Matt Liggett wrote:
>
> I know this subject has been covered a lot in the past, but I was not
> in a position to buy at that time. Now I have $150-$250 available to
> buy a new or used air compressor. What should I look for? I believe
> that the cfm rating is probably of the greatest importance, but how
> high do I need to go? I want to be able to use impact wrenches, air
> ratchets, sanders, grinders, and possibly paint guns someday.
>
> Suggestions on brand names? I've seen used:
>
> Sears
> Campbell-Hausfeld
> Ingersoll-Rand
> US
>
> Thanks!
> --
> Matt Liggett <mliggett@pobox.com> | Bloomington, IN, USA | '60 Mini
> <URL:http://pobox.com/~mliggett/> | '89 SAAB 900t SPG | '70 MG Midget
Matt,
This is another case where bigger is almost always better, but you can
spend from $150 to $3,000 very easily. I'm a British bike, British car,
homeowner type of guy, so I use my compressor mostly for air tools,
spraying, some blasting, etc. I used to have a 220v, 2hp Sears
compressor that could run most air tools, but really ran out of gas on
spraying, blasting, etc. To be honest, most every time I used it, I
wished I had something bigger.
I now have a 220v, 6hp, 60 gallon, single stage Campbell Hausfeld
compressor that will do most anything short of heavy duty blasting. It
costs $399 at Home Depot. I kind of wish I had dumped in another $400
and got the 6.5hp, 80 gallon, two-stage Campbell Hausfeld unit, but I
really cannot justify it by my needs. I think the current 5-6hp, 60
gallon, single stage units give you the biggest bang for the buck unless
you are doing some very heavy blasting.
Regarding make, for home shop use, any of the above units you mentioned
should be fine. For continuous heavy shop use, you may want to look at
something like a Quincy, but for most of us, we'll never wear out one of
the standard duty units.
One more consideration is your service. You'll most likely want a 220
volt unit, if for no other reason than efficiency. The standard 5-6 hp
units need about 15 amps at 220 volts--not too much. As you get into
larger units (especially if you are buying a used, larger capacity unit)
may require 25+ amps of current. Also, if you are buying a used
commercial unit, be certain that it is single phase, unless you have 3
phase available.
I know you set an upper limit of $250, but unless you can get one of
these units used, I would recommend (from my own previous experience),
you'll probably regret not getting a 5hp unit at some point.
thank you,
doug shook
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