Help Pick an Air Compressor

A

ahheck01

New member
Moving to a place with an insulated garage and am going to start my one-man detail shop up again. One thing I've always wished I had in the past is an air compressor. Looking for a reasonably priced but reliable unit. Main uses:



Cleaning MF Pads

Blowing water out of crevaces

Impact wrench & other car maintenance related tools

Spray gun for painting & plastidip-ing

Other things that I wouldn't think of using it for until I have it.



What specs should I be sure to shop for? I'm not concerned about portability, as I have no plans to do mobile detailing. This will be a garage unit.



Budget? Well you know, the usual - I want to spend as little as possible while still being able to accomplish the above without losing the investment due to it breaking due to poor quality.



Thanks gents!
 
You can go cheap, and in a year, will wish you spent another couple of hundred for what it takes to do what you then need done.

Don't know where you are in the country, but will say this, "check your farm and home supply" stores and watch for sales.

You will need 220V in the shop, but that pays for itself in a year or so in savings.

Look for a Puma, 60 gal tank, twin cylinder, 220V and buy a decent regulator and water trap, or you will experience problems down the line.

Yeah, you can spend $200 or so, for an oil less 110v, 4 or 5 CFM, maybe 100 PSI, but it will not run for long, your air tools, etc.

I bought my Puma for $454 at a farm store.

It's got the tank capicity, it got 12 CFM and a constant line pressure of 125 PSI.
 
Ron Ketcham said:
You can go cheap, and in a year, will wish you spent another couple of hundred for what it takes to do what you then need done.

Don't know where you are in the country, but will say this, "check your farm and home supply" stores and watch for sales.

You will need 220V in the shop, but that pays for itself in a year or so in savings.

Look for a Puma, 60 gal tank, twin cylinder, 220V and buy a decent regulator and water trap, or you will experience problems down the line.

Yeah, you can spend $200 or so, for an oil less 110v, 4 or 5 CFM, maybe 100 PSI, but it will not run for long, your air tools, etc.

I bought my Puma for $454 at a farm store.

It's got the tank capicity, it got 12 CFM and a constant line pressure of 125 PSI.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's a ridiculously good deal!
 
Don't forget to check Craigslist for a used compressor. A good 2-stage Ingersoll, Quincy, Saylor-Beall, Champion or Curtis will occasionally show up for $500. These last forever and will provide the CFM you need to power the spray gun and any other high use tool.



If you're looking for new, Tractor Supply has the best deals on Ingersoll compressors. And as Ron mentioned, 220v is a must if you're looking for a serious compressor.
 
PorscheGuy997 said:
If you're looking for new, Tractor Supply has the best deals on Ingersoll compressors. And as Ron mentioned, 220v is a must if you're looking for a serious compressor.
Click to expand...



Agreed. That's where my Ingersoll came from as well.



One word of advice: if you get a 60 or 80 gallon tank compressor, do yourself a favor and get a truck with a Tommy Lift and a pallet jack, or a forklift to move it around. At 500+ pounds they're not the easiest to move without assistance.
 
Left mine on it's shipping pallet, two of us shoved it on one of the little furniture 4 wheel dollies and rolled it in to place, slide it off.

I left the pallet attached, less noise vibration of the floor is produced against my paver floor.
 
Not to high jack the thread, but if one wants an air compressor just to inflate tires, blow off polishing pads and blow water from behind trim what specs would you recommend? Just used for my two cars and an occasional friend or relative--not heavy use.
 
110v oil less, 16 to 18 gallon tank, CFM and max PSI will vary. Normal max CFM is 4, pressure is 90 to 100 PSI for short time.

They are available everywhere, Sears, farm stores, Harbor Frieght, etc.

About $200 or a little more on average, can go as high as $325 bought at the wrong place.
 
I will add a bit more advice.

Buy the Goodyear hose, 3/8 by 25 ft or 50 ft., not the cheapy plastic type, also use the brass couplers and such.

Harbor Frieght has both at good prices and they also have a hand operated reel for the hose, wall mount it and it's easy to keep the hose so it's easy to use and roll back up to keep it out of the way.

Sometimes they have the reel on sale for $15.00, and is well worth it.

HF also has a HD regulator and water trap that at most places is twice the price.

Do not buy a Craftsman regulator/trap, they are junk, I know, got three or four of them in the parts trash box, went to the HF big boy.

HF will run kits of couplers/nipples on sale for $4.00, all I buy and use now.

I bought some Campbell Hauser steel ones, threw them away after a month or so, they rust, etc.

You will also need a roll of teflon tape for the fittings to seal them.

Get a bottle of air tool lubricant and a bottle of compressor oil while you are at it.

Grumpy
 
PorscheGuy997 said:
Don't forget to check Craigslist for a used compressor. A good 2-stage Ingersoll, Quincy, Saylor-Beall, Champion or Curtis will occasionally show up for $500. These last forever and will provide the CFM you need to power the spray gun and any other high use tool.



If you're looking for new, Tractor Supply has the best deals on Ingersoll compressors. And as Ron mentioned, 220v is a must if you're looking for a serious compressor.
Click to expand...



I need to add that the one I bought, the Puma is made in Memphis, Tn, and when I compared to a Quincy of the same basic features, was half the price.
 
Ron Ketcham said:
Left mine on it's shipping pallet, two of us shoved it on one of the little furniture 4 wheel dollies and rolled it in to place, slide it off.

I left the pallet attached, less noise vibration of the floor is produced against my paver floor.
Click to expand...



I only wish I'd have been able to do that... I had to take mine off the pallet to fit it through the door to my barn, then wrestle it back onto the pallet once it was inside. Took three of us to maneuver it around.
 
Ron Ketcham said:
I will add a bit more advice.

Buy the Goodyear hose, 3/8 by 25 ft or 50 ft., not the cheapy plastic type, also use the brass couplers and such. Harbor Frieght has both at good prices and they also have a hand operated reel for the hose, wall mount it and it's easy to keep the hose so it's easy to use and roll back up to keep it out of the way.
Click to expand...



Exactly, on both counts. (see pic) Except I have 150' of hose so I can drag it clear down the driveway to air tires, etc.



My compressor is a 33 gallon, 150psi, Craftsman (made by De Vilbiss) that I have owned since 1999 so I am satisfied with it. I always said I would upgrade if it ever died but it just keeps chugging along. I have drawers full of air tools but most of what I use now is cordless electric.



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Accumulator said:
I got a set of these couplers (Link: Increased Airflow Anti-Jam Couplers - Air Tools - Tools - Griot's Garage ) as a gift, and like some other Griot's stuff I was pleasantly surprised how much I like 'em. Ended up buying some more with my own money.
Click to expand...



Those look interesting.



I do hate struggling with bad couplers sometimes. I slipped just today while putting on an tire valve fitting and it shot out and missed my car by about a foot. I nearly had a heart attack.
 
I got 50' on the reel and picking up another 25' that I can quick couple onto the reel hose as I need it. That will allow me to go clear back to the alley or down to the end of the driveway.

I have the "work pad" in back of the shop and there are times I could use another length of hose.

If I got to air up a tire, other than mine, it's usually a neighbors, so I just lend them the "air pig".

So much of my use of the air, other than painting is running air body tools, my blast cabinet, etc which take a lot of CFM, so the twin cyl 220v with a 60 gal tank is a must for me.
 
HEY! Harbor Freight has a big 3 day sale, on line or in store, starting this Friday thru Sunday.

For those looking for a good home compressor, their 1.8hp, oil less, 17 gal tank, up to 150psi, 4 cfm at 90 psi, 6 cfm at 40 psi, on sale for $170!

I had one of these and a darn good little compressor for most.
 
Brad B.- I really think you'd consider those couplers to be money well-spent. After dealing with the regular ones OK for (?!?how many?!?) decades the improvement was a real eye-opener.



BUT...there's always a "but", huh?... I did have one instance where I carelessly dropped the hose, much more carelessly than I usually would :o and had the fitting self-release, launching a tire chuck across the floor. As in your case, no harm done, and this was a truly freak occurence where the coupler's sleeve caught on something *just* the right way, but, well..."note to self" about such stuff and I thought I should mention it.
 
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