Air Compressor.... which one?

[5030]

When buying any compressor, always look at the expected life of the unit and then decide and also look at the rpm the pump runs at. The slower they run, the longer they last and compressors are like starting batteries in a tractor, completely ignored until they fail and they usually fail from lack of clean oil or the reed valves get so carboned up, they won't produce compressed air anymore and finally a clogged air filter.

Basically, any air compressor (reciprocating) is just like the engine in your car or truck except it has no fuel inlet system or sparkplugs.

 

[ponytug]

I routinely look at the details pump construction (cast iron vs aluminum), valves (especially the in field durability as all reed valves are not created equal), and definitely compressor speed. Not mentioned so far are scroll compressors (but not cheap!).

However to @Richard's needs, I would look at the uses of the compressed air and the cost and utility of the alternatives. Here, I would still install compressed air, but these days, only for inflating tires and blowing out radiators. I use a needle gun or a die grinder once in a blue moon but everyone has different needs. I think most everything else is better done with corded and cordless tools. Brushless motors are a big advance on power and efficiency for most hand held tools in my view.

All the best,

Peter

 

[sd455dan]

Speedaire (Dayton/Grainger) uses Mexico made Dayton motors. If you consider Mexico domestic then, you are right.
I think Quincy is using mostly Baldor motors. Those may be US made or in one of their other worldwide factories

Same for Century- made in Mexico. I would have bought a Quincy 5 HP but at that time they had substituted generic made in China motors instead of the Baldor.

Most Quincy compressors have a 100% duty rating and as posted a 50000 hour pump rating ( Hard to beat), Ingersoll Rand, also most seem to be 100% duty cycle.
Last few years lot of reports that consumer IR compressors have been having a lot more complaints than the ones built earlier.

If the Op plans on Painting/ running DA sanders, or doing ANY Sandblasting, get as much CFM up front as the budget allows.

 

[bigtiller]

Same for Century- made in Mexico. I would have bought a Quincy 5 HP but at that time they had substituted generic made in China motors instead of the Baldor.

Most Quincy compressors have a 100% duty rating and as posted a 50000 hour pump rating ( Hard to beat), Ingersoll Rand, also most seem to be 100% duty cycle.
Last few years lot of reports that consumer IR compressors have been having a lot more complaints than the ones built earlier.

If the Op plans on Painting/ running DA sanders, or doing ANY Sandblasting, get as much CFM up front as the budget allows.

They also have a break-in sequence....

To break in a Quincy air compressor, you can:

1. Start the compressor and run it until it reaches its cutoff pressure
2. Open the service valve slightly until the compressor starts again
3. Adjust the valve to maintain 100 pounds of pressure
4. Run the compressor for one hour
5. Close the valve, let the compressor shut off, and allow it to cool
6. After 100 hours of running, change the break-in oil with the oil recommended in the manual

 

[caver]

Quincy Compressor was started in my old hometown. The town was settled by lots of German immigrants and at one time was home to many industries like Gardner Denver, Motorola, MoorMans, Electric Wheel (now Titan) and even had their own brewery up into the 50's Dick's Beer. QC moved to Alabama a long time ago.

History of Quincy Compressor

Learn about Quincy Compressors' history, who we are, what we stand for, and how we got started to become a leader in industrial compressors!

www.quincycompressor.com

 

[sd455dan]

They also have a break-in sequence....

Yep as does any decent compressor, How many buy a Compressor and just start using it, never check the AC line is stiff enough, or run the break in sequence, never dump the contaminated break in oil and never put in the prescribed quality synthetic, never check the oil level, never clean or replace the air filter, and to top it off never or seldom drain their tanks.

All that said there are quality differences, I rolled the dice on the 80 gallon 2 stage, mainly due to the shorter pump life rating of around 4500 hours before rebuild, I am going to buy the rebuild kit with rings reeds etc. but at $1400 total it was hard to beat the air delivery for a made in America "mostly" compressor with a stated four year warranty.

4500 hours sounds short until you look at oil less quiet compressors which are 300-3000 Max hours run time before rebuild. Then again I did manage to wear out ( pumping oil) my Ingersol 5 HP compressors pump and replacing it with a HF pump until I can source rings for the IR but it has 30+ years of use.

The Quincy QT 54 still sounds really good with the long rated pump life but so does the slower 900 RPM pump speed and more air delivery of the one I bought than the QT 54's 1300 RPM pump.

Pay now or pay later remains to be seen...., but I have pushed this unit hard already with the sandblaster and running two D/A sanders at the same time, if it isn't rated for continuous duty it should be.

Good Luck to the OP there are Lots of choices out there.

 

[5030]

The one thing I'd recommend is an automatic tank drain. In fact some packaged units now come with auto tank drains and screw and scroll compressor package units come with refrigerated dryers as well. Condensate in a receiver over time is death to any compressor.