have to wait for the compressor to catch up.

Not going to paint or use automotive air tools like a jitterbug or an air file, then a low cost pancake unit is probably good enough.

Ya pays ya money, ya takes ya pick.

Lew

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't decide whether you are really delighted with that compressor or not. FWIW, Craftsman 25 Gallon, oil-lubed compressor is currently about $529, on sale. At this point, I'm not seriously considering it. I have "other logs in the fire". Maybe I just need to build-on about 25 more feet of shop space so I can rebuild cars too, like Mike! ; ) No, make that 50 feet.

I am happy with it for nail guns, vacuum vices, blowing dust, and inflating tires.

I would steer clear of Craftsman.

Look here CH probably builds most of the look alike brands.

Or

Or

And HomeDepot has the Porter Cable C2002 on sale for $99 for 4 more days

---------------------------------------------- And HF has the same rating pancake compressor for $40 if price is an issue.

Lew

----------------------------------------------

Lew Hodgett wrote:

---------------------------------------------------- "Mike Marlow" wrote:

--------------------------------------------- Hardly.

For $40 you get a throw away compressor that is noisy and slow; however, it provides a source of compressed air for a lot of shop tasks other than spray painting or automotive body shop tasks.

For $1300 you get a serious piece of equipment that will provide a lifetime of air compressor service.

What's to research?

Lew

So.... You should spend $1340, so you have one to take with you on vacation, or wherever! : ) It's hard to avoid the cheap, portable one. I still remember my dad and I blowing up 2 or 3 air mattresses with lung power... routinely!

By the way, you forgot inflation. Even the 6-gallon is $99 at HF. And it has the same crappy ratings as the Porter-Cable. This is tough for some of us--to have the mindset that you are buying an "expendable" (Karl's word)! HF will allow you to go to an

---------------------------------------------- Lew Hodgett wrote:

---------------------------------------------------- "Mike Marlow" wrote:

--------------------------------------------- Lew Hodgett wrote:

------------------------------------------------- "Bill" wrote:

----------------------------------------------- Good grief Charlie Brown, stay focused.

A HF $40 pancake compressor provides a means of putting compressed air into your shop for the minimum investment.

It also provides maximum portability if off site capability is required after you have purchased a serious piece of equipment some where down the road for the shop.

If you truly need a compressor, then $40 for a pancake gets the job done at minimum cost as well as providing future backup capability.

If OTOH, you want to continue to conduct an exercise in window shopping, that is quite another matter.

Lew

Maybe you haven't seen the specs. I'm more likely to buy the 6-gallon. And the 8-gallon at Home Depot looks like it came out of the same factory as the one at HF, except it comes with a 2 year warranty. FWIW, I stopped at a gas station tonight, put $1 in the air machine, and wasn't even able to fill one tire in my allotted 3 minutes. Several nights ago, I went to Tires Plus at 7:30, where I bought my tires, and they closed at 7:00. So this thing is going to another level... ; )

Bill

Bill wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news6.newsguy.com:

If you spend the $40 on the compressor now, you won't feel bad about replacing it with something nicer later. I've got a little compressor that's only rated about 2 SCFM at 90 psi, and it's adequate for just about everything I do with it. No air wrenches or paint sprayers, but handy to have around. It's kinda sorta portable (luggable) as well.

Sure would be nice to have a bigger compressor, but the little one does everything I need it to so replacement is far down on my list.

Puckdropper

---------------------------------------------- Lew Hodgett wrote:

------------------------------------------------- You waited too long.

Price is now $60.

Lew

I'm not interested in that one. As someone else commented, one with a little more potential may allow me to pursue new turf. I had to spend $750 on a "simple" car repair this morning, so the price of a $100 air compressor is not an issue. Although, it may become one, if I have many more surprises! ; ) I kept thinking about how far that $750 would have gone towards a compressor! : )

Bill

I got a HF coupon in the mail today. Pancake compressor --$39.99. It's yours for the asking! : )