What size air compressor?

diesel450

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Hi,

Looking to buy a compressor to blast and spray paint with primarily. I'm wondering what size I need? I have a small work space and won't be working on much other than bikes so I'm looking for the smallest one that will do the job. I have a porter cable pancake which is great for shooting nails but cannot keep up with continual air use such as blasting and spraying.

Thanks!!
 
I figured it out with a little research. I can't afford the big boys right now but I got one that will handle the amount of blasting that I need to do. Thanks for the input!
 
Well I’ll bring up this topic again, don’t want to go overboard, but want to use for grinding and wrenching.

Oil or no oil?
Size?
Reasoning?
I have no idea


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In general... nothing you plug in to 110 volt will be over about 2hp. Claims of 6hp 110 volt compressors are based on power at start up which doesn't last as long as it took you to read this sentence. If you want to run 10scfm at 90psi (blasting???) you need a 230 volt unit. Two stage if you want high pressure. (~125+)

Right now I'm debating getting a 3hp 230 volt single stage, which will probably cost around $700 (new). Bonus is it will be quieter than my "6hp" Craftsman unit which is really about 2hp and can't even dream of keeping up with about 90% of the tools I use with it. In fact that's my main reason for wanting a new one, my current unit is too damn loud to use in the shop I have (my basement)

So basically take all the money you can and buy the biggest one you can find. It will be too small for some things and okey dokey for others, and you'll get by with it.

EDIT: FWIW I've been using the 110v Craftsman for years. I've done minor blasting with it, and painted a couple bikes with it, so it can do most of what I want, but as mentioned it's louder than hell and does NOT do well with cutting tools and air grinders. No 110v unit will. But in a pinch you can get by if you don't mind stopping to let the compressor catch up now and then.
 
Minimum 5hp for blasting.
Buy a used REAL compressor instead of new one from lowes or home depot.
Quincy, Saylor Beall, Curtis, Ingersol Rand, etc.
 
I started out with a 2HP 30 gal and those are good for inflating tires, and maybe busting a nut loose with an impact wrench that's about it.

Next I had a 5 HP Saylor-Beall 80 Gal which is a great compressor. I kept it for whenever I build another home shop. It runs a lot but would keep up with a blast gun or an impact or one guy on a sander.

Eventually I had 2 guys running orbitals, machinery pulling air and a plasma cutter pulling air so my current compressor is a 20HP Quincy with a 120 gal tank. It's even marginal but I can't run much more power at my present shop. I added a 900 gallon tank to the mix which helps a lot.

Ideally for a guy in a garage that actually wants to be able to blast and run air tools, I would get a 5hp 50-80 gallon compressor capable of 15-20 cfm at 175psi.
Saylor Beall, Curtis, Quincy are all made to be run 24 hours a day. Buy a used one and don't look back.
 
Go bigger than you think you can get buy with. I wish I had went bigger than the one I have.
 
So that would mean oil then? As those are supposed to last longer?


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djmaynard said:
Well I’ll bring up this topic again, don’t want to go overboard, but want to use for grinding and wrenching.

Oil or no oil?
Size?
Reasoning?
I have no idea



Oil or no oil? - Anything useful for anything other than minimal grinding will likely have oil.
Size? Tank size - as big as will fit where you want to put it. Motor size - as big as you can afford and/or have power for
Reasoning? I have never heard anyone say "I wish I had bought a smaller compressor for my shop"

I'm guessing it's going to come down to how much you want to spend. If you need a 20hp compressor to do what you imagine you need, but only have $250 to spend or a 110 volt outlet to use, you're going to have to dial back your expectations. So - do you have more than $250 to play with and voltages higher than 110 to plug into? If not the answer gets simple.

If you only have a couple hundred bucks and the unit has to fit under your bench and plug into the 110v outlet on the wall, you aren't going to be doing much grinding. You CAN use grinders and things with a small compressor though it's not an ideal situation. But having people tell you about 5hp compressors and 80 gallon tanks is a waste of time if you haven't got the power and space for them.

So what are the limitations/expectations you have? 1.5hp compressors have been used for just about everything. Larger compressors work better for a lot of those things. I think 5hp is a good minimum to shoot for, yet I've spent 25 years with a 1.5hp compressor and just ordered a 3hp compressor. Why? Cuz I'm ok with the limitations I know I'll see and that was about as much as I had to spend. I just doubled my capacity, with a quieter compressor. No, it won't run a blast cabinet all day long. That would have come in handy about two days every five years for me... it just wasn't worth the added cost to me. If I were painting busses or grinding welds all day long I'd have sprung for the larger one but I work with small stuff and detest things like air wrenches (even my impact is electric) so a smaller than ideal compressor will fit my needs well.
 
Thanks DesmoDog. That was exactly the answer I was looking for!


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