Article: What to look for when buying a compressor.

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newschooler

newschooler

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I want to buy a air compressor to work on my car. Any suggestion what I should look for? Is 100lb/po² enough to work on a car? What type of compressor do garages uses?

Obviously I don't need the quality of a professional one since its for casual work on my car, but I want it to be as powerfull as those they use in garages since I'm always woring on seized bolts (old cars) :D

Thx for any inputs!
 
la plupart des outils à air fonctionnent autour de 90 psi.

Donc, compare le débit des compresseurs a 90 psi. À partir de 10cfm @ 90 psi c'est tres bien pour un compresseur de maison. Pour ce qui est de la pression maximale, ca te prends 100++ psi au moins... si tu prends un compresseur de 100 psi max tu travailleras pas a 90+ psi en tout temps. Le mien c'est un 135 psi et il part a 90 psi comme ca j'ai toujours au moins mon 90 psi.

Attends toi à payer environ 600$ et plus pour un compresseur de 60 gallons et 10cfm @ 90 psi dans le neuf.

Chez moi j'ai un Porter Cable 60 gallons, j'avais payé 600$ messemble. Ca va super bien pour faire fonctionner un impact 1/2, die grinder, zip gun, etc...

T'as le 240v dans ton garage au moins?
 
kRANkED said:
la plupart des outils à air fonctionnent autour de 90 psi.

Donc, compare le débit des compresseurs a 90 psi. À partir de 10cfm @ 90 psi c'est tres bien pour un compresseur de maison. Pour ce qui est de la pression maximale, ca te prends 100++ psi au moins... si tu prends un compresseur de 100 psi max tu travailleras pas a 90+ psi en tout temps. Le mien c'est un 135 psi et il part a 90 psi comme ca j'ai toujours au moins mon 90 psi.

Attends toi à payer environ 600$ et plus pour un compresseur de 60 gallons et 10cfm @ 90 psi dans le neuf.

Chez moi j'ai un Porter Cable 60 gallons, j'avais payé 600$ messemble. Ca va super bien pour faire fonctionner un impact 1/2, die grinder, zip gun, etc...

T'as le 240v dans ton garage au moins?
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I think 60 gallons is overkill for anyone who just work on their car occasionally by himself. A 25 gallon is far more than enough for 90% do-it-yourself car enthusiasts, even the ones who get down and dirty and take out their motors, change brakes and do all sorts of work.

It all depends what you want to do newschooler. Do you want to run grinders, sanders, etc for loong periods of time or just air chisel, impact wrench and such mostly?
 
darkestfenix said:
I think 60 gallons is overkill for anyone who just work on their car occasionally by himself. A 25 gallon is far more than enough for 90% do-it-yourself car enthusiasts, even the ones who get down and dirty and take out their motors, change brakes and do all sorts of work.

It all depends what you want to do newschooler. Do you want to run grinders, sanders, etc for loong periods of time or just air chisel, impact wrench and such mostly?
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you're probably right... 25 gallons is enough if all you use is an impact wrench. You usually keep the impact working just a couple seconds at the time so you dont need a huge reserve.

I have a 60 gallons and like to fabricate all my stuff so I end up using the air grinder/sander/cutter alot... my 60 gallon can barely keep up so I can't even imagine how bad it would be with a small 25g. compressor.

It all depends on what you want it to do.

Just an impact wrench = no need for a huge tank.
Die grinders, paint guns, cutting tools = big tank.

IMO
 
Dont forget say you hook up a 25 ft hose and you set your regulator at the compressor to say 90psi you end up with like only 40 psi at the end of the hose. These numbers are not exact but check it out. So say you want 90 psi a the end of the hose you have to crank up the regulator to say 110 psi at the compressor. and say your compressor is rated 120 psi max by the time you take off 2 lugnuts the compressor is already on making up for lost air. i made the mistake of buying a 25gal. now what i want is a 60 gal double pumper. You buy once you cry once and it still holds resale value at the end.
 
Few things to check out. First like stated above is the scfm. The amount of pressure it can deliver in one minute.

For example my impact wrench, when we look at requirements says: SCFM 4.8 @ 90 psi.

In other words, you need a compressor that can deliver that amount or more to be able to be fully functional and give out the maximum torque that the gun was made to deliver. Mine is a 22 gallon compressor which delivers 6.5 @ 40 psi and 5.1 @ 90 psi and 120-130 psi max. so I'm good.

Second: Gallons. The more gallons, the longer a tool can be run before the tank motor has to start up to fill in air again, and reuse.

My opinion: I find at a least a 25ish gallon is the minimum for automotive usage with an impact wrench.

Anything smaller might show that it does develop the minimum scfm your air tool requires but doesnt have enough storage of air to run it for a long period of time. Dont fall for those pictures you find on some 10 gallon tanks showing a guy working on his car. It will run the impact wrench but just enough to take a lug off your wheel for the motor to start up and fill up the tank.

When it comes to air tools like spray gun, small reciprocating saw, screw drivers, ratchets, nailers you need a good 25 gallon tank to run them continuously without having to stop. The tank might run out of air, and the motor might start up, but the motor can deliver the air necessary to keep the tools running. Impact wrenches you can run on any 25ish gallon tank since they only require short bursts of power which you dont normally hold for more than a few seconds.

The only things are die grinders, chisel, large saws, drills, cutting tools, sanders which require a good 50 or more gallons to run continuously. and like kranked said, even with a 60 gallon, the motor might still start up to keep pumping new air.

Oil or oiless motor. Wtv. There's debate over these things. Oiless motor will require 0 maintenance. However, it will be louder when it runs. Oil running motor will be quiter and require you to change the oil every so often. It will also run cooler and probably last longer.
 
darkestfenix said:
I think 60 gallons is overkill for anyone who just work on their car occasionally by himself. A 25 gallon is far more than enough for 90% do-it-yourself car enthusiasts, even the ones who get down and dirty and take out their motors, change brakes and do all sorts of work.

It all depends what you want to do newschooler. Do you want to run grinders, sanders, etc for loong periods of time or just air chisel, impact wrench and such mostly?
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This is what I want to use it for.

Thx for all the inputs, it really help me out.

Would this be enough http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...raft%2BMaximum%2B20%2BGallon%2BCompressor.jsp ???

Or should I look for a 25G at minimum? What is the benifit of being able to run it on 240V instead of 120V?

EDIT: Doesn't seem like a good buy, the 60gallon is a hundred bucks more only, but I like the fact that the one I posted is on wheel...
 
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if you dont plan on moving it around i say 60gal i have one on wheels that i rarely move since i have long hoses also the advantage with vertical is that the water condenses towards the bottom less water in your air but you should still get a water separator and with vertical you leave it some where in the corner of the garage and you can even build some type of enclosure around it to limit the noise plumb it with some pipes with a few quick disconnects and your set. of course if you dont plan on spending all that at the beginning just a hose will do.
 
You don't need a compressor that will give out the same CFM as the impact gun need.
the reservoir is there for that.

Unless you whant to be able the keep the trigger in for 1 hour whitout having to wait 20sec for the tank to fill up.

I have a 5Gallon and it's way enough and not too big, so I can carry it around easily.

The HotRod one a CT is a pretty good one with a decent tank and cfm output to be able to acomplish everything on a car or around the house. (Watch for it, it goes on sale pretty often)
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...B5-Gallon%2BTwin-stack%2BAir%2BCompressor.jsp
Great buy!! and frequently at sale for 150$

A fridn have bought the Kawasaki one at Costco and come with impact, finishing nailer, airgun and a paint gun.
all the tool are not THAT great...but the will do the job you want them for.

all this doesn't apply if you need one for a professionnal garage installation .

if you want a bazooka to kill a fly: go ahead with a 25g or more compressor.


PSI wise: 120psi is way enough: regulated to 90psi with the switch set to start at around 80 and stop at 120.
 
True ^^ if you will be doing minimal stuff then your set but you don't want to buy something and say to your self i wish i got the bigger one after.
 
The OP need to say first what utilisation(tool) he plan to use it for.

air sander, air ratchet, air spray gun all use more air then any other...but you need to have good quality tool to be able to reach the potentiel of those tool with...if not: don't bother buy them air,,,get them powercord
 
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The Kawasaki @ Costco with all the tools (impact gun, nailer/stapler, paint gun, air blower) included is 199$. It is rated for 125 psi and is 6 gallons. I don't know the CFM. It's okay for my limited home use, I guess. Oh yeah, it's Kawasaki green lol.
They also sell another one with similar figures, just no tools for 99$. I think it's similar to the Hotrod Pat was talking about.
 
Am I the only one who doesn't use air tools to work on cars? I think its a waste of time and extra expenses for nothing.

I got a 60 gallon for 400$ if you're interested. will include a couple of air tools with it.
 
it can unbold my 5 wheel lug nut not problem whitout waiting.
if you can't ...your lug nut where too thigh or you have a shitty impact gun.
And sorry but since I'm human: 2 arms/hands and a ~5feet span for the 2... I can only do 1 wheel at the time.

MyRidzPhucked....kinda rarely use for small regular maintenance...but sometimes it helps.


(I changed wheels on 3 car ...2 times a year...so it's worth it ;) )
 
maxpat82 said:
it can unbold my 5 wheel lug nut not problem whitout waiting.
if you can't ...your lug nut where too thigh or you have a shitty impact gun.
And sorry but since I'm human: 2 arms/hands and a ~5feet span for the 2... I can only do 1 wheel at the time.
Click to expand...

you know, some people actually do more on their cars than change wheels.
 
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