Anyone recommend a good air compressor

M

MrC

New member
I'm looking for a small air compressor mainly to inflate tires and blow out seams. I would like a compact one that I can use a nailing gun for occasional crown molding. It does not have to be anything fancy. Can anyone recommend one? I was looking at the small Husky @ Home Depot but I'm not sure it can handle a nailing gun. Does anyone have this?
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Just about any system can handle a nail gun, but you might find it running a lot. The donut by PC is not bad.
Just remember that any of these smaller systems will not run garage air tools.
My shop has a $8000 monster system. I've got three outlets I can plug into. It is on all the time and seldom runs. When it runs it is quiet. I'm lucky, came with the shop.
 
pretty much any compressor can do what you want to do with it. the question is will you want to do anything else in the future with it? if so, go to at least a 2-4 hp. motor with at least a 15-20 gallon tank. this will allow you to use an impact gun or air rachet with a fair amount of ease if you do any work on your car yourself. you don't want to have it constantly running, so the bigger the tank the better for more usage. pei, i am jealous. i would love to have a 60 gallon, 5 hp. compressor in my garage. :drool
 
If my dad has taught me one thing, it's to buy a quality tool once, rather than buying a sub-par model 3 or 4 times down the road. With that in mind, we have a large Speedaire for the garage, and a small Makita (similiar to the new MAC700) that can be carried around and plugged into any 110v outlet. Check out the MAC700, your local hardware supplier (real hardware supplier, not Home Depot) should have one or be able to get you one. Fairly quiet, has a good operating pressure, and has a decent capacity for its size.
 
maximv1 said:
pretty much any compressor can do what you want to do with it. the question is will you want to do anything else in the future with it? if so, go to at least a 2-4 hp. motor with at least a 15-20 gallon tank. this will allow you to use an impact gun or air rachet with a fair amount of ease if you do any work on your car yourself. you don't want to have it constantly running, so the bigger the tank the better for more usage. pei, i am jealous. i would love to have a 60 gallon, 5 hp. compressor in my garage. :drool
Click to expand...

This one used to run a paint shop that could run 2 machine bays and 3 paint bays at the same time. Cool it is.
 
I've got a 33 gallon 6.5 HP craftsman air compressor. I also use it to the full extent when I use an impact wrench or a cut-off wheel for an extended period of time. For just detailing you could definetly get away with the least expensive one you can find, on a full tank with the motor turned off I can get about 25 minutes of full blast blow gun use. A pancake compressor will give you enough air to do a car or two on one tank. If you work on your car at all I would reccomend getting a big one, it saves so much time. I can take the whole front suspension out of my honda in 15 minutes with pneumatic tools, it takes 3 hours by hand. Just a thought.
 
I think I've narrowed it down to 3:

00915310000-mv.jpg

Craftsman 3 gal. Air Compressor, 1.5 hp, Horizontal Tank
Sears item #00915310000 Mfr. model #15310
Oil-lubricated compressor provides homeowners with a lightweight, portable source of air power for many do-it-yourself projects. Direct-drive, horizontal tank compressor delivers 2.4 SCFM at 90 psi.
$125


B0001Q2VK0.01._PE47_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Makita MAC700 2 HP Air Compressor "The Hot Dog"
Roll bar handle for portability and added protection against harsh jobsite environments
High rated 3.3 CFM @ 90 PSI
The low 1720 rpm is half that of most competitive units, resulting in greater motor and pump life, and the substantially lower noise level makes it the quietest compressor in its class
Large cast iron pump with automotive style cylinder and piston deliver maximum performance
Oil lubricated for cooler running pump and an automotive style air filter for easy, low-cost maintenance
$153


B00004WGQM.01._PE53_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Porter-Cable CPFAC2600P 2 HP, 6-Gallon Pancake Compressor
One-year warranty
2-horsepower motor provides 3.7 scfm at 90 psi and 2.7 scfm at 45 psi
High-pressure design keeps tank pressure between 120 and 150 psi
Higher tank pressure provides more usable air per tank re-charge
Six-gallon tank provides excellent reserve capacity
$160

What's the difference between scfm and CFM?
Should I go with a larger tank or are the hot dog style good enough for inflating tires and blowing out seams?

Thanks!!!
 
SCFM and CFM are the same thing, cubic feet per minute versus sustained cubic feet per minute. They base that off of the compressor running full blast half of the time, that's the service limit on an average compressor, you can run it longer/harder but you'll break it a lot faster than you would if you backed off a bit. If I were you I'd go with the craftsman, it's the least expensive, it doesn't give up a whole lot in the air delivery department, and it's got the craftsman tool guarantee (which most mechanics can tell you is a good thing, especially those who try to disassemble the suspension of their '89 CRX with a craftsman impact wrench and craftsman sockets and everything shears at the same time, they replaced everything with stuff that could do the job, even replaced the bolts and gave me what I needed to re-thread the holes, I got lucky I think).
 
Does Sears offer a free replacement policy for compressors? I thought they only replaced tools and not items that are powered.
 
Not for compressors, they won't break, mine hasn't and I've not been babying it. They do have a very friendly program for fixing your compressor if it does break though, that's always nice.
 
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