I’d like to have an air compressor for the garage and backyard for general use, such as:

1. Blowing out the garage floor, window sills, etc., in hard to get to areas
2. Topping off the air in tires in a reasonable amount of time.
3. Blowing out the interior of my truck and truck bed
4. Removing lug nuts to change a tire
5. Blowing leaves and crap out of the gutters along the roof, down spouts, etc
6. Blowing off the lawnmower after use.

It will need to run off a standard house 15A(?) outlet.

The MAC2400 big bore always gets good reviews online, but I’m concerned about the 4.2 gal tank being large enough to blow out gutters.

I’ve seen Rolair compressors on Amazon that look pretty good but a little expensive. Are they any good?

Do I need to be looking at 30+ gal vertical tanks for the capacity?

I doubt I’ll ever need to use air tools, other than for changing tires on an F150 rarely.

I’d probably be wasting money but I feel I must have one . Thanks!

Marzy and I have a 30 gallon compressor.
I also have a portable 8 gallon I take to the airport.

The 30 gallon is a must for my air tools.
It's not quite enough to bust a Honda harmonic balancer bolt loose.
But it will take everything else apart on a tractor.

The 8 gallon for flat tires. And maybe one set of lug nuts.

https://www.amazon.com/Califor...Gallon/dp/B00NOSCDPA
This is what I use for what you listed.

Thirty gallon could work,depends on horse power
220 volt is a must,learned that lesson decades ago.
Last one I purchased was from tractor supply and 60 gall five horse to replace the same size in a craftsman that threw a rod.
Stay the hell away from the oilless type,loud as hell and in my case sears did not have the connector for the rods as it was not produced any longer.
I my senior years I tend to buy bigger and folks have a tendency not to want to borrow things mounted to walls.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Marzy and I have a 30 gallon compressor.
I also have a portable 8 gallon I take to the airport.

The 30 gallon is a must for my air tools.
It's not quite enough to bust a Honda harmonic balancer bolt loose.
But it will take everything else apart on a tractor.

The 8 gallon for flat tires. And maybe one set of lug nuts.

I agree 30gal upright will handle anything a home shop will throw at it. Take up about the same floor space as any other compressor you get. The electrical supply might need beefing up though.

I had a 60 gal upright I had in my garage. I installed it in my third stall which was walled off and piped in he air lines...but I did metal work and body work and needed the CFM to run air sanders and grinders.

quote:

220 volt is a must,learned that lesson decades ago.

I have a 30 year old Sears 1HP 12gal 110. A 15A 110 will barely cut it for a minute or 2. You will have to upgrade to a 20A circuit, but 220 is the way to go.

I have a little 3 gallon 1.5hp Craftsman I've had for 25 years or so.
It has done everything on your list and more.
That list is pretty mild so just about any will do.
I've done painting, sandblasting, tools and more.
Now I mostly use it for airbrush and some HVLP painting and some tools.

HOWEVER...as mentioned above ANY serious work Get 220V an min 30 gal.
While my "little" Craftsman does work it struggles on grinding, high volume painting and sandblasting.
Gotta give it credit for trying though, works but it is tough and you just need patience.
For your list any should breeze through no problem.
YMMV

Think about this. Except for the impact wrench you need little by way of an air compressor. You might consider a pancake type as would be suitable for an air nailer. Then buy an electric impact. Both have about zero footprint in your garage.

Cost on both should be less than a serious compressor and nice air impact. Hell I'm about to the point I use the leaf blower for all cleaning chores.

quote:

Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Hell I'm about to the point I use the leaf blower for all cleaning chores.

I tried that, but the 2-stroke exhaust tended to linger in the house so I had to switch to an electric.

I have a 60gal-5HP unit. It says that it will run on 110v and 220v, but it really doesn't do well on 110v(blows the breaker). I have a lot of pneumatic tools, and a blast cabinet, so the small compressors just won't get it done(believe me I tried).

I have this in my garage. It should do everything you have listed. I use it for air tools, filling auto and bike tires, and blowing out various things. It's very portable and doesn't take up a lot of space, reasonably quite.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...ilpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a Rolair VT25BIG 2.5 HP in my wood shop.

I purchased on of the small Rolair's a while back just because of its size and the fact that it hardly makes any noise when it runs, more of a purr than a loud clattering irritating screech that my old Sears makes.

It is way quieter than any pancake type I have heard. Mine is a little smaller than this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOhQM0m5oLo

I have used it to air tires and drive nailers etc, but nothing serious.

I love it, it makes me smile every time I turn it on.

Ive had a 30 gal Craftsman 110V for 20 years and use it just like you. Minimal use, blow up tires, blow up the kids pool, clean off stuff. I used the same compressor for my shade tree small engine shop for about 4 years as well, and its held up well and will be MORE than enough for your needs. You absolutely do not need a 220V compressor for your needs.

I have the earthquake 1/2 impact wrench (harbor Freight copy of expensive Ingersol Rand) that has like 800 ft lbs of torque, and my 30 gal compresses will absolutely remove any nut you try. It zips off car lugs in 1/3 of a second, and will snap any bolt that is seized if I run the impact for 3-4 seconds and the bolt hasn't come off yet. Its straight up powerful.

If I was going to buy a 30 gal compressor today in the "budget" range, I would look no further than Harbor Freight. Their compressors are superior to anything sold at Sears, and comparable to much more expensive models. As always when buying from harbor freight, bring in a 20% off coupon.

https://www.harborfreight.com/...ompressor-61454.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/...ompressor-61489.html

And I can highly recommend the Earthquake air impact wrenches. They are clones of top quality impacts, and they work fantastic.
https://www.harborfreight.com/...ct-wrench-62627.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/...ct-wrench-62891.html

Many guys will recommend a battery powered impact.... .batteries are pretty good today, and getting better, but need replaced periodically. A compressor will last 20-30 years and will outlast 3-5 battery powered tools. Basically, its cheaper, and better long term, if you dont need the absolute portability of battery powered.

quote:

Originally posted by DrDan:

quote:

Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Hell I'm about to the point I use the leaf blower for all cleaning chores.

I tried that, but the 2-stroke exhaust tended to linger in the house so I had to switch to an electric.

Not trying to get off track but I bought a 60v battery leaf blower. It’s great!

I have a small California air compressor. It’s great it just purrs.

http://www.californiaairtools.com/

Thanks for the suggestions. Lots to consider.

I forgot about Harbor Freight. We have a new store nearby too.

The California Air Tools 8010 at $165 from Amazon Prime looks tempting at that price. If it doesn’t work out or I decide to upgrade I can give it to a friend or sell it And I won’t be out a bunch of money. I think my wife will be more likely to use it if it’s reasonably quiet.

I sure like the Rolair’s though. There’s a dealer nearby so I might check them out.

I forgot to ask in my OP but what’s the deal with units having two tanks? What’s the advantage?

I have a Craftsman older oil and piston compressor with a 3 HP motor and a 20 gallon tank. Airing a tire is a low demand situation but blowing out a garage is not. In about 60 seconds the tank pressure has dropped from 125 to 60. Unless you want to stop and wait for it to pump back up to a more usable pressure, it is not a big enough unit. I replaced it with a 5 HP and 60 gallon tank unit. It does a much better job. I also spray paint and do a little sandblasting and even the larger unit is small for some of that sandblasting work. Most oil-less compressors are very loud as was previously pointed out.

I own a few air compressors for what you are after I found over the years ones like the Bostitch 6 Gallon 150 PSI pancake compressor or the PORTER-CABLE 6 gallon Pancake to be very handy. They only weigh about 30 LBS so you can move them to the job or work area easy enough. So you don't end up with a 150+ feet of air line. Like I did because of a 220 volt one that I own. They don't have too large of a foot print. they run on 120 volt. You can pick one up on Amazon for like $99.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Jimineer
The California air tools is very quiet - talk on phone 10 ft away quiet. Able to plug in everywhere, lower current draw than other oil free compressors. Not as stable to carry in a vehicle as a pancake model.
Had a 30 gal. vertical oil free in my shop that worked well, but was noisy. Really needs a separate 15 amp circuit. When I took it anywhere else, had to make sure nothing else was running at the same time on that circuit.
For durability - a oil lubed compressor, belt driven is usually best. More expensive in portable models.

I have used a u-tube extension on my leaf blower to clean gutters with good success.

New toys are always fun. We are always here to help you spend money.

The number you want to look at is the CFM @ 90 PSI. This will tell you how fast the motor will fill the tank/recover.

For example, the pancake Bostitch unit above is 2.6 CFM* delivered @ 90 PSI. The CP from HF is Air delivery: 5.8 CFM @ 40 PSI, 4.7 CFM @ 90 PSI. I would never buy a compressor from HF.

Look at the CFM number when comparing units, the motor HP number is less important. Every compressor I have had uses 220V.