air compressor

[WillBilly53]

i know this is a little off subject, BUT i am restoring a '53 super riviera 56r.<BR>i'm still setting up shop and i don't have a compressor yet. i don't have a lot of money, so i was wondering what kind of air compressor i should get. i want to do some abrasive blasting, and run other basic pneumatic tools, and possibly a paint sprayer. i know i need at least 7 cfm and 5 horsepower but i don't know any brands besides campbell hauseld and porter-cable. are there any other brands that are good and inexpensive? <P>thanks in advance!<P>will e.

[palbuick]

Either of these two brands are very good. The newer ones are a 7 hp. Better off getting one of these than a cheaper brand just to save money. If you are going to be doing sandblasting you will need the 7 hp stage two compressor. The Home Depot stores carry the Campbell compressrs and you can charge it. Get the 80 gal upright tank, saves room. Remember Bigger is better.<P>Jim Schilf / palbuick

[Albert]

Go by the CFM's not the horse power a lot of the compressors are labeled as the max hosrepower they will produce (before you see smoke). I have a real 1hp 2cyl single stage that will do all but sand blasting , for sand blasting I have the "monster" which is a V6 cummings diesel, one bank has a modified head for the aircompressor and the other side is a standard head, It put out 210CFM at 100psi..

Wire your shop for 220 is what I say. A 110 compressor producing the CFM you need is going to be hard to come by and it will use enough electricity to wire the darn place for 220!<P>Forget the little "beachball fillers" with the 20 gallon tank. Get the biggest you can possibly afford. You out grow it soon enough. <P>I have NEVER said.."Gee, I wish I would have gotten the cheaper tool" [img]images/icons/grin.gif" border="0[/img]

Will, the best advice I can give you is wire up for 220v if you are going to use it everyday and want to do a lot of sandblasting with it.<P>Personnaly I have a little oiless 4 hp Cambell Hausfield that is 110v and portable enough to take to the track where I need it most. When I get home I connect it up to a large 80 gallon horizontal tank that gives the extra capacity I need to paint cars.<P>The oiless compressor is nice because it simplifies my filtering for painting and I have used it for the occasional sand blasting job. Of course charge times are lengthy but I don't use it everyday either. The 80 gallon tank is enough for one coat on the average car and I have to wait for the paint to flash off anyway so I don't mind the recharge time.<P>The only thing I don't like is the noise the little oiless makes, I'm now mounting it outside (in a little doghouse) so I won't hear it screaming.<P>The output of this size compressor is 6 cfm at 90 psi or 7.8 at 40 psi, small any way you look at it. But hey, it has accomplished every thing I've thrown at it and doesn't owe me a dime.<P>When it finally croaks I'll toss it and save the tank, by then the latest model will be half the price and the money I saved will have went toward better projects.<P>Besides the 80 gallon tank is in the ceiling of the garage where it takes up no space and my drop downs come from there. The "little compressor that could" sits in it's corner taking up no space.<P>Remember stored volume is king, compressor output only changes the wait between charging.

[Dave@Moon]

I've had a Sanborn with a 60 gal. tank for about 8 years now and I've been very happy with it. It's a 5 hp. single-stage compressor, which admittedly gets quite hot with extended use and I try to keep it as cool as possible in use. If I remember correctly it was rated for 12.1 cfm @ 90 psi. I bought it at the dear, departed Builder's Square. <P>Sears has a full line of these things, but I know nothing about them.<P>One caution, most of these larger compressors require a 220V line to operate. If that's a concern (i.e. if it's not your garage or you don't want to install the 220 line) shop around. These days you can get some pretty good cfm ratings out of a 110V compressor. <P>By the way, I've found that used compressors generally sell for prices very near their cost new. Why is that?

[WillBilly53]

thanks for help.<BR>i need something for 110 - my "garage" is not equipped for 220v. <BR>sears has a craftsman 25 gallon 6 hp with 8.7 cfm at 40 psi for 389.99. is this a good deal? <BR>campbell hausfeld has a factory serviced 6.5hp 60 gallon 10.2 cfm at 90 psi for 375 shipped. what do you guys think?<P>thanks again<P>will

[WillBilly53]

thanks!