Looking at getting a good compressor for my garage, not looking to break the bank! I want something strong enough to comfortably run an impact wrench. I have looked at sears, lowes, and home depot. The fluctuation is huge. I have seen mainly Craftsman, Kobalt, Husky, and Dewalt that look like they are capable of doing what I want. What do you guys recommend for specs as well as brand? I love craftsman hand tools, but haven't heard the greatest things about their power equipment. I bought a Kobalt from lowes for 180.00 (damaged box so they dropped price), but the more I thought about it I want an opinion before I make it mine! It did come with a kit (which did somewhat influence my decision) which included a sprayer, air hammer, ratchet, and impact wrench.. as well as other fittings and a hose. it is a 1.3hp 22gallon that puts out 4.0 at 90psi and 6.0 at 40psi. Also, how good do you guys think the tools are that came with it? Thanks!!

I don't mind spending more than 180, just thought that was a good deal!

 

That size compressor will be good for those typs of tools that came with it. But if you are going to be getting into stuff like grinding or sanding you'd probably want to step up into something bigger. I can't comment on the Kobalt tools though. I use all cheap tools from Harbor Freight.

I have a 60 gal Craftsman 3.2HP compressor and it's worked fine for me. It's almost 4 years old now but it's seen most of it's work the past 2 years. I just change the oil once a year and occasionally drain the water from the tank.

 

I see all the specs listed on them (hp, scfm, gallons, etc.) I don't know what specs really matter and what don't.. the guy at sears was obviously lacking knowledge. Can I get guidance there too? Thanks

 

CFM is the most important spec on a compressor. The other factor, to me, is noise. An oilless compressor may sound like it would be "cleaner" to operate, but in reality, it is simply a LOT louder. I mothballed my Campbell-Hausfeld oilless compressor last year, and I'll never go back. Oiled all the way. So much quieter. I'd rather have a small oiled belt-driven compressor than a noisy oilless direct drive compressor.

CFM @ 90psi is a good comparison point. But be careful that they're doing pump CFM, and not "tank assisted CFM". Tank assisted doesn't mean anything.

Air compressor manufacturers seem to be in a terrible race to see who can mislabel their specs the worst. Keep this in mind:

1 horsepower = ~4.5 amps at 220 volts = ~9 amps at 120 volts
That is physics. No getting around it.

So a 115V compressor that has a label as "5 hp" (like my Campbell-Hausfeld does) is lying. It pulls 15A max... therefore, it's a 1.5hp max motor. They lied on the label.

My Ingersoll-Rand compressor pulls 23 amps at 220 volts. That's ~5 horsepower.

But horsepower don't mean squat, in reality. It's all about the CFM.

Tank size (gallons) will determine how often the compressor cycles. The more it cycles, the more heat builds up. The more heat, the more water the pump makes. The more water, well, the worse the air quality. So if you're going to be using continuous use tools (like a DA sander), you want a big tank. For smaller, bursty tools (like an impact gun), really any tank size would do. But, life is about compromise... find a comfortable point in between. A 60 gallon tank is great, but you can't roll it outside the shop if you need to.

 

thanks. that was quite a helpful write up.

 

I have a craftsman 30 gallon upright. Its an oiless compressor. I hate it... It was great at first, but I think it was just the novelty of having air tools at my disposal.

Dont get me wrong, it works fine, and Ive had it for awhile. But the thing is just so loud and slow now. The oiless compressors are just noisy by nature I think. But man...if Im in the garage with the door shut or something, its just rediculous. And it seems like it runs forever. There is a chance that its just worn out or whatever though. Just seems like it takes so long.

Sometimes, if the tank is empty and I just need air tools for something quick, Ill just use the on board air on my jeep. That compressor is fast and all I have to do is put up with the engine running.

Just my .02 cents on compressors...

I want to upgrade to a 60 gallon tank, and a belt driven top mounted compressor. More maintenance, but better operation in my opinion.

Justin

 

Oil free compressors suck. The are so damn loud!!!
Depending on what you are going to do a 30 gallon can be enough, but if you have the room and money get the 60.
For just Impacts and ratchets a smaller compressor is fine. Get into grinders, cut-off wheels, air chisels, they are taxed.

 

I agree. I bought a direct drive Craftsman on sale, and while it does alright around the home garage, if you do a lot of grinding, or cut-off wheels, it will drive you NUTS! I would say, spend a little more on a bigger one, and you'll never be maxing it out.

 

I need a new compressor too. I have a 60 (I think) gallon husky and hate it. It just broke on me too.

Camaroholic, you said cfm @ 90 is important, but how many do you want, say to do everything, from a DA, to grinding, to a complete paint job on a car or pickup.

Also, what are some good brands? The only company I'd know buying one from that would be good (or the best maybe) is snap-on, but they're like 3-10 grand

While we're at it, (you know, me hijacking this guy's thread) would not having enough cfm's be the cause of giving me fish eyes in clear coat, normally the final one I put on. Every time I paint a car anymore I need to wet sand them like crazy to get rid of fish eyes in the clear coat. I have water filters, oil filters, and enough piping to let the air cool off before it gets through the filters to stop any moisture from getting in the lines. Thanks for any assistance.

 

It really depends on the tools you are using, for CFM. For example, I think my DeVilbiss GFG-670 paint gun is rated around 11-13 cfm at 30 psi ("High Volume", low pressure). My Ingersoll-Rand compressor is able to outrun the paint gun (cycle on, and then off, all while the trigger is pulled full). That tells me they're a pretty good match for each other (I have an I-R 2340L5 compressor, cost $930 at Grainger on sale last year... I spent about 3 weeks looking at compressors before jumping on that one). I like 2 stage compressors, so I can set my line pressure really high, and throttle it down at the paint gun (my line pressure is at 110-120 psi, my gun pressure at 30 psi... always plenty of air). The compressor goes to 150 psi, and usually kicks on at 110-120 psi (versus a single stage compressor that usually tops out at 120 psi, and kicks the cycle on at 85-90 or so).

I've seen charts on various air tools... but my ~14 cfm @ 90psi compressor can outrun every tool I've got (including the DA sander).

I mostly stuck to the big brands... I kicked around an Eaton, but the thought of not knowing where to get parts if Eaton went out of business kind of turned me off. The I-R Type 30 compressor has been around for years, and I know exactly where to get parts for it, 15 years from now. It's a long term tool for me.

Do you have a hose that you use exclusively for paint? That is one possibility... I put 3/8" air fittings on my paint equipment and hose, all my tools have 1/4" fittings... so I don't have any oil contamination from the tool hose to the paint gun.

http://www.autobody101.com and http://www.garagejournal.com both have good message boards that have talked about compressors as well. GarageJournal has some huge threads on them.

 

I am noticing what may turn out to be a problem for me? I am in an apartment complex and only have access to 120v outlets. Am I going to be able to find a good compressor that works with that? A couple links to recommended ones would help some too!! Thanks!~ (I have been looking for hours on end and reading from a few different forums, just so you don't think I am being lazy!)

 

Honestly the best place to look is your local Craigslist. http://www.craigslist.org - look for a used one. Be patient, they do come along.

Other than that, there's cheapies from Harbor Freight, or $600 units from Bel-Aire. This little guy:

http://www.tooltopia.com/index.asp?P...D&ProdID=11687

Would be a nice one to have long term, but it's on the expensive side.

Another:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...1703_200311703

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...1705_200311705

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w..._207226_207226

There are more out there...

 

My Harbor Freight compressor lasted 3 days. What a pain to return!

Anyway, I have a Craftsmutt 125 lbs oil-less unit that is LOUD . It works but I can't hear myself think now.

Yeh, I would buy a big oil unit from Sears or Loews if I had a do-over.

 

Hm.. what are the top 5 brands you would recommend if you were to recommend them? Thanks!
The more I read, the more brands i find.

 

What do you think of these:
http://baltimore.craigslist.org/tls/361665521.html
http://lancaster.craigslist.org/tls/361219627.html

 

For the sometimes in a blue moon kind of need, look into a nitrogen tank. A single large tank will remove and install 6-8 sets of tires, air them up and blow out the trailer.

I have a CH 80 gallon upright in my shop. It's their "Farmhand" brand, bought at Tractor Supply. It has served me well for over 5 years, now.

 

Hey, got yer PM. Sorry bout that, I got lost here.

The Rigid compressor looks like a small one... it'd be a good contractor site compressor for a nail gun, but would run a lot under any sort of use.

The C-H compressor is just like the one I have. NOISY. Looks like an OK deal, it'll probably be OK, but I'm tellin' ya, it'll be noisy! The difference is being able to talk to someone with a reasonable voice (oiled compressor) versus not being able to say or understand anything until the compressor shuts off (oilless).

I bought my Campbell-Hausfeld compressor in 1998 or so, and it still works... so they can last a long time. But it literally sounds like it's about to fly apart, it's so loud. You cannot have a conversation in my shop when it's running.

 

Thank you. I just looked in Home Depot today and there were a couple husky units that are around 400$ that are 60 gallon putting out ~10scfm at 90psi. I think I may consider that route very strongly. Would you encourage or discourage that?

 

Are there units strong enough that I can run them on a reg 120v outlet and still get what I need to run a 1/2" impact wrench? I spoke with the guys at my local home depot today and they seemed to believe that was not particularly possible. I saw some of your links come wired for 120 but can be converted, will the 120 be sufficient or will the conversion most likely need to be done? I am looking for 120 because I am currently in an apt and don't really want to go through rewiring for the higher voltage.

 

My Campbell-Hausfeld ran my impact just fine. I don't think there was ever a nut I could not break free with it. As long as you're not cranking on semi truck parts with the big Ingersoll-Rand 1200 ft-lb impacts you should be fine.

I have a cheap Campbell-Hausfeld impact gun. Worked fine with the old compressor, works fine with the new one. I've only had to take it apart once, after I threw it against the ground when I got ticked off, and tweaked the case.