Opinion on air compressor

[Guest bofusmosby]

A friend of my brothers just gave me an air compreesor, and it has a bad belt. Well, this is a small unit, and I am wondering if this thing can be used for anything other than inflating a tire. The model # is "HFAC 28-1", and it is a 2 HP 8 gal. unit (small tank). The max. air pressure is 125 PSI, but actual specs on the unit aren't great.

Here is was is on the unit. SCFM 3.6 @ 40 PSI

2.5 @ 90 PSI

PCNM 3.6 @ 40lb/PO2

2.5 @ 90lb/PO2

The question is, is this thing worth even buying a belt for? Can this unit power any paint sprayers, or air tools at all? I have my doubts.

Any info you can give on this would really be eppreciated. Remember, I have nothing into this unit right now, so if it is a complete piece of junk, I'd like to know.

Thank you for any opinions you can give.

[Bhigdog]

It would be OK as a tire inflater, for quick blast from an air gun, probably do an air brush but not much else. Prob worth a belt if you have the room to let it lay around taking up space..........Bob

[Larry Schramm]

Would work for a trim nail gun or something like that.

[Guest billybird]

Tire inflator or airbrush. According to the figures you gave, it's not moving much air and has hardly any reserve.

[Guest bofusmosby]

Thanks guys for your thoughts. I was just hoping that it would be strong enough for painting small parts, or small areas on my car. Oh well, I see I can order the belt for about $20 including shipping, so I guess I'll fix it up. Don't really have a lot of spare room, so when a good one (compressor) comes along, I'll put this one on Craigs list. I should at least re-coop my investment and then some.

[Joseph P. Indusi]

I might as well take advantage of the expert knowledge here and ask about my compressor. I have used it to demount wheels and such. It is 3 HP, has 15 gallon tank, SCFM@40PSIG is 4.9 and at 90PSIG it gives 3.5.

Any comments or advice on what else I can do?

Thanks.

Joe

[Larry Schramm]

Your compressor will probably not supply an DA sander or any other sander. Would not work for a sand blaster except for short like one or two minute runs.

[Rusty_OToole]

I have a 2 HP air compressor and use it for everything including painting whole cars and sandblasting.

For things that take a lot of air I have an extra tank I connect up and this gives me some reserve. Otherwise you have to sandblast or paint for a few minutes then let it build up steam.

I'm not saying it would run a commercial garage but for home use, for painting small parts, blowing things clean etc it works great. Also powering air tools it works fine.

When I got it I thought it would only be a stop gap but it will do about 90% of what I need. If I need more air I think I will just buy another 2 HP compressor and run them both at once.

One reason for buying the little guy is, I do not have 220 volts in my garage to run a big compressor. The little 2HP job plugs into an ordinary wall outlet.

So buy a belt and give it a go. A cheap low speed belt from the hardware store should do. Gamble $5 bucks and see how you like it. What have you got to lose?

Edited February 20, 2012 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

Thank you Rusty. I located a parts place in town, so I plan on giving them a call tomorrow. As far as painting goes, on the spray guns I looked at, all of them required a lot more SCFM than mine will produce. Are there spray guns out there that are designed for lower output compressors, and can they actually do the job well enough? Remember, with an 8 gal. tank, there is not much in reserve.

[Rusty_OToole]

I got a set of 3 gravity feed spray guns at Princess Auto for $89. They work fine. For painting small parts like wheels etc. you don't run out of air. You should be able to find similar cheap spray guns at Harbor Freight and similar places.

For an ordinary V belt, you can get them at the hardware store. They are cheaper than for a car as they are a low speed belt.

For bigger jobs I have a spare tank salvaged off a defunct compressor ($5 at the junk yard). I just connect it to the air line, let the pressure build up and have enough air to paint a car.

For air tools etc no problem as you only use them for short burst. If I do run out of air just wait a minute till pressure builds up.

One thing I did was fill the compressor crankcase with synthetic oil. It starts easier and runs better than with compressor oil, I think it pumps a little faster too.

Go ahead and try your compressor out. I thought mine would be too small and only good for pumping up tires and blowing dust off things. The more I used it, the more I found it would do. If you are not in a hurry you can time things to let it pump up for a few minutes when the pressure gets low. This would not do in a commercial shop but for a hobbyist it works out OK.

Another thing you may need is a pressure regulator. This allows you to set the compressor to 120 PSI and regulate the line pressure down to 35 PSI or less for painting. This makes a big difference in reserve pressure.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

Thank you Rusty for the info. It I might ask, how do you connect another tank to your system, run a "Y" adaptor on the air line going into the original tank and hook up a second tank there? Also, where would I find a pressure regulator, and will they fit any unit? Also, are they very expensive?

Sorry for all the dumb questions, but this is the best way to learn.

[Rusty_OToole]

You can buy a pressure regulator at the hardware store or auto parts store. They are not very expensive.

The regulator just goes in line with the air hose. There are small units that go right on the paint gun. If you add a dryer ( a good idea for painting) you will need to mount it on the wall because it will be too big .

A Y or T connection will do to hook up an extra tank it does not have to be fancy. It means you have to wait a bit before the air pressure builds up, not usually a problem as you can leave the compressor running while you get ready, mix the paint etc.

Go ahead and try the compressor as is and see how it works. Does it have an adjustable pressure switch or regulator now? Possibly even an air trap or dryer?

Edited February 21, 2012 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

Rusty, this is a bare-bones type of compressor. This is an "oil-less unit, with no type of regulation or no pressure gauge, only an auto shut-off at 125 psi. One of my concerns would be that if I were to add another tank, then I am afraid that the compressor would have to run so long, it might wear out the pump. As far as a dryer goes, yes, if I were to use it for painting, then I would assume that this would be a "must-have" item. When you say it must be hung on the wall, just how big are these?

The previous owner of my car had painted this car himself, and now I have small bubbles all over the car. I showed this to my brother-in-law who has been doing paint and body work for over 40 years, and he told me the reason for the bubbles was from moisture being in the paint at the time of the painting. The high temperature and humidity down here in Tampa brought these bubbles to the surface. This is how I learned of the importance of a dryer when painting. I hate to keep asking you these questions, but is a dryer an expensive investment?

[Larry Schramm]

Not really expensive. BUT depending on where you are painting I have known some painters in the south when the humidity is high running coils through refrigerators to be sure all of the moisture is condensed out of the air before it goes to the spray gun.

[Matt Harwood]

Trying to make this particular compressor work for anything other than light-duty household chores like filling tires and driving a nail gun will be an exercise in futility and frustration. Add another tank and it'll never keep up, add a dryer and now you've spent almost enough money to buy a good compressor.

I have an 80-gallon 7 horsepower unit that's rated at 24 CFM at 150 PSI that I bought at Home Depot for $895 about 7 years ago. It's not top-quality, and I think the ratings are over-stated by about 20%, but it is probably the minimum you need to drive big tools like sandblaster, die grinders, and yes, paint guns. It runs 100% of the time when I'm sandblasting or using the blast cabinet, and runs frequently with the die grinder. I have it regulated down to about 90 PSI so there's some reserve due to the pressure in the tank, but it still makes a lot of moisture so I use moisture traps at all the drops.

What I'm saying is that this compressor will never, ever be something you want to use with your car. You'll waste a ton of time waiting on it when you want to be working, and if it were mine, the day would surely come where the compressor, a big hammer, and I have a heart-to-heart talk in a fit of frustration. Trying to do paint work with inferior tools is a recipe for disappointing results. I understand the need for doing it on a budget and controlling costs, but if you buy a big compressor, you'll never need to worry about it again. It'll last forever in a home shop and will do EVERYTHING you want it to do. Save up and get the right tool for the job.

Save up for a good one that'll do what you want it to do. Trying to stretch this one into something it was never designed to be will be a waste of money and you'll never get satisfactory results. It's the same reason why we don't use pliers to remove lug nuts...

Hope this helps.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

Thank you, and I am sure you are correct. However, it could me many many years (if ever) before I could afford to sink in that much money on a compressor. If I decide to go that way, then I'd be better able to buy a good used one somewhere.

[Rusty_OToole]

I agree that if I were running a garage or body shop I would want a bigger compressor. But for home use it is fine. Paint wheels and small parts OK. Even paint a whole car (not recommended) if you have to.

Bofus I suggest you forget about getting an extra tank at this time in fact forget all the fancy stuff. Just get the compressor working and use it.

You can get a small pressure regulator that goes on the air line or on your spray gun. You can also buy a larger regulator that mounts on the wall with a dryer to remove excess moisture.

You really don't need a dryer unless you are painting. You don't need a regulator either if all you are doing is blowing up tires and blowing dirt off things. But it is handy for some air tools such as sanders.

So, get it working and try it out. Use it for whatever you want. If you ever want to paint anything now you know what you will need to get.

I am not going to drive downtown and price regulators and dryers for you. At some point you will have to get off your ass and use your common sense.

[stealthbob]

You will burn up that oilless compressor if you hook it up a larger tank....it will cease solid. They have a duty cycle and require cool down periods before restarting.

The answer to any question that starts with "Is this compressor big enough" is ALWAYS no....especially if you want to paint a car with it. HVLP paint guns are ridiculous for air consumption, mix in DA/Air sanders, Blasters and drills/grinders and you will need to spend north of 1K to have a useable tool.

What you have is a tire changer/inflater....once it starts you should not let it run longer than about 5-10 minutes then let it cool for the same. That way it will last a long time doing what it was designed for. Running longer will create unnecessary heat and moisture and in the end frustration and grief when trying to paint with it.

Edited February 24, 2012 by stealthbob (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

Thank you guys for your input. I can see that this is just something for a homeowner to tinker with, using the bare jobs it was designed to do. I know that this is a rinky-dink set-up, and this is something that I doubt I would have ever bought, but hey, getting it free is my ideal price!

Rusty, thank you for all your advice on this, and when I get it up and running, I'll see what it can do. I am sorry that I asked too many questions, and believe me, I would never want anyone to go check out prices for me, and for that matter, to inconvenience someone else in any way. I was asking these questions just in case you had an idea as to what kind of money would be involved. Working 6 days a week, and then working even harder on my one day off doesn't give me much time to go shopping for prices, especially when I don't even know what I am looking for. The only time I am on my ass is when I am sitting here at night on this computer. You've been a big help to me, and I really do appreciate it! No more questions....I promise.

[Dandy Dave]

No more questions....I promise.

Oh 7734. (Look at it in a Mirror upsidedown.) You can ask me all the questions you want. If it were mine I would go for the belt and run it for all that it is worth. What have you got to loose? When it goes south, sell it for scrap. Dandy Dave!

[Rusty_OToole]

Dandy Dave is right. What have you got to lose? I know I have a cheap 2 HP compressor I have been using for everything, including painting 1 or 2 whole cars, and sandblasting, for over 10 years. It is still going strong.

I don't use it every day, sometimes not for weeks. I always figured I would get a bigger compressor when it proved too small to do what I want but somehow it always gets the job done.

I also figured if I needed more compressor I would just get another 2 or 3 HP job and run them together.