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I already have an air compressor, do I need a bigger one? Login/Join 
Loves His Wife
Picture of BRL
posted
I've got a small pancake air compressor from Harbor Freight in my garage that seems to fill my requirement which pretty much consists of airing up the occasional tire.

However I constantly find myself eyeing the bigger stand up units when in the store and when the ads come out. I just can't find a real reason for me to pull the trigger and justify the expense. I've got a Milwaukee electric impact wrench that fills those needs very well.

What am I missing out on?



I am not BIPOLAR. I don't even like bears.


 
Posts: 12971 | Location: Western WI | Registered: January 05, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Three Generations
of Service
Picture of PHPaul
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Unless you're going to run air tools, a sand-blast cabinet or possibly a paint sprayer, not much.




Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
 
Posts: 15590 | Location: Downeast Maine | Registered: March 10, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
chickenshit
Picture of rsbolo
posted Hide Post
Perfectly normal.

You aren't missing out on much...unless you want more options for spending money.


____________________________
Yes, Para does appreciate humor.
 
Posts: 8000 | Location: East Central FL | Registered: January 05, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Avoiding
slam fires
Picture of 45 Cal
posted Hide Post
If you are thinking of upping your pancake to something bigger I would suggest Tractor supply.
Went thru replacement last fall when the craftsman 60 gallon upright threw a rod.
I shopped all places,read reviews.
Tractor supply came out on top with price and warranty and reviews.
Very happy with my new oil bath 60 gallon.
 
Posts: 22422 | Location: Georgia | Registered: February 19, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Nframe
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Bigger is always better.... i have several air compressors, chainsaws etc to prove that.

Wink
 
Posts: 2913 | Location: mid S.C. | Registered: March 22, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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Did the compressor instructions speak of a duty cycle?

Silent
 
Posts: 1057 | Registered: February 02, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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We have a small farm and I use the heck out of air compressors which, in some jobs, require a lot of air. I spray paint, sandblast, blow dry and use air tools. If you need volume, go big. If you only air occasional car tires, stay small. Larger ones can be noisy, take up a lot of space and require some maintenance.
 
Posts: 1506 | Location: S/W Illinois | Registered: October 29, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Conveniently located directly
above the center of the Earth
Picture of signewt
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I went the other way. About 20 years ago Santa brought a 50 gallon with enough to paint/sandblast/etc. Never used it for that & it was on wheels. With a couple out buildings, it was always in the wrong one. Very useful for blowing off garden equipment & occasional tire filling.

Liked it for blasting goo off cleaned pistols.
Solved my problem by getting a small pancake compressor (& air brad gun) to leave in the 'pistol cleaning suite'......


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Posts: 9876 | Location: sunny Orygun | Registered: September 27, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Blackmore
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Try adding an in line air tank (at least 6 gallons) to improve performance. I have a 30 gallon air tank someone gave me off a cheapo compressor that died and it makes a huge difference. Your compressor will run longer each time it has to fill it, but will go through far fewer on/off cycles which is what will ultimately kill small compressors.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blackmore,


Harshest Dream, Reality
 
Posts: 3673 | Location: W. Central NH | Registered: October 05, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
delicately calloused
Picture of darthfuster
posted Hide Post
Greater CFMs yield more options for tools. If you only want to pressure up tires or use a nail gun, then the smaller compressor is fine. Once you open up your world to pneumatic tools, you'll wonder what you did without them.



You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier
 
Posts: 29941 | Location: Norris Lake, TN | Registered: May 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Staring back
from the abyss
Picture of Gustofer
posted Hide Post
I've got on of those small pancake ones that I picked up for running my air nailer/stapler/bradder. It works awesome for that, but that's about it. It's nowhere near big enough to do anything else I need.

So, I picked up a lower end (Husky brand I think) 30 gallon from Lowes a few years back that works great for everything else. More than enough pressure to blow out my sprinkler system, inflate truck tires, run air tools, etc.... It was somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 and money well spent.


________________________________________________________
"Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil." Doug Patton.
 
Posts: 20803 | Location: Montana | Registered: November 01, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Too old to run,
too mean to quit!
posted Hide Post
I have a Harbor Freight compressor. Very noisy, takes forever to fill the air tank.

Should have gone to tractor supply and bought a good compressor.

I had a Sears compressor that finally threw a rod after more than 30 years of pretty hard usage.

For stuff with moving parts, I now have serious questions about Harbor Freight stuff.


Elk

There has never been an occasion where a people gave up their weapons in the interest of peace that didn't end in their massacre. (Louis L'Amour)

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-Thomas Jefferson

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FBHO!!!



The Idaho Elk Hunter
 
Posts: 25656 | Location: Virginia | Registered: December 16, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Snapping Twig
posted Hide Post
Years back my wife gave me a Deville Bliss tiny direct drive compressor. Very handy but noisy.

By chance, I happened on a belt drive 5 gallon Speed King which needed to be restored a bit - new plumbing.

I use the little one for mobile tasks, like filling the tires on my trailer at the boat yard or power tool use outside the house.

The belt drive is much quieter and stays under the bench. More than adequate for power tools, I even used a soda blaster with it recently.

Belt drive is better overall.
 
Posts: 2855 | Registered: May 28, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
member
Picture of henryaz
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Stand up unit for the win. I have a Quincy QT-5, and have plumbed my entire garage with black pipe, risers, etc to three different manifolds. Each manifold is set to a different pressure (though they are adjustable, of course). For the reloading bench, I like about 40psi, for gun cleaning and other chores. For the workbench, I set about 60-70 so I don't blow stuff away too far, and over by the overhead door openings, 95 psi for air tools. The compressor outputs 175 psi. The entire system stays pressurized all the time. You'd be surprised how much you can use air when it is always available.
 
One of the manifolds:
 
 
Posts: 10887 | Location: South Congress AZ | Registered: May 27, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Dean of Law
Picture of heavyd
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You don't need a larger compressor if all you do is inflate your tires once in a while.


H. Dean Phillips
$150 Gun Trusts
https://nfalawyers.com
 
Posts: 6617 | Location: Georgia | Registered: December 02, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
The Ice Cream Man
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We have our compressor for driving packaging, etc tied into the shop.

Filling a truck tire in a few seconds is nice
 
Posts: 5981 | Location: Republic of Ice Cream, Low Country, SC. | Registered: May 24, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Republican in training
Picture of DonDraper
posted Hide Post
make sure it has WHEELS!! - I pulled a muscle in my lower back trying to move my compressor around last week. I want to do what henryaz did above, eventually. Very nice.


--------------------
I like Sigs and HK's, and maybe Glocks
 
Posts: 2284 | Location: SC | Registered: March 16, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by PHPaul:
Unless you're going to run air tools, a sand-blast cabinet or possibly a paint sprayer, not much.


THIS, if you don't have a need for a bigger one, why bother buying one. You will most likely have to upgrade your electricity going to the compressor also if you go with a big one.
 
Posts: 21421 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Coin Sniper
Picture of Rightwire
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Just out of curiosity for those with air compressors, especially those in naturally humid climates (ie not Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico).

How often do you bleed off your tank with the valve at the bottom to remove the condensed water?

I once had a client that insisted on purchasing a shop type compressor for a small industrial application. After a few months he complained that the compressor was running nearly constantly and the paint on the top of the tank was bubbling from the heat. I asked him if he'd bled the compressor weekly as instructed and he said no but he'd check. He called back a few hours later. Apparently he had to go home and change because when he opened the valve, about 50 gallons of water evacuated from his 60 gallon compressor.




Pronoun: His Royal Highness and benevolent Majesty of all he surveys

343 - Never Forget

Its better to be Pavlov's dog than Schrodinger's cat

There are three types of mistakes; Those you learn from, those you suffer from, and those you don't survive.
 
Posts: 38411 | Location: Above the snow line in Michigan | Registered: May 21, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Snapping Twig
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Here's a trick I learned from riding high end steel bicycles.

With the compressor off, unplugged and no pressure in the tank, remove the bung and spray the inside of the tank with either J.P. Weigle frame saver or LPS 3.

It goes on as a penetrating oil and spreads well, then congeals into something like cosmoline.

This makes the interior of the tank resist rust.
 
Posts: 2855 | Registered: May 28, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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