The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Tech → Fisher-Price's My First Air Compressor™
I'm looking to invest in an air compressor to do lemony things with. Primary functions will be filling tires and plasma cutting a parts car to scrap. The specs I have in mind:
-30 Gallons or more
-120 V
-On wheels
-Not oil-less
-Not Harbor Freight or the cheapest thing at Home Depot
-Probably used
Recommendations? Brands to avoid? Things to check when inspecting a used compressor?
I figure I should charge the tank and watch for pressure loss.
Go vertical if you are going that big (is the size for the plasma cutter?)
Check the oil condition
Drain the tank with a piece of paper under the drain (shows how much is rust and how much water)...close it again after a while to make sure it actually works
Have it fill completely from empty
Bleed just enough pressure to hard start and see if it pops the breaker (many will on restart, especially if it is 15 amp breaker)
If you are fancy, beg/borrow/steal/buy a borescope (sic) and look for significant scratches in the cylinder wall
As far as brands...if you are buying used I would just make sure it is a brand an model you can still get a top end kit for...and get two to put int he drawer and lose until you need them. Not matter what, plan on replacing gauges and fittings in your budget.
Another note, generally the slower it turns the quieter it is and the long it lasts. Get out you slide rule and calculate the rpms of the compressor based on the data plate RPMS of the motor and the gear reduction of the pulleys. Trust me...a noise compressor is a huge annoyance.
Avoid Ingersoll Rand like the plague. Some of the worst customer service I've experienced. If anything goes wrong with it, you're on your own. They don't offer any parts or support of any kind. We bought a new 60 gal one. It was not cheap. Probably the single biggest regret I've had with a purchase. It tends to overheat and has gotten gradually louder despite proper maintenance. The pressure regulator only works when it wants to, meaning it will randomly start activating the pressure relief valve which sounds like a damn machine gun. It's not bad when it works, but the company behind it is truly awful.
Go buy a new one. This is something you will keep for a looooooong time. Buy a nice vertical 5 or 7 horse 50 gallon minimum tank. I have a machine shop, and am on my fourth upgrade (a Kaeser which is the best thing I have ever bought) and I still own the previous three. I will recommend an air dryer. You can pick them up for a couple of hundred dollars(http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hankinson-air-drier-/261591130780?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce80be29c). Plumb it between the compressor and tank and you will never have any moisture in the systemor the tank. You should be able to get a really nice system for less than $750.
Our business has a 60 gallon Husky used for blowing air and spray painting. Needless to say it runs a lot throughout the day. We've been super happy with it for the past 3(?) years we've had it. Only maintenance is draining it and adding oil periodically.
Is 30 gallons more than I need for plasma cutting?
The Quincy ones are nice but a bit pricey. Give them a look before you decide.
Is a dessicant-dryer a close second? Easier to obtain than the Hankinsons.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Campbell-Hau … /100671461
http://www.harborfreight.com/38-desicca … 69923.html
Anyone who saw me swearing on Sunday while trying to get cheesy harbor freight bit sockets to apply 40 ft lbs of torque knows I have no love for their junk. Exept... it's so convenient...
Those are actually air traps, not dryers. The dryer you want actually refrigerates the air and condenses the moisture. Take it from a guy who has learned all this stuff the hard way. Stick to name brand compressors. I do know that Harbor Freight sells name brand compressors (this will be the only time I will ever endorse that peddler of low grade junk).
This is what you want: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/tls/4665296575.html
Yeah, that looks like a good deal. I actually have a few year old Husky, bought from a neighbor when he moved: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-60-gal … /203187350
Should I add a Hankinson between pump and tank? It would cost right about what I spent on the compressor.
If you want a trouble free air system, I would. You will never have to drain the air tank again and you will only get bone dry air all the time. Just check CL or eBay for an air dryer, they all work the same. Some will handle more cfm, but considering the use, anything you get will be fine.
Here ya go: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/tls/4642300976.html
The Kaeser are absolutely bullet proof. The guy next to me has a rotary compressor with 88,000 hours and it still runs like a top.
Is 30 gallons more than I need for plasma cutting?
No clue...hence the ? I ask because I bought way more compressor than I actually needed and now it sits int he corner rarely used. Mine was just a 20 gal 3hp Campbell Hausefeld from when they still made some decent stuff. I thought I would do a lot more painting than I did.
A smaller, faster recovery more portable compressor would have done me just fin as 90% of the time I end up using the 1.5 HP oilless 1 gal Husky that is massively loud. A static larger tank from someones failed compressor in the corner could be my "surge" tank for those 2 times each year I needed sustained volumes of more than 5 CFM.
Not knocking any of the advice here but buying what YOU need for your application is more important than buying the beast setup for shop that constantly needs reliable, high volume air. I hate using the stupid Husky paint mixer (it is much louder than a paint mixer but vibrate like one) at home but I am too lazy to unearth the big boy every I need to fill a tire ot blow off a piece of work.
.....
-Not oil-less
.......
I think you already know the most important factor. Those things are loud as all F.
And I'll second OnkelUdo's comment about seeing how fast it turns. The slower, the quieter.
You can use a plasma with a fairly small compressor if you make only short cuts. If you want to make long continuous cuts, then you'll need one that can keep up with the CFM's of the plasma.
As to dry air, i have a small moisture trap attached to my plasma. Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Hausfeld … B0000CBINA
After the air cools down as much as it can through the lines and hoses, that trap catches anything left. never had an issue.
A desiccant air dryer for the plasma cutter is a good minimum unless you go full refrigerated dryer. The more humidity in the air, the faster you got through consumables. S/F....Ken M
I've used my 22 gal. Harbor Freight compressor to run: paint gun, plasma cutter, ratchet, impact, chisel. I've run it for long periods of time and it's never overheated, and never starved me of air. Just saying...
Yeah, I prefer to right-size this purchase and upgrade if necessary. Because budget, space, and utilization.
I had dismissed the Husky and Harbor Freight brands assuming they are not reliable. Sounds like some happy customers. How long have people owned and used these brands?
the HF 26 gallon 120v 125psi air compressor runs my plasma cutter all day.
I think I paid less than $700 before tax for said HF compressor and plasma cutter by going in and nicely asking the manager for a nice discount. I do shop there a lot.
I'd like to bump this thread, with a slightly different spin
I'm in the market for a new compressor, as well. My current 25 gallon Crapsman works pretty well for air tools and plasma cutting, but I'm concerned about burning it out while trying to media blast the 40 years of crud off our new project. Nothing puts the binders on a weekend of wrenching like losing your air source.
I'm looking for something in the 60 gallon size that can run without concern for 30 mins or so, but won't break the $1k mark. I know there are many Lemons folks with experience in this area, so I'm hoping to learn from others' experience and/or mistakes...
Thanks!
I bought a sears 3hp 25 years ago, and still going strong.. was around $300 then I think. Tank eventually rusted out, and put a harmless freight 60 gal vertical under it. I plumbed my garage with copper with drip legs, and never needed a chiller.. painted many cars, runs sand blaster etc... its aluminum, two stage with no after cooler... cheap but effective. That said, a big, slow cast iron one would be quieter
I noticed a Husky single stage cast iron pump with 60 gallon tank yesterday at Home Despot for $489
I recently got a new compressor from California Air Tools and it's been great. It will run a 30amp plasma cutter, but nothing larger. It does ok with die grinders but won't keep up with a media blaster. The reason I got it, it's super quiet. I run it day or night and don't have to worry about neighbors. The air venting when it turns off is by far the loudest it gets. They make a larger one but it's a bit pricey.
http://www.californiaairtools.com/ultra … cat-10020/
I recently got a new compressor from California Air Tools and it's been great. It will run a 30amp plasma cutter, but nothing larger. It does ok with die grinders but won't keep up with a media blaster. The reason I got it, it's super quiet. I run it day or night and don't have to worry about neighbors. The air venting when it turns off is by far the loudest it gets. They make a larger one but it's a bit pricey.
I wonder why they don't make a bigger vertical model? Those bigger models seem to take up quite a bit of real estate; something that's lacking in my garage...
Almost a decade ago I bought one of them inexpensive Harbor Freight upright 25 gal compressors to bead-blast a bunch of MGBGT parts. (actually Super-Spouse bead-blasted them, I just did the removal & prep). We got about 6-8 hours of total use out of it over 2 days before the compressor crapped the bed. Turns out it had plastic compression rings, which was a common failure thing on cheap models.
I took it back the very next weekend and turned and bought a 175lb 25gal Craftsman at about twice the price.
10 years later and it's still rocking good as new.
I'd suggest considering looking for an older brand name unit off craigslist. Some pretty good ones can be had for cheap, and even if it needs minor repair it can be cheaper and last waaay longer than the new plastic-ring stuff being sold everywhere these days.
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