compressor advice (and old one for sale)

[dieselnutjob]

I don't need a new compressor right now, but I will need one this spring/summer, and I want a good one.

 

So I was looking at Burisch BT-390T  https://gtair.co.uk/air-compressors/1-burisch-bt-390t-90-litre-3hp-belt-drive-air-compressor-5060523510009.html

 

for £275

 

But then a one day OMG must buy now offer arrived in my inbox for Clarke Boxer 14/100 https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-boxer-14100-100-litre-belt-driven-air/

 

reduced to £431

 

or a 150L one https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-boxer-14150-150-litre-belt-driven-air/

for £443, which is very little extra for the bigger tank

 

So question:  even with the offer the Clark one is more expensive. Why?  Is there a problem with the Burisch one?

 

Currently I have a 2HP oil free 50L direct drive one which is a right noisy b@$#rd.  A friend of mine sprayed quite a lot of the 806 with it a few years ago and it came out lovely but it was a right pain to do because you could do one pass with the gun and then the motor would kick in and you would have to wait a few minutes before doing the next.  Basically it couldn't keep up.  However if someone wants something cheap that you can just about use with a small touch up gun then something like £30 would secure it.

[dieselnutjob]

Burisch 97dB

Clarke 94dB

 

Will I notice the difference?  The actual compressor piston bit looks identical on both.

[cobblers]

Three decibels extra is technically double the noise, if the figures given are accurate then there will be a noticeable difference

[dieselnutjob]

Three decibels extra is technically double the noise, if the figures given are accurate then there will be a noticeable difference

 

I still think that they are all made up of the same parts though.

[somewhatfoolish]

They're both noisy enough to require hearing protection, so the difference is a bit moot.

[AlabamaShrimp]

In the past I've had experience of both direct drive, but with a giant ancient engine, and giant storage tank.

 

Both are better than the noisy small tank, small engine that seem to be very common. I'm far from an expert but if I had the money it would have to be direct drive with a small tank as there's always air. The other way you can be waiting ages for it to fill up.

[Christine]

A good conversion  of a swing bin to a smoll blast cabinet  .

 

 

 

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=140205&p=1#PostTop

 

[Talbot]

They're both noisy enough to require hearing protection

..... putting in a different room, or in a small purpose-built shed well away from the work area, and then running pipe to where you need the air.

 

Sod listening to an air compressor blatter away for hours on end.

[dieselnutjob]

opinions please:  will I notice much difference between a 90L and a 150L compressor both with the same 3HP belt drive motor?

 

The 90L is cheaper and smaller.  I will be doing one of the most difficult things with it though, which is painting.  I am okay at painting but I would rather not be adding poor equipment to my inexperience.

 

If I can get away with 90L and save £125 then great but if it isn't good enough then it will be a waste of £275 which is even worse.

 

So I am comparing this

https://gtair.co.uk/air-compressors/1-burisch-bt-390t-90-litre-3hp-belt-drive-air-compressor-5060523510009.html

with this

https://gtair.co.uk/home/111-burisch-bt-3150t-150-litre-3hp-belt-drive-air-compressor.html

 

I am quite keen to place an order over the next couple of days.

[Mally]

Big tank is good, price increase not so good.

It says same motor and same output, but 13 amp supply for small tank and 16 amp for large tank.

I don't get that, surely to produce a given amount of air to spray a car say, the motors run the same power over same average length of time, no?

[dieselnutjob]

There's also this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Compressor-Dakota-Litre-150psi-Cylinder/dp/B00IARZEQU

 

The bigger the tank is the more air you can pull from it before the motor kicks in.

 

Having spoken to my paint spraying mate I am kind of leaning towards 150L.

[dieselnutjob]

to add another variable, I looked on ebay.

 

The going rate for a 150L 3HP seems to be under £300 for a used one but you get no guarantees or anything, on the other hand they largely appear to be higher grade "professional" models.  I'm not too sure what that will mean though I can guess that a 150L tank with a crap regulator will still be..crap

 

On the other hand, I did successfully paint with the old one that I sold on here it's just that the (noisy) pump would just run all the time.  Even a cheap one with a tank three times bigger and a motor 50% bigger has just got to be a lot better

[Dead_E23]

Are you a member of Costco?  They sometimes have quite big (150 litre) compressors for sale and I remember thinking they weren't overly expensive.

[Arthur Foxhake]

Can confirm noisiness of old one.

It is handy though, used it a few times now and it's definitely useful. Just need to add more tools.

[dieselnutjob]

Are you a member of Costco?  They sometimes have quite big (150 litre) compressors for sale and I remember thinking they weren't overly expensive.

 

No, but I can see from their website that the nearest thing to what I want is a 4HP 150L for £700.

I'm only interested in belt drive, but they are more expensive.

[dieselnutjob]

A Halfords trade card chops over £100 off of this

https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/tools/power-tools/sip-airmate-3hp-150-srb-air-compressor

[dieselnutjob]

Burisch BT-3150T 150 litre 3hp: Air displacement: 14.1CFM

SIP Airmate 3HP/150-SRB Air Compressor: 13CFM piston displacement / 8.5CFM Free Air Delivery

Wolf Air Compressor Dakota 150 Litre, 3HP: Air Displacement: 14CFM

 

The SIP is slightly more expensive (even with Halfords trade card) but I wouldn't have to get it posted as I can do Click 'n Collect then you don't pay for post so the actual difference isn't much.

[Dead_E23]

I think the one I was looking at must have been this one for £274.  14CFM and 130psi sounds alright to me!

[dieselnutjob]

That would be great except for the noise

 

 

He runs them both up in the video and you can hear the difference

[Dead_E23]

Only 1dB(A) difference between those two at Costco - and a small matter of £425.   

 

I have an ancient 'Elektrum-Becker' belt driven compressor with a tank of about 50 litres and in any kind of a confined space it is intolerably loud.  However, put it out in the open air and the sound is much less objectionable.  If I was intending to use it a lot, I would build it a little outdoor enclosure out of sterling board, which is cheap, and heavy so should attenuate the racket a lot.  With a bit of shed felt to keep the rain out it should be quite durable too.  I'm not using the compressor enough at the moment to bother building anything because I suspect that the tank is corroded inside; when I can be bothered I'll unscrew the big bung in the end and have a look what's going on in there.

[dieselnutjob]

I have decided (well unless one of you lot comes up with a show stopper).

I found a place selling these for £539 inv VAT and delivery:-

https://www.sip-group.com/store/category/81/product/05300.aspx

 

Everyone (and I have spoken to a lot of people and read a lot) say that for proper car painting you need 14CFM minimum, which is quite a popular size because it's the absolute max that will run off of a 13 amp plug.

 

And one of those on a 150L tank is going to cost £440 or so. 

 

For another hundred I can get 16CFM and it will definitely be big enough.  With that I could run a proper expensive Devilbiss gun if I had to.

This might actually happen because I have a mate with all the pro stuff and if I want him to come round and paint something for me then I have to have a compressor that will cope with his stuff.

I would rather spend £540 than waste £440 and I have been waiting about 10 years to get some decent stuff.  If I get this then it will last me until I'm dead and stuff like this is always desirable on the used market as well.

 

So I had a look at the wiring to the garage.  I need to properly check it tomorrow but it appears to be a direct run from the fuse box in the house (currently an a 16amp MCB) of about 40 feet of armoured 2.5mm cable, into a second fuse box in the garage.

 

An electician mate said this is good for 25 amps absolute max and would be safe on a 20 amp MCB.  As the compressor needs 16A I think it will be fine.  Obviously I can't run power tools or a welder at the same time as the compressor but that's okay.  I plan to re-do the lighting so I guess I can go to LED and do it withing 4 amps?

 

I know I will need to put in a 16A commando but that's no big deal.

 

Anyone see any problems?

 

now I need to sell the three way camping fridge to make room

[dieselnutjob]

The compressor arrived yesterday.  It's absolutely huge, but it does fit in the space under my storage racking so that's cool.

I need to do a bit of wiring to try it out.

Also I after some advice about hoses.

 

The compressor doesn't have any regulator, just the motor control pressure switch, and there is no threaded hole for a regulator either; however I don't think that I need it.

 

Near the compressor I have a 15mm copper pipe with a T into it for connection to the compressor, so it goes down to a valve, so that I can let water out of the bottom, and up the wall, across the garage roof and and then tees into two regulators.

 

This copper pipe has a slope back to the compressor so the idea is that any water that condenses should run away from the regulators back towards the compressor and end up in the bottom of the pipe below where the compressor Tees in.

 

At the regulator end the tee goes to a regulator that's just a regulator with old style air line connectors, this meant for painting or anything that's supposed to be "clean", and to a second regulator that also has an oiler, the oiler has a "Euro" style air line connector, so my power tools will not accidentally plug into clean, or clean into oiled.

 

At the compressor end there is a 15mm copper T and then a reducer to 1/4" thread so a normal 1/4" hose can connect to the pipe.  I am thinking that this is a bit small for such a powerful compressor.

 

At the tank I need go straight into the tank which is I think a 1/2" thread.

 

So that was all the background, now for the actual question:-

 

What is the best way to go from the 1/2" thread in the tank of the compressor to the 15mm copper that goes up the wall?

I can easily unsolder the currect 15mm to 1/4" adapter and solder something else on.

[dieselnutjob]

There seem to be lots of 15mm copper to 8mm barbed hose adapters for gas pipes like this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15mm-COPPER-COMPRESSION-TO-8MM-HOSE-NOZZLE/202603933394?epid=14028882714&hash=item2f2c22aed2:g:hH0AAOSw18BcbrzX

[cobblers]

If you take the nut off a compression fitting, the thread is 1/2 BSP.