Shop compressors?

[admin]

I'm in the market for a new shop compressor and wondered if anyone has any advise to share. I've got one of the cheapo 20 gal units, but it's so loud and annoying that I tend to not use it very often.

I'm looking at the larger vertical units; 60-80 gal, belt driven, 220volt, etc.

I'll be running typical air tools with a DA sander probably being the biggest air hog. I don't have a sand blast cabinet so I'm not sizing it for that.

I'm kind of leaning toward this Ingersoll-Rand unit: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?xi=xi&ItemId=1611729028

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

 

[coloradoHCS]

Jon, I have the 5 HP Speedair version. In my catalog they are on the same page. It also has a 60 galllon vert. tank. It works great for impacts, painting, etc.

Because it is a single stage it won't keep up with my DA for very long. I need to give it time to refill the tank. For heavy DA sanding I use the compressor at the plant that is a 2-stage unit. That never runs out of air.

I am happy with the single stage for all but DA sanding and sand blasting. For a 2-stage see part number 3VB60. Mark.

 

[admin]

Jon, I have the 5 HP Speedair version. In my catalog they are on the same page.

Is this the one you have? http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?xi=xi&ItemId=1613547290&ccitem=

If so yours flows 15.8 CFM @ 90 psi and the one I'm looking at is only 11.3 CFM. And you still have problems running a DA sander?? Damn. I was hoping the 11.3 would be enough. :undecided

 

[coloradoHCS]

Jon, the Da will consume about 17 CFM. What makes the 2-stage better is that it will "pack" more air in the tank because of the higher storage pressure. I think my unit at the plant will store air at a rate of 25 CFM. I have 2 of these units tied together. A 5 HP 2-stage will store air at a rate of 14.5 CFM but at a pressurem of between 145 and 175 PSI, therefore more voulmn of air is stored in the same sized tank as a single stage compressor.

The compressor you have linked to is a 208/230 VAC 3-phase. I have that power available at the plant but not at home. I am using Grainger number 3JR76. It is 240 VAC single phase, 60 gallon vert. tank, 16.7 CFM at 90 PSI and 14.9 CMF at 135 PSI.2004-2005 catalog price was $769. A regulator at the outlet will adjust down to whatever tool pressure is required. Make sur you use a min of 3/8" hose for best results Stay away from 1/4" for it will not give you the flow you will need.

 

[rvrtrash]

Jon, I would recommend a couple of things. First, get the compressor with the biggest pressure, capacity and CFM you can afford. You may not need or want it now, but who knows what tool you may want or need down the line. Once I bought my bead blast cabinet, I didn't know how I survived for so many years without it, and a couple hundred difference now is a lot less than replacing with a bigger unit later. Second, it doesn't matter how quiet your compressor is, I recommend wearing hearing protection whenever you're out in the shop grinding, sanding, whatever. The combination of the air tools and the compressor in an enclosed space can eventually damage hearing and I'm not a fan of hearing aids as a fashion statement. I'm off my soapbox now.:wink:
Steve

 

[PB GT/CS]

John,

Carroll Shelby was once told that the 427 SC Cobra had too much Horsepower. His reply was "Too much HP was just enough". May West is quoted to have said, "Too much of a good thing is a good thing". That is the way I feel about Air Compressors. My advice is to buy as much Air compressor as the budget will allow. Ours is large because of our lift, but if I had to buy a new one, I would pay up. Small blast booths are not that expensive, but really handy for any restoration work. Body work is much more pleasant if we don't have to wait on the air to recycle. My view is that we spend so much time as work and have so little time to do what we really like, why not make that restoration time the most enjoyable and productive.

Just a suggestion, if you live in a town that has a fairly good sized industrial complex, check with some of the maintainence guys at the plants. Paul and I have a buddy (the guy who built our engines) that sells compressors to these industrial customers. The usual drill is for him to remove an old undersized unit for a new bigger unit. He ends up with this really big unit (for a work shop) that has little use and little value. Sometimes we can get a lot of air compressor for the buck if we can contact these types of guys.

Finally, if you live where you can do it, put the compressor outside and pipe it in. The noise will be significantly less and it will always get clean air to breath when you do some dirty work.

Brian