Hi everyone I am in the market for a new air compressor. I've been looking at 5 to 7.5 HP 60 or 80-gallon vertical air compressors. I was wondering what make and model air compressors everyone are using in there garages. Thank You. Bob
Whatever you do.... don't get an "oiless". Mine has been a great compressor for many years. I haven't had one problem with it.... but it's SO LOUD I can't even hear my neighbors Ford rusting when it kicks on. :laugh: I keep meaning to relocate it up into the "attic" of the garage, but that's going to be a big project.
I wouldn't think that hp would matter as long as you had a big enough tank. Check ebay for deals tho. I think our compressor is a 5hp though and it's worked fine for everything we've used it for. (We haven't used it for a jackhammer though [yet ^_^] .)
Depends on what your looking for. If it will be used for commercial type use or for sand blasting it will need to be a good one. Twin cylinder, cast iron are for the long haul and will supply good air for blasting. 80 gallon tanks help for storage too. On a compressor of this size, you will usually find a 6 to 8 hp motor. 150 to 175 psi really makes tools work to their potential too. I just went through this study myself and choose a company in my town to rebuild an older model. Everyone says the older compressors are better on average than the chain store stuff. I went through life with an oiless too for a while. That is the loudest thing on the market and will drive you crazy. Hope this helps.
i have two. the standard 5 hp $200 craftsman compressor sears has all the time [i got it for $100 at a yardsale] works pretty good for what i use it for. but it is oiless and pretty loud. bad baffle design, i think. and a small pancake compressor with a 2 gal. tank for when i dont want to fire up the big one. i also have a couple of portable tanks i can fill for "just in case" or i need air someplace away from a convienient airhose. this system seems to work for me for any situation. and i really dont mind the noisy craftsman. its not like i'm powering my own service station :laugh:
I used to have a 5HP 60 gal. single stage, 125 psi max. Aluminum pump. I had it since '87. Wasn't too good for breaking lug nuts loose. Worked great for painting and whatever. When I sandblasted, it ran constantly and was only rated for a 50% duty cycle. When I built my blasting cabinet, it became useless, not enough volume.....hard to blast with only 50 lbs. of pressure.:grin: Then I went out last year and got a 7HP 80 gal 2 stage, 100% cycle duty, 175 PSI max. How did Tim Allen say it? OHHH, OHHH, OHHHH!:Brow: This thing rules. The pressure never goes below 120, even when blasting. Lug nuts break loose no problem. I use synthetic oil in the cast iron pump as recommended by the manufacturer, so it should last a long time. I should note that I had to run a seperate 220 line out to the shop just for this. The lights in the house actually dim a little when it kicks on. One thing though, HP ratings for electric motors are not realistic. If you do the math in relation to the amperage, what is rated as 5 HP today is really only around 3 true HP. I think my 7 HP is only about 4-1/2. I guess what happenned is the manufacturers use a different method of determining HP now than they did in the past. They load the motor down until it smokes and that's the max. HP. Years ago, it was determined by a different method I don't understand enough to explain accurately. There used to be a website that a guy who bought a sears oiless compressor that blew up. I don't have the link. Stay away from them if you plan on using it a lot.:bglasses:
I shop at Harbor Freight and they have a 4 1/2 hp 21 gallon vertical compessor on sell right now for 169.00. The gal I deal with said I could get it for 119.00. I have seen it work and is portable. Look it up harborfreight.com
Does anyone know if Ingersoll- Rand is still top of the line? I've also looked at Campbell-Hausfeld which are cheaper in price. The only problem is I don't know anyone that owns one. The two of them deliver about 24 to 27 cfm at 90psi. BOB
Mine is a husky, I bought it at Home Depot for $800. After shopping around, ald looking at all the "bargains" that harbor freight sells, I decided on this. At least if I had a problem with it I could return it as opposed to having to ship it back. I am very satisfied with the quality of this unit.:bglasses:
I have a Craftsman vertical 6 HP 30 gal compressor. It delivers 6.4 SCFM @ 90 psi and 135 psi max. Its the oiless type. When it kicks on the whole house will vibrate (garage is in the basement). When I use my die grinder it will run constantly. It does fine breaking off lug nuts. I don't sandblast or paint so I can't tell you about that. If I were to buy another one it would be this one or something very similar. When I do get my new one I will banish my crappyman to the pole barn I have in my weed patch. Campbell-Hausfeld makes the compressors for Craftsman and Home Depot (husky), so now you know quite a few. But I think mine was made by the devil to drive me crazy.
I thought it was a C/ hausfeld. Heck, as long as you aren't using it 12 hrs. a day 7 days a week, it should last a long time. All I can say is, you get what you pay for. I'm in the small engine biz, and I don't recommend Craftsman equipment to anyone unless they have a very small lawn or a very short driveway. Their stuff just doesn't last, and their unique parts become obsolete quickly.:bglasses:
Ingersol is still a good product. Campbell H. was a high quality product back in the late 70's and early 80's. but has since fallen off. Local shop in my city does factory service on the Campbells and they told me that they are disposable compressors now. They also were the ones who said Ingersol was still a good compressor, but not as good as they once were. I looked at Ingersols 60 gal. 5 hp at a local Tractor Supply store last week and it was on sale for $450 which was a very good buy. Would work well for a small garage that doesn't do much blasting or commercial work. I also have a Devilbiss 80 gallon dual stage compressor with a 6.5 hp motor that works well. Aluminum pump, not a cast iron one, but will still last long enough for someone like me who doesn't put many hours on it per week. It puts out 17.6 cfm at 100psi, which does most jobs very well. Builds 175 psi too.
over kill in a compressor is good. the harder they work the hotter the discharge temp. then you start having problems with condensate in the lines. traps won't do much untill the cools(in other words it comes down the line)
Rob is right. Also, don't get one that has a very high rpm. Stay around 800 RPM if possible. The slower, the better.
The key is the amount of air ( C.F.M. ) cubic feet per minute that it will put out. To sand blast it will take around 14 cfm minimum at 90 psi, painting less, depends on what you plan on doing. Do not short yourself as long as you can aford it go for the larger size, it will not have to run consantly. Ted
Here is what I wrote in a thread a couple of years ago: Back in the day (about 1980 and still in high school) me and the buddy across the street rigged up a junk refrigerator compressor to an empty freon tank. We'd turn it on, wait about a half hour watching cartoons, use the die grinder on the 440 cylinder heads for about 5 minutes until the tank was empty, and then go back to cartoon watching until the tank filled up again. Talk about your cheap air compressors! Warning: don't try this at home kids.
Man, I wish I'd known all this before I bought my 5 hp oilless:eek2: I have a 8x16 work shop were I have ported heads and done all the bodywork on the doors, fenders, hood and decklid for my car. If I put the thing outside it bothers the neighbors and if its inside... :eek2: :eek2: ou: Too bad V8 buick wasn't around when I bought this thing.
Yeah, I sold my oiless to a friend who was working on some equip. for me about 2 years back. He had used it at my shop and wanted it when I bought a better compressor. Got it home and used it one time in his neighborhood. Had 3 complaints in 2 days about the noise. Now he has a box around it and still can't use it.
I have heavy moving blankets hung around mine to deaden the noise and I also wear earplugs. If I had the cash right now I'd throw this one away but that would be one less thing I could buy for my car right now.
I have a C/H since '97 and it runs great and has a cast iron jug. Lots of time on it. The next unit I buy will be a 2 stage, single phase, 80 gal Ingersoll Rand. There's a local branch of I/R so it makes repair easy.
