compressor

[gws]

I am looking for a general purpose compressor. Would like to be able to use air nailers, inflate tires, light implement painting, air grinding. Lowes has a Kobalt 1.5 Running HP, 30 Gallon, Digital Air Compressor. Specs are 4.0 @ 90 PSI, 6.0 @ 40 PSI0/155 maximum PSI

Looks like lots of marketing speak. What is running HP vs HP.
Why such a big deal about "digital" air compressor.

The 1.5hp looks small to me. The specs seem to look ok otherwise.

Any comments?

 

[Bird]

Gary, that 4 CFM will be marginal at best for air grinding; probably work for the other uses you mentioned. I'm not at all familiar with that compressor, but it "appears" to be an oilless one, and if so it will work fine, but have a relatively short life. I've not even seen any "digital" ones, so can't help you there. 1.5hp sounds low because, for so many years, we were accustomed to seeing vastly inflated hp ratings on air compressors. The older ones that were "rated" at 3 to 6hp were probably closer to that 1.5hp in reality, so that wouldn't be a concern for me.

 

[PILOON]

I do a lot of construction/renovation work and nail guns work just fine with 1.5 (I use a 2). Framing nailers need the most.

I dont know the specific model but otherwise for general purposes you state it should be OK.

If you plan to sand blast, use drills, nibblers, grinders pneumatic wrenches then you need a lot more CFM's at 90-100 PSI as those type tools are 'air hogs'.
CFM's are the real 'rating' for a compressor.

The 'digital' is in all probability the guage as I have noted that digital tire guages are the 'item du jour' now-a-days and they just probably replace the old reliable dial guage with a 'digital' one. (just a guess)

Oil based compressors have a much longer life expectancy over 'airless' I might add. (providing you check the oil from time to time)

Today's oiless are basicly teflon wear rings as they can operate without oil. I read somewhere that the life is generally 500 hours as compared to 2000 for oil based types.
Also a set of rings are relatively inexpensive vs the teflon kits which (when I checked) came as a piston/rod/cylinder assembly only.

Hope this helps.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

You may want to check out TSC. They have a Twenty-couple gallon unit with a twin piston, cast iron, with oil. They call it the "FarmHand". I bought one and it works well. Uses 115V house current. I think its rated at 5.8 SCFM at 90lbs. Says its good for 5000hours. I believe they go for about $375. PS I'd stay away from "oilless" units. BobG in VA

 

[Syncro]

My 2 cents worth agrees to avoid oiless compressors, not only for longevity but they are also very noisy compared to an oil type. For my money I'd spend a little more and get a professional brand, like Emglo, Roll-Air, etc thats used in the trades. If you look at a 1 1/2hp motor on one of these it will be much bigger physically than a similar hp rated 'homeowner' unit. In any event nail guns don't take near as much air as do air grinders, you'll need a pretty large capacity/big tank for that.

 

[automech]

most air tools have a cfm spec that helps you decide if a given air compressor can power it properly. An air grinder uses a lot of air to run its motor. You would be better off with an electric grinder if you want to buy a small compressor. Air impact guns and hammers can be run on smaller compressors if you don't mind waiting for the pressure to build back up after a few short bursts of tool use. Die grinders and disk grinders, sanders and buffers require a much heavier duty air compressor to power them for more than a minute or two of continuous use.

 

[rambler]

Can you use paint sprayers with oil type compressors?

And for that matter, what is a good cheap (yea, that contradiction....) air painter for going over the old beat up car hauler, tractor rims, etc....

--->Paul

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Can you use paint sprayers with oil type compressors? )</font>

All the professionals do. When you talk about oil lubricated compressors vs. oilless, you're talking about whether they have oil in a crankcase or not. That oil should not get into the air lines. However, there are inline automatic "oilers" that do put small amounts of oil into the air lines to lubricate most air tools. You do not want that kind of oiler on an air line used for painting; don't even want to use the same air hose. And since compressing air condenses out some moisture, you need some kind of "dryer" between the compressor and your paint gun to remove any water.

As for cheap paint guns, I've used $25 to $50 paint guns (hold one quart of paint) from both Sears and from Northern Tool, and quite successfully. If everything on the paint gun is adjusted properly, the pressure regulator on the compressor is adjusted properly, and the paint thinned properly, if necessary, the cheap guns work quite well.

 

[Soundguy]

I agree with bird. You can do nice looking paint jobs if you take your time, with cheap equipment.

My last 3 tractors i painted, have been done using an 89$ 2hp/4g chinese pancake compressor ( oil type ), a 19$ regulator/water trap / oiler combo... I just -never- added oil to it. And a 14.99$ chinese gun that was marked to a whopping 9.99$ when i bought it.

I'v painted a ford 2n, allis chalmers G, and started my ford 5000 with it.. but finished the 5000 with a larger 4hp/20g TSC compressor with built in regulator.

I also use disposable dryer/filter cartridges from carquest. They are 4-6$ for a pack of 2, and you dispose of them.. they are small plastic egg shaped things and you screw a male/female fitting to them, and hookup right at the gun... work perfect.. I've -never- had an oil/water/particle contaminate my paint or gun nozzle.

I use an inexpensive paint.. BPS and valspar hardner.. V&M naptha for thinning.. Thos tractors looked show quality...

I'd also like to say that 80% of the finish result is in the prep work.. the body prep.. sanding, dent repairsanding.. wiping down.. etc. another 10% is environmental... gotta keep the temps between 40' and 90' for decent pain most of the time.. and not too high of humidity, and no wind if outside... then another 5% on materials choice, like paint.. and the last 5% on the paint hardware...

Soundguy