Who on here has a compressor?

[Bren]

Just had the VAT free card from Machinemart- looking at a compressor.

 

I was told bigger the better - however a 100 L item takes up a lot of room, my garage seems to getting filled with more and more items - may have to consider a 50 L item.

 

Don't think I be spraying full cars, but need something that will run a saw/ impact wrench and eventually a plasma cutter.

 

What size is yours? What do you use it for? What won't it do?

[NorthernMonkey]

I've got a 50 litre belt driven thing....I've forgot the name but it's supposedly a decent German make. It's great for the impact wrench and a nail gun thing that I use occasionally but the air grinder doesn't half run it down. You only get probably 45 seconds before the motor kicks in. I've used it for spraying a couple of times though and that doesn't seem much of an issue for it...

[jakebullet]

Mines 150L. It struggles to run a DA sander at full speed.

 

More important than tank size, what is the CFM of the one you're thinking about?

[derskine]

I've got a 50L one,the motor is on constantly when using the air grinder.

[dave21478]

I have a 50 litre direct-drive thing and its fairly pish to be honest. I have sprayed cars with it, but its running a lot when doing so, but its well out of puff when using an air drill, impact wrench or similar.

[alf892]

I've got a 50L one with twin cylinder belt driven compressor. It is about the limit on single phase at 13 amps.......

 

Runs air saw easily and 1/2" gun OK although with the gun on really tight stuff you may need to wait a few seconds for max pressure. I also use a 3/4" drive gun when stuck and that takes a bit. It is worth noting that most air tools should be run under 100psi................and lots less for spraying so something this size will do for home use. Ideally I would like a bigger tank but then it would take up more space so maybe not

 

Can't remember the make. Will have a look later..........

[Christine]

The cheap 50 L "oiless " direct drive ,run plastic piston rings , which are ok when new, but quite soon they leak and the thing kicks in constantly trying to maintain pressure,  because its not pumping in so much compressed air . Spend a bit more and get a pump with oil sump and metal piston rings

[HMC]

50L cheapie here, from Lidl in Germany. Pretty crude and weedy but ace for the light use I give it, anything more would be overkill for my workshop tinkering.

[xtriple]

I've had a variety of comps over the years; the first was one I made myself using a motor from a washing machine and a compressor I found. It ran constantly as it had no receiver but I had a constant bleed spraygun and sprayed cars with it no bother. It never died I just upgraded and gave it away. I got a 50L thing (Clarke or similar) with a blue tank and it did the job fantastically for years. I wanted it to run air tools and though it used to need to rest for a while and build up pressure occasionally it was adequate.

 

I started whinging that it wasn't big enough for the die grinders and windy guns and air powered ratchets that I liked playing with and my wife (bless her - God I miss her!    ) went out and bought me a 100L V twin thing brand new and it was fooking AWESOME! It was recommended to her by her mate that owned a tool supplier and he did her a good deal and threw in loads of new air lines and snap connectors and such.

 

The difference having a real quality comp made was astounding; it would fire up first thing and run infrequently throughout the day but it was so quiet, I often didn't notice. It had no difficulty keeping up with any air tool as it had a very large CFM and could recharge the tank while it was also running the windy gear.

 

Get the biggest and best you can afford/have room for. I honestly cannot remember what make it is and as its in storage, not really able to check. 

[cort1977]

I have a very cheap and extremely noisy one from China that was $39 in a sale.   It does do what I want it to do however which is pump up car tyres.   I think compressors are one of those things where you do get what you pay for.

[Geep]

Got a small 2hp 50 litre one on wheels and a clarke 3hp 150 litre (might be 160) in the corner of the garage. Have sprayed cars with the 3hp and use the little one for tyre pressures and small air tools.

 

Whatever you have, make sure you have decent air flow. Those small air hoses are useless. The 1/4 inch ones, or even worse, the coiled hard plastic ones restrict flow too much. Also worth using uni fitting (high flow) instead of standard ones. 3/8 minimum air line size, preferably 1/2, high flow fittings and watch for water trap/filter cfm. Some cheap ones restrict flow quite a bit.

 

This  not this

UNI fitting http://www.screwfix.com/p/universal-connectors-male-pack-of-5/54413

 

PCL fitting http://www.screwfix.com/p/bsp-male-connectors-pack-of-5/74700

 

 

As others have said, flow, CFM, is important and size of compressor tank gives headroom for high volume tools. Restrictions such as small hoses, cheap filters/traps and small fittings all make a difference.

[Ronnie L]

I've had a variety of compressors over the last 30 years. Basically the bigger the tank and the bigger the CFM the better, The one I've got just now is an SIP Airstream which I got about 10 years ago. It's ideal for me. 50L tank, belt drive, oil lubed all-metal pump, about 14CFM and powered by a 3HP electric motor. That's the spec I would recommend for anyone working at fixing / restoring cars, unless you are doing it on a full commercial basis, in which case you would want something a bit bigger. It will drive most air tools and is good for spraying,

[OwdChina]

Very, very occasionally I need air in a place with no power, so I have this. It's only about 30 ltrs but the pump delivers a lot of air in a short time, so it will keep up within reason.  

Ideal for when a mates car has two flat tyres in the middle of nowhere.

 

[mat_the_cat]

The cheap 50 L "oiless " direct drive ,run plastic piston rings , which are ok when new, but quite soon they leak and the thing kicks in constantly trying to maintain pressure,  because its not pumping in so much compressed air.

 

50L cheapie here, from Lidl in Germany. Pretty crude and weedy but ace for the light use I give it.

 

Agreed with both of these, if it's just pumping up tyres, a blow gun and the odd bit of Waxoyling then a cheapie will just about do. But anything more and it'll struggle. For prolonged use, mine cuts out with the thermal trip rather than when it's reached pressure, so big jobs are out.