need air compressor opinions

[shortthrow50]

About 12 years ago, I bought a Grainger combo unit.

80 gallon tank, cast iron compressor and Speedaire Drier...

Works great and was under $2,000

Much quieter than my 30 gallon Craftsman.

Are you guys required to get 5 year permits?

Every 5 years, the State comes out to inspect and test the tank for corrosion... oh, the tank must be ASTM certified too.

how would they know who is buying what and where? do you have to register your air compressor with state or something? In pennsylvania we dont even have firearm registration.

 

[ultrarunner]

how would they know who is buying what and where? do you have to register your air compressor with state or something? In pennsylvania we dont even have firearm registration.

The only real way is if you run any kind of business from that address... your door is always open for various agencies to stop by for a look-see.

GRSTHEGREAT mentioned installs in a cabinet shop and this is what got me thinking.

There is an exemption for units 10 gallons and smaller...

I remember in the old days my neighbor bought a gas stove from Montgomery Wards and had it delivered.

A few weeks later he got a visit from the city stating he had bought a stove and there was no permit on file for the installation.

Technically, anytime a gas line is reconnected, an inspection is required... same with pulling and placing a toilet.

 

[grsthegreat]

About 12 years ago, I bought a Grainger combo unit.

80 gallon tank, cast iron compressor and Speedaire Drier...

Works great and was under $2,000

Much quieter than my 30 gallon Craftsman.

Are you guys required to get 5 year permits?

Every 5 years, the State comes out to inspect and test the tank for corrosion... oh, the tank must be ASTM certified too.

yeiks... is this in a commercial shop???

no residential inspections here that i know of, and ive never even heard of a commercial inspection...but it may exist

 

[grsthegreat]

Calif was notorious for that. If a person replaced a water heater or toilet, and left the old one outside......out come the inspectors. I think the garbage men turned them in???

 

[ultrarunner]

yeiks... is this in a commercial shop???

no residential inspections here that i know of, and ive never even heard of a commercial inspection...but it may exist

Domestic use is generally exempt from the requirement...

 

[Bird]

About 12 years ago, I bought a Grainger combo unit.

80 gallon tank, cast iron compressor and Speedaire Drier...

Works great and was under $2,000

Much quieter than my 30 gallon Craftsman.

Are you guys required to get 5 year permits?

Every 5 years, the State comes out to inspect and test the tank for corrosion... oh, the tank must be ASTM certified too.

I don't recall ever hearing of any governmental agency inspecting compressors in commercial installations, though it may happen.

But private homeowner compressors are not checked by anyone. My current compressor was 6 years old in September, and the manual says nothing about ever having it inspected.

 

[BrianinMichigan]

The compressor that NOTV8 has is the one to have. Single stage 5hp, 18+ CFM. It is on my hit list pretty soon. I should have bought it before Christmas at Tractor Supply. The price was $849 and then there was a 10% coupon. I could kick myself for not pulling the trigger on it.

 

[rsewill]

I am in the camp that more storage is better than more CFM.

I would do tire work on a small fleet of belly dumps using just a small Sears compressor with about a six gallon tank to run a 1" impact. Because wheel mounting involves a lot of non-compressor time the Sears would keep up just fine. I had the impact wrench running from a half inch line fed from a 100 lb repurposed propane tank that was connected to the belly dump air tanks which probably had a couple hundred gallons of usable storage between the tractor and trailer. I'd plug the Sears into the system first thing and by the time I was ready to wrench the air was built up and would easily do one wheel and then, after moving tires and jack, the next wheel(s).

Having your compressor in a separate area is worth a lot. Build a small cabinet spaced a foot from your garage for your compressor and enjoy the quiet.

 

[Soundguy]

Done deal, then. True to TBN tradition I'm going to spend your $500 on a larger new compressor. Once you pay for it you won't regret it.

Is there such a thing as too much air?

i believe that is what ai'm going to do.. i'm going to look at 3 60g units int he 500ish $ price range this weekend.

thanks for the ideas guys

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

i wonder how often tractor supply has a % off coupon. that have 2 60g units under 900$

hmm..


soundguy

 

[SPYDERLK]

i wonder how often tractor supply has a % off coupon. that have 2 60g units under 900$

hmm..


soundguy

Yeah, but dont they have a 2 stage, 5+ Hp upright unit that does 20CFM at 100PSI for just 30 or 40% more. Those are probably just a little more than you actually need to avoid any delay. Ive gone the single stage route in the beginning and had your experience. They are not efficient at pressure.
larry

 

[Soundguy]

Yeah, but dont they have a 2 stage, 5+ Hp upright unit that does 20CFM at 100PSI for just 30 or 40% more. Those are probably just a little more than you actually need to avoid any delay. Ive gone the single stage route in the beginning and had your experience. They are not efficient at pressure.
larry

no.. more than 100% more to get those numbers.

at 75% more, you can get one that is 2 more hp though... but not all the extra mentioned capacity..

 

[Soundguy]

in doing some more research.. i looked at the husky brand at home depot.. looks like it is a rebadged campbel hausfeld.. in fact.. one model i looked at is identical to a blue ch modle, and looking under product specs, list brand name as husky, and manufacturer as CH...

anyone have info on this? why compete with their own brand.. the husky is the same specs and 20-30$ cheaper... same cfm, same amps.. same dimensions and weight.. same claims for noise.. a bit less warranty is the only difference I can find..

soundguy

 

[grsthegreat]

Lowes carries the Shop Kobalt 3.7 HP 60-Gallon 155 PSI Electric Air Compressor at Lowes.com
Kobalt unit. ive been running this unit since 2005 and im very pleased with it.

its a bit noisy, but so are all single stage units.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...why compete with their own brand...

Because there are those people out there who believe "You get what you pay for." They will pay the extra $30 for the CH unit and argue until they are blue in the face that they got a better product because they paid the higher price.

It's a win/win for everyone really. The manufacturer can charge these people more. These people can pay more and feel like they are smarter because they bought the better product. The rest of us can get a cheaper unit because we are subsidized by the "You get what you pay for" crowd.

 

[Soundguy]

I like that.

I ended up getting the red 'husky' unit, that, once you get down to brass tacks and compair it to the blue ch unit.. it is the EXACT same electric motor and pressure reg /switch, and tubing.

tank is same dimensions down to feet and mounting deck.. same shroud. both tanks have a ch manufacturer tag on them.. though model id numbers are 4 digit and differ 1 number each..

both have the same pressure and psi specs... yet one was 20-30$ cheaper...

i bought the cheaper one..

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I like that.

I ended up getting the red 'husky' unit, that, once you get down to brass tacks and compair it to the blue ch unit.. it is the EXACT same electric motor and pressure reg /switch, and tubing.

tank is same dimensions down to feet and mounting deck.. same shroud. both tanks have a ch manufacturer tag on them.. though model id numbers are 4 digit and differ 1 number each..

both have the same pressure and psi specs... yet one was 20-30$ cheaper...

i bought the cheaper one..

Question for you... What kind of amperage is that compressor going to draw? I'm planning a shop expansion in the (hopefully) near future, and I'm debating what size wire to run to my compressor location.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Most of those compressors pull 15 Amps...

 

[Bird]

Question for you... What kind of amperage is that compressor going to draw? I'm planning a shop expansion in the (hopefully) near future, and I'm debating what size wire to run to my compressor location.

The 115-120 volt ones I've seen, and the 230-240 volt single stage compressors I've seen were rated for 15 amps. 230-240 volt, two stage rated for 19-20 amps.

 

[grsthegreat]

Question for you... What kind of amperage is that compressor going to draw? I'm planning a shop expansion in the (hopefully) near future, and I'm debating what size wire to run to my compressor location.

It would be ok to run a 12/2 romex for the 60 gal compressor for a dedicated 20 amp , 240 circuit.

Personally, whenever i run a compressor circuit i run 10/2 so it can be upped to 30 amps if they ever increase the compressor in the future. Easier to run it one time.