I have some pretty good news for those of you who are thinking about more
compressor power. I have a 6-1/2 horse, 120 psi, 10CFM compressor and it is
simply not enough. When using the blast cabinet I can maintain 60 psi max
with the compressor running non-stop. Worse trying to use a DA Sander. It
stops completely after about 20 seconds unless I hover very lightly over the
work. Die grinders, air drills, etc.. same story. I siphon sandblasted my
entire cab and sheet metal with 60 psi and it took me 6 days on the cab and
another 7 days or so on all the rest of the sheet metal. It was annoying to
say the very least.
I got input from some of you and researched a bit further and decided to
DOUBLE the output (the CFM I was getting was closer to 6 than 10) to about
12-16 CFM at 120 PSI by simply adding another like compressor into the mix.
I purchased a nice Campbell/Hausfeld compressor (same specs as the other
one) and simply added it into the existing air line. Since the specs are the
same, there is no adjustment necessary. It doesnt matter which one comes on
first (in this case the new one is set slightly higher than the old one)
because its highly improbable that they will ever come on at the exact same
time. With two compressor pumps pumping the pressure up, the very minimum I
now get when doing my best (using the blast cabinet or the DA Sander) is 100
PSI and as a norm about 110. It completely solved my problem. It will use
less electricity than before since the motors dont stop and start nearly as
much and the only drawback is the space needed for two compressors.
Another advantage is the cost. I can purchase these floor models at $397
each from Harbor Freight and they are the good Campbell/Hausfelds. So,
another $400 solved the problem. The other solution was a $1300 15 horse two
stage so I saved a lot of money. I figure I can run almost anything now. If
only I would have done this a few months ago but isnt that how it works?
Deve Krehbiel
Hesston, Kansas
1950 3100 * 1949 3600
www.speedprint.com/Deves50/index.html
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