Compressors

[Anonymous Poster]

Will be building a shop next spring and want to get the right compressor. I wiil be useing it mainly to air tires on the tractor and cars, blow out air filters, pre-filters and power pneumatic tools. I have never owned one. What should I look for. Any makes better than others?

Thank-you. You guys are making life on the new farm survivable.

Tracy

 

[MikePA]

Tracy, have you tried doing a search of TBN for the words 'air compressor"? I found a number of older discussions on the topic. Here's <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=buildit&Number=172612&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post172612>one</A> of them. There's no problem starting a new discussion, but I thought you might be interested in reading the olders ones, too.

 

[Thomas]

There some really good compressor on the market now a days,just couple thing you may want to consider.

Voltage & Portable..I do indeed like my Coleman compressor..runs my air tools..handy for welding..cleaning..blowing up tires etc..for air drying...but make sure your holding tank has a valve to blow out the moisture or the tank will rust out in years to come.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I like a belt drive. Just something about the bbbbuuuuurrrrrrppppppppppp of those oiless ones that send irritators up and down my spine.

Air compressors are like pecan pie at a family reunion. You never have enough no matter how much you over order.

You start out only gonna need one for this and that and then the next thing you know you find out you wanna do that there and the compressor is a size or three too small.

Box stores, HD, Lowes, Wallyworld, etc. are carrying five horse two stage IR's for under a grand with sixty to eighty gallon tanks. If you can afford it that is the way to go.

Something is going to break and you're gonna want to use your air tools to fix it. Then when you get it fixed you're gonna want to paint it while you have it down. But before you paint it would sure be easier to sand blast off that gunk and rust. After that you think it would be better to use a spray gun and factory paint.........it just goes on and on and never finds a place to stop.

Do develop the habit of draining the water from the tank regularly. Find a routine that you do every week or so and add the draining of the tank to it.

BTW keep in mind that someday you're gonna want to start a little welding. Then you're gonna wanna plasma torch. A baby compressor ain't gonna cut it.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have been working in a friend's shop lately and he has a newer PUMA compressor with a vertical tank. This unit came from his local farm supply store. I like the space-saving vertical tank, AND.........the condensate water drains out better. This compressor is belt drive, 3 HP, 220V, pulls 17 AMPs, and is a Vee-2 configuration. Both cylinders pump in TANDEM, not in series. We have NOT been able to run out of air with this machine, no matter what I was doing, be it blasting out the radiator and the screens on the combine, or running an impact wrench steady while I changed the sickle guards on a 20-foot bean header. By having a belt drive, the motor is generic......any motor of that frame size will bolt up and work, so it's something to keep in mind. I LOVE that vertical tank, it is truly the best idea since sliced bread. The semi-elliptical tank end is a natural sump and it gets every cc of water out when you blow the drain. The tandem cylinder arrangement gets you more air at the lower pressures where you need volume. I've had both kinds of compressors.......several of both kinds.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Tracy,.....do you know the difference between a two-stage, two-cylinder compressor and a one-stage two cylinder compressor? I's kind of essential to your making a good choice here.

 

[dummy]

I added an automatic drain to my tank. It's an electric solenoid that automatically bleeds off the tank. I always forgot to, now it's one less thing to remember. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://compressorworld.com/>compressor world</A>

Using this link, if you look at air compressors...more.. click on more, then there's a guide to help you figure out which one may be better for what you want.

 

[RanchMan]

<font color=blue>and power pneumatic tools.</font color=blue>

Get one that has a BIG air tank! It's amazing how quickly air tools suck up that compressed air!! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif If you don't, you'll have a compressor that you push beyond its designed duty cycle (bad), which will either lead you to (1) burn it up from abuse, or (2) slow your work way down while you wait on things to "cool off." /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

If it is for your shop, get a big one and forget about portability - run some air hose "outlets" for hoses to the outside or get a cheap small second compressor for jobs away from the shop. Years ago I was under the delusion that a 5 HP/20 gal compressor could handle my needs - needless to say that I'm a bit wiser now.

 

[dourobob]

wroughtn harv - you are a dirty rascal - just when I though I had something figured out you go and tell me there's no pecan pie left. I just started using some air tools for the first time at my friend's shop and I can see how insidious this can get. Now, fortunately my friend is close by and I can get most things over to his shop if I really need to so, I am gonna go with a smaller piece of pie to start with (maybe the portable piece that he doesn't have) - I know I'll feel better once I get up from the table but I am really afraid of the nagging "I shouldda had another piece" feeling you are forecasting.

Always a delight to read your posts.

Bob

 

[DocHeb]

Consider putting the compressor in a remote location, and putting in pipe to the workstations. This keeps the noise of the compressor distant from where you're working. I used the heavier sweated copper (can't remember if Type L or Type M is the heavier) and it has worked out well. It is easier to put in than cutting and threading pipe. Some will say to use PVC (and it's pros and cons have been debated here before), I think is unsafe as it has a higher chance of failure from fatigue and trauma.

As mentionied above, I put a "normally open" solenoid (energized with a 120v coil) at the bottom of the tank so that the tank drains whenever the AC is cut to the plug, and closes the solenoid whenever the plug is energized. I also wired in two remote three way switches to control a motor control relay (sized for my compressor). The coil on the motor control relay is run by a 120v AC. This allows me to turn the compressor on from the two remote 3-way switch locations, and when I turn it off it drains the tank through the solenoid.

Don't expect an oilless unit to provide more than intermittant, limited duty use.