Andy,
A few suggesstions:
1. The one important spec is air flow at a specific pressure (OK, that's TWO spec's in
one). Mine reads 5.8 scfm (at) 90 psi. Ignore the hp ratings, they are very nearly
meaningless on most air compressors.
2. "Oil-less" a/c are quite noisy and will not last nearly as long as a more
conventional iron compressor with oil bath. But they do produce more cfm for a given
purchase price and they are easily and inexpensively rebuilt. Me ? I don't like the
noise.
3. Determine your needs for air flow. I would rate common tools as follows:
Impact wrenchs: low air flow requirements. They don't draw all that much air and you
don't use them continuously. Include butterfly and ratchet impact wrenchs in this
category.
Air chisels: same as above
Paint guns, depends on the model, use moderate to large air flow. Unlike wrenchs these
tend to get used for longer continuous time periods.
Die grinders, air sanders: use moderate to large air flow rates. Sometimes the
application is for a quick use, sometimes for a longer period.
Sand blasters: use a LOT of air. Even the small ones. If the job is small you can wait
for the compressor to catch up. If not, this gets frustrating quickly. Also, using a
small compressor for blasting means that the compressor heats up , this means more
moisture in the air and you don't want wet blasting media.
I hope this helps, it is a very useful addition to a shop.
-Roger
Andy Boetticher wrote:
>
> As the Alpine project progresses, its becoming more and more
> apparent that the home shop is in need of an air compressor.
> >From what I've been able to figure out, the critical specs are
> HP, volume, pressure, and flow. I was wondering if there are any
> recommendations out there as to what a good combination of the
> four would be and/or specific models that would be worth looking
> at. I'm looking for a decent unit that can handle most hand held
> pneumatic tools (and possibly a small sand blasting setup) but
> won't deplete the Alpine budget in the process.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Andy Boetticher
> Series IV
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 10:28:24 CDT