I looked at some air compressors at Sears. They have too many. I need a compressor for the house. I will use it for air tools when working on my cars. I want be painting I think. Maybe a little sanding. What size gallon tank would get the job done? What psi & hp do I need also. I hope I can get on that runs off a house socket because there is not a 220 socket in the garage.
To do the kind of work you want to do, you will need at least a 7 hp compressor with a 60 gal. tank. Any thing less than that will only run for a short time before you run out of air. Then you have to wait for the air pressure to build back up. The only hitch is that kind of compressor only runs on a 220 line. You might get away with a smaller compressor that runs on 110, but due to the smaller tanks, you really can't do a lot at one time. Plus they are LOUD. I personally don't care much for the larger Sears compressors. We had 7 hp. Sears compressor that was a total peice of junk. It didn't last one year before the motor burned up and a month later the pump exploded. It threw a rod straight through the bottom of the pump housing. Sears did honor thier warrenty, but we no longer trusted that compressor and got rid of it as soon as possible. Even the Sears repairman said those compressors were junk. Too many cheap, imported parts. If you want a really good compressor, we recommend Colemans. They are tough compressors and they come in all different sizes for whatever work you intend to do.
You can get a 220V outlet installed. My dad had one put out in our garage to run his gigantic Miller welder off of and it only took the guy a few hours to do it. Don't remember what it costed though. It's just a little grey box on the wall with a circuit breaker and strange looking round plug.
My dad and I bought one that is 7.5 HP, dual stage, 80 gallon tank, produces 28 CFM @ 175 PSI. It is probably more than we need, but every article in every machinists magazine and woodworking magazine, that my dad reads, all said to buy a compressor twice as big as needed for your biggest air consuming tool. The compressor would work less and you would always have the right amount of air. For Christmas, he and I combined our Northern Tool gift cards and bought a blasting cabinet. It loves air.
Well I can't get the biggest one...well i can buy it but this will have to be in the garage with me. I don't have a shed. If its going to be loud than I might have to go this route. What do you think about this one. I found a Coleman 7hp 33gal portable. This way if it gets to loud I can put the thing outside the garage & close the door. My garage is attached and my bedroom is on the other side of one wall. I can get an bigger one but it mught be to loud for the wifey.
Okay, I'm taking advice from the pros so i'm listening. I have been checking around A this is what I came up with as a deal & what the memebers on here say I need. function noMediumImage(element) {(element.src) = "/lowes2/images/general/mediummissingimage.jpg";}function openImage(url) {newWidnow=window.open(url, "ProductImage", "width=320, height=350, resizable=yes");} Kobalt® 7 HP (Peak) 60 Gallon Stationary Oil Lubricated Air Compressor Item #: 134819 Model: K7060HFV$499.00 Because product availability varies by area, please enter your local zip code to see item availability.Zip Code: Already have an account with Lowe's? Log in. (3.8) 13.3 SCFM @ 90 psi 12,000 hour pump life High output cast iron pump design 3-year warranty on cast iron pump •See Our Rebates It looks to be belt driven, oiled instead of oil free. The noise level rated is smaller than the small compressors, its rated at 78 db. The 33 gal was rated at 85 or 89 db. I only came put it in the garage so how would you mount it. Some told me the build a support using 4x4 wood but I have never seen this before & this is my 1st compressor. How much air hose do I need & what size if it comes in sizes. I have a 20x20 attached to the house with a 20 wide driveway if that makes a difference or not.
There are holes in the "feet" on the bottom of the compressor. Either screw those to some 4x4s like stated above, or find some rubber isolators. Just so it doesn't vibrate the crap out of the garage floor (and the house!). I have the cheapy 2 HP 33 gal craftsman and it sits right next to me, because I'm in the same boat you are space wise. I have to wear ear muffs because it's so freakin' loud. I would not recommend getting this one, or anything from sears right now, because they're seriously pissing me off. Anyway, when it's running, I can hear it in the house, but it's not obnoxious. If you put it outside in the open, you can anticipate a call from the neighbors. All the advice given above is very good. This compressor I have is just going to have to last until we can afford to build the house and garage that we really want.
Thanks for the reply ATOMonkey. After the electrian came to the house to give me a price on putting a 220 line in the garage, I had to go in a different direction. My fuse box is on the far wall on the other side of the house. Had 2 guys say it would be $175 & $200. I ended up with a 2hp 30 gal with the belt driven & oiled stuff that was mentioned earlier. It works so far & its not as loud as I was thinking it would be.
I need a little more help just to make sure I'm not messing anything up. Last nite I took a tire off with a 3/8 impact air gun. I had the air gauge set on about 90 psi, but it was not enough to break the lugs. So I turned it up to 110 psi & the gun took the lugs off with no problem. The impact says at 90 psi 5.2 cfm. What does this mean & did I do anything bad by turning the tank up to 110 psi? The gauge reads as if the more your turn the gauge up, the more the cfm's go up. It evan has 15 cfm on it, but the tanks says 7.5 cfm at 40 psi.
You didn't hurt anything. Those are just recommended ratings, or steady state ratings. For instance, you can probably only run 7.5 CFM continuous only at 40 psi, but if you crank it to 120, you can run 15 CFM for 30 seconds. Most air tools are rated at 90 psi. It's not enough to get any serious work done most of the time. Whenever I'm busting off a big rusty bolt, I crank the pressure regulator all the way up (120 psi I think) and get the big 1/2" drive impact and turn the torque all the way up on it. Works like a charm. Just make sure there's oil in your tool. Most have a specific place for oil, but it never hurts to spray a little WD40 down the air intake on the tool. I've use 10W40 in a pinch too. It just make more of a mess is all.
Thanks, ATOMonkey I didn't want to break or hurt myself just to get air tools in the garage. I was thinking that if the impact said 300lbs than it would break the lugs with no problem. I didn't think about turning the air up until about 5 or 10 minutes of no sucess.
