Posted: 6/11/2013 8:35:41 AM EDT
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I need a recommendation for an air compressor. Never owned one and don't know much about them. Need one for the odd job around the house, such as spraying texture or using a nail gun etc. I obviously would like to spend as little as possible to get something of good quality. I don't want something I'll have to replace in the next couple years.
I took a look at Lowe's and Home Depot but I have no idea what to look for. |
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It's all in the pressure/volume of air. Nail guns are not very demanding, paint sprayers are very demanding. Even weak pancake compressors can run nail guns (perhaps not multiple framing nailers), but they will be miserable failures with painting projects. Either forget about painting and enjoy a relatively cheap solution, or consider renting the gear. |
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I'll impart the little wisdom I've learned. I bought a basic Task Force upright 8-10ish gallon model from Lowes about 8 years ago. I think I snagged it on sale for about $160. It came with a good set of basic starter tools -- an impact wrench, an air ratchet, a blower, and a tire inflator with gauge. They work. I mainly wanted something that would blow off stuff, inflate tires, run a nail gun, and an impact wrench for changing tires. The one I bought handles the first three fine, and it's usually adequate for changing tires. If the lugs have been overtightened by a shop, my wrench ain't gonna get them off. I have to get a breaker bar. There are other air tools like sanders that my compressor probably can't handle. If I had to buy one again now, I'd get one with a little more oomph. But as a starter compressor, it's been good. Considerations: --CFM is a big thing to look at. Different tools require different air volumes. Cheaper compressors will have lower CFMs. Decide what tools you are likely to use with it, and get a comprssor that can handle their CFM requirements. A paint sprayer is going to have a higher requirement than a nail gun. --Cheaper compressors are usually louder. Mine makes a hell of a racket. Luckily, I have a small utility room I could install it in and run a line to my shop in the next room. The wall muffles the sound. While it's running, you don't want to be in the same room. --Tank volume determines how often the compressor has to run to recharge. If you're doing a lot of heavy work, you'll want a bigger tank. If you're just doing casual homeowner stuff, a smaller tank should be fine. It will also be more portable and take up less space. --If your air will mainly be used in one place, like in a shop, I strongly recommend a retractable air hose reel. I got one for Christmas last year, and it makes all the difference in the world. I can easily put air onto a job without having to pull out a big hose, hook it up, use it, then wind it back up and put it on a shelf or in a drawer. Just pull and retract. Grabbed and stowed in seconds. |
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Quoted: Thanks for the info. He's right about noise... Oiled compressors are less annoying, but they can't be considered quiet either. Look at the pnumatic systems in professional shops, and if you want to get hardcore, look at the giant compressors hauled around on trailers to power REALLY demanding tools like jackhammers. It's pretty cool stuff from a mechanical perspective, and shows you just how lame 'home' compressors are... Look at the CFM of the tool you want to use, and see what type of compressor it demands. You may be shocked. Again, a decent pancake model will be fine for nailing, mainly since nailing is widely spaced single shots of power rather than a constant flow. For painting, compressorless sprayers are now in use, perhaps that's a rental option. |
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Quoted:
Do oiled compressors require more maintenance or just an oil reserve similar to a lawnmower engine? Pretty much like a lawnmower engine. I just change the oil in mine once a year. What I did when picking out my compressor was to figure out what I wanted to run off it and then check the cfm of each tool. Once I had that figured out I chose the compressor that worked best in that range. |
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If you will be working in the same vicinity as the compressor buy one that has an oiled crankcase.
Minimal maintenance, change the oil once every year or three, and enjoy the relative quiet. Size for the tool you will be using. We did a roof with my old oilless compressor with a 5 gallon tank or something. Framing buildings for a living you will want a real one, but that was fine for inflating tires, blowing stuff off and infrequent nail gun or impact wrench use. I have a 30 gallon compressor now and it will barely keep up with a good sander. |
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I need a compressor also. my brother has a 36 gallon 5hp crafstman but he live 50 miles from me and i just got a paslode framing nailer for some projects around the house.
i work in the industrial compressed air industry and i design and over sea the construction of oil-flood air compressors in the range of 100-800hp. those things put out some air. pay attention to tools also, your air compressor depending on whether it its oiled or not will put oil into the air stream. some tools need oil, some things like paint system oil is bad, so you will need a carbon filter to absorb the oil. also all compressed air right out of an air compressor is saturated 100 percent with water. so a water separator is not a bad idea when building your compressed air system. |
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Quoted:
I need a compressor also. my brother has a 36 gallon 5hp crafstman but he live 50 miles from me and i just got a paslode framing nailer for some projects around the house. i work in the industrial compressed air industry and i design and over sea the construction of oil-flood air compressors in the range of 100-800hp. those things put out some air. pay attention to tools also, your air compressor depending on whether it its oiled or not will put oil into the air stream. some tools need oil, some things like paint system oil is bad, so you will need a carbon filter to absorb the oil. also all compressed air right out of an air compressor is saturated 100 percent with water. so a water separator is not a bad idea when building your compressed air system. Good info. Thanks. |
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The best value I've found was 8 gallon from Home Depot made by Husky. Sometimes it's $129 and sometimes it's $99.
That's the cheapest I've ever found for 4CFM at 90psi...which for me is a minimum for me. Harbor freight has one very similr in design (probably made in the same factory) with slightly better specs for around the same price. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-8-Gal-Portable-Electric-Air-Compressor-TA-2530B/202564847#specifications I've seen $200 compressors with more capacity (20 gallons) but only around 3CFM at 90 psi. If you're willing to spend $300 or more, don't settle for less than 10CFM at 90psi. |
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$200 for an oiled compressor with great ratings and low noise. The only issue seems to be delivery, some show up damaged. I am considering one of these when my Crapsman dies.
http://www.amazon.com/Makita-MAC700-Big-Bore-Compressor/dp/B0001Q2VK0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1370977150&sr=8-2&keywords=makita+compressor |
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Be sure to check the voltage and amp ratings compared to what you have available.
I bought the biggest 110v one that Orscheln sold about 7 years ago when we built our house. We ran nailguns nonstop without any issues. We set it up next to the breaker box as soon as the basement was poored and it still sits there 100% reliable today. As for the noise, It stays turned off 98% of the time and I never notice it at all when I'm working. |
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Quoted: I need a recommendation for an air compressor. Never owned one and don't know much about them. Need one for the odd job around the house, such as spraying texture or using a nail gun etc. I obviously would like to spend as little as possible to get something of good quality. I don't want something I'll have to replace in the next couple years. I took a look at Lowe's and Home Depot but I have no idea what to look for. I bought a porter-cable 150 psi - 6 gallon pancake compressor which came with 3 different sized air nailers/air brad-nailers. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Porter-Cable-6-Gal-Portable-Electric-Air-Compressor-Combo-Kit-PC3PAK/100672212#.Ubd01cEo4_s But I caught it on special for $229.00. The stuff works great. Unless you intend to use lots of high speed air tools...it's plenty compressor for around the house. You can get the compressor alone for $99.00. |
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Find the absolute biggest compressor you can possibly afford, then go home and save for a bigger one. You can't have enough air!! Like others have said, you can run some things with a small compressor, but if it won't run a grinder or cut off wheel, it's way to small.
My air compressor has become my most valuable tool I own. I use it for everything. I bought a 26 gal Husky that has run like a champ for years, but i can't tell you how often I've needed a bigger compressor. Frankly, I wish the damn thing would die so I could go get a bigger one  .
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Thoughts on this one? http://houston.craigslist.org/tls/3862195092.html
I've got to check the garage and see if I've got 240v available. |
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I have a Campbell Housefield 7 gallon. 4 CFM at 40psi and 3 CFM at 90psi.
Has been invaluable for car repairs (impact wrench), filling car tires (a great help when the wife says at 6:30am...'the tire light came on again' just as I'm leaving for work, and I just put up Chair Rail and Crown Molding in one room with a nail gun. I'll probably get a slightly larger unit (15 gallon) upright unit in the future...more for space concerns in the garage than because of a practical need. But....once you have one, they do become handy. AFARR |
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Just to put this out there:
I have a 8 gallon, 2 hp compressor (oil) I bought at Harbor Freight ($120). I've used it for everything from texturing to airing up tires and it has worked great. Wish I knew what the flow ratings were for the texture gun I used (also bought at harbor freight) but it worked beautifully. I have owned the compressor two years now with no problems. I'm not a contractor or anything so it gets used infrequently. |
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Quoted:
Thoughts on this one? http://houston.craigslist.org/tls/3862195092.html I've got to check the garage and see if I've got 240v available. If your electrical box is located in your garage, you can easily add a 220v outlet. That's what I did for my welder. My compressor runs off 110, but like I said, it's to small. My next one will be a 220v. I can't really advise you on that compressor, but last time I looked, craigs list had plenty of nice compressors in that price range. My buddy just bought a big 2 stage compressor for around that same price. Here's a decent video on the difference between single stage and 2 stage. 
Decent video on CFM
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Quoted:
Thoughts on this one? http://houston.craigslist.org/tls/3862195092.html I've got to check the garage and see if I've got 240v available. Not a good deal at all. There are many of these single stage 60 gallon compressors that are identical. This is one of them. There is a Kobalt one, Sanborn, Cambell Housefeld, Coleman, even IR, and some off-brand truck tool sale ones. They all come out of the same factory in China. I have the Sanborn version of this I bought off Craigslist (divorce sale) for $200 for it a couple of years ago. The Sanborn is routinely $399 at Menards. That being said, you have the right idea. I have a small pancake compressor and this bigger one. Between the two, I can do anything I need. |
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Quoted:
Just to put this out there: I have a 8 gallon, 2 hp compressor (oil) I bought at Harbor Freight ($120). I've used it for everything from texturing to airing up tires and it has worked great. Wish I knew what the flow ratings were for the texture gun I used (also bought at harbor freight) but it worked beautifully. I have owned the compressor two years now with no problems. I'm not a contractor or anything so it gets used infrequently. That's the one I alluded to in my post. It's identical in appearance to the one by Husky, but the specs are a little better. I'd pay $120 for that HF one vs $129 for the Husky, but half the time, the Husky is only $99. I'd probably still pay an extra $20 for the HF given the 2hp vs 1.5hp. |