Air compressor suggestion???

cd24747

Active Member
Well......member plong got me wanting to get an air compressor so that I can shine my wheels up (see plong's thread titled "awesome").
Anyone got any suggestions?
I obviously don't want to spend a lot of money.


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woodbutcher

Mr. Old Fart member #145
Staff member
you are going to need one with at least 15 cfm output and at least 15 gallon storage. any less and you will be constantly waiting for it to catch up. harbor freight should have what you need.

ok, 15 cfm may be a little high but you get my meaning. the higher the cfm, the better it will be able to keep up with the demand of the tool you are using and if you ever decide to use an orbital (DA) sander you will need the higher cfm. and as far as the storage capacity, the larger the better. larger means the pump won't be running as much and we all know running=wear. don't even think about using a pancake with a die grinder, ain't gonna happen.
 
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cd24747

Active Member
I've read on other threads that Harbor freights compressors aren't very reliable. Any thoughts?


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RCAdd1ct

JAFO
No offense, but you said not spend a lot of money.

You might not be able to get reliable and cheap, there might need to be a decision to be made. :D
 

pknowles

RETIRED
Kobalt=30 gallon tank•155 PSI max pressure, 6.2 SCFM at 40 PSI, 5.3 SCFM at 90 PSI, 1.6 running HP
Just picked up one of these at Lowes Sunday. Had to replace my old Craftsman as it couldn't keep up with my new plasma cutter. I needed 3.5 cfm. These sell for around 475. You can shop and get cheaper. What ever you get I would get a piston type compressor just for the lower noise.
might want to add a water separator/ 5 micron filter to add life to your tools.
 
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cd24747

Active Member
No offense, but you said not spend a lot of money.

You might not be able to get reliable and cheap, there might need to be a decision to be made. :D
You're probably right.


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cd24747

Active Member
Kobalt=•155 PSI max pressure, 6.2 SCFM at 40 PSI, 5.3 SCFM at 90 PSI, 1.6 running HP
Just picked up one of these at Lowes Sunday. Had to replace my old Craftsman as it couldn't keep up with my new plasma cutter. I needed 3.5 cfm. These sell for around 475. You can shop and get cheaper. What ever you get I would get a piston type compressor just for the lower noise.
Didn't want to spend that much. I won't use it that much. Think I can get away with something less powerful?


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liferider

Looking forward to retirement
The biggest secret is storage tank 15 - 25 gallons is great. 25 - 50 gallon tank is wonderful. Look in the Classified adds, also look in Craigslist. Look for Business auctions, machine shop, body shop, car repair places.
 

cd24747

Active Member
Is a 15 gallon enough to run a grinder?


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Sven

Well-Known Member
Kobalt=30 gallon tank•155 PSI max pressure, 6.2 SCFM at 40 PSI... These sell for around 475. You can shop and get cheaper. What ever you get I would get a piston type compressor just for the lower noise.
might want to add a water separator/ 5 micron filter to add life to your tools.
Say, how's it hanging? Yeah, you like the way I shined those up, yeah? They look nice. Maybe I'll buy a cheapshit compressor over at china boat is sinking finally. Yeah, you figure I could polish these out in a day, whereas I was reading over at the website about a guy spent 300 bucks on a 175 buck save. He was polishing about a quarter of the wheel in about 3 hours. Thing was, it kept on running and stopping just to get the kid's tires pumped up. Geee, so watt happened next? Well, after the 300th time his ears rang from that non-piston type pump, he started to smell smoke. WATT kind was that? You know when them chine knees units go out @ 300 buck a pop? No. Well, you see that bellow of smoke coming out of that motor? Yeah, that smoke. I now have to add 300 more dollars it's going to take to buy American, wear out I should have spent the extra 175, but now you see the cha-ching you go cheaping out in the cheap seats?

The math:

One time junk pile in hours spent on the cheap ~300 + 300 + 175 = $775.00

One time buy is out live your lifetime is buy American = $475 or less you shop around.

Make sense to you?
 

pknowles

RETIRED
Makes a lota cents=="Of all the kobalt tools at LOWE'S only 7 types of tools are made entirely in the USAThe rest are either made with parts from other country's or made in china.
The air compressors are made in the USA with the motors coming from Mexico."
 

cd24747

Active Member
That absolutely makes a lot of sense. What I'm saying is that I definitely want to buy a quality compressor. I just don't want to spend more than I need to if I don't need that much power or that big of a tank. Bottom line - I don't want to buy any junk, I just don't want to spend a fortune on something that is so big that I won't use it to its full potential.


Gun control is not about guns, it's about control.
 

Sven

Well-Known Member
Polish wheels - OK, now what?

Bike tires
Car tires
Polish car
Spray car wash soap on [w/accessory tools]
Wash suds off [w/same tools]
Air dry car
Air dry bike
Lift the bike rack
Blow things clean like inside a computer tower, inside an enclosed fan.
Blow some up the shirt and cool off during the summer.
Blow up the toys for the pool, basketballs, etc.
Oh, you'll find more things to this short list.
 

cd24747

Active Member
Again, you've got a point. Can you suggest a compressor?


Gun control is not about guns, it's about control.
 

pknowles

RETIRED
Polish wheels - OK, now what?

Bike tires
Car tires
Polish car
Spray car wash soap on [w/accessory tools]
Wash suds off [w/same tools]
Air dry car
Air dry bike
Lift the bike rack
Blow things clean like inside a computer tower, inside an enclosed fan.
Blow some up the shirt and cool off during the summer.
Blow up the toys for the pool, basketballs, etc.
Oh, you'll find more things to this short list.
Don't for get the 1/2" impact wrench:D
 

HMAN

I just like my Freedom
Supporting Member
FWIW...I have a 10gal that runs my air tools just fine. It kicks on a lot if I using them steady but for $75 (craigslist) it does the job. I think its a HF brand.
 

BWG56

Guru
Check out Tractor Supply, they have nice ones under $500.00. Anything under $200 and you'll run the piss out of it and it won't keep up. Don't get oiless they are loud as hell unless you put it out of the room your working in.
 
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