Air compressors

[RichyB]

Hi there, I'm looking to buy an air compressor to help me in my Mini restoration. It will be used for powering various air tools and ideally for a respray. I've been doing a bit of research into them and it seems to me like the things to look for are tank size and CFM. What do you guys use? And what size is too small?

I was looking at something like this:

http://www.toolstore.ie/our-products?pa ... gory_id=62


All help greatly appreciated!

Rich

[armo]

the one in the link would be too small for a respray they do fill up fast doh iv used one befor and im a painter it was ok but only ok ....200 litre would be a little better it

[RichyB]

My budget could probably stretch to a 100L, 14CFM, 3HP. Would that do a decent enough job? I will probably end up painting the doors, boot, bonnet separately anyway.

Also, where is a good place to look for compressors? I've done the rounds of the websites but most don't have prices or are selling brands that look fairly cheap and nasty..

[CLUBMANGT]

I am with Armo on this one Richy , I did spray my car the last time with a 150 but I now have a 200. A lot of air tools are very heavy on air so the bigger the better . Even the 200 comes up short for some of my air tools

[Scoobasteve7]

I bought my 200ltr from arco sales. Think it was around 400, 450 euro ish.

The compressor itself works flawlessly. However I have had two issues with it.

One was the mesh seal at the end of it wasn't properly filled so air escapes out that.
Also, air escaped out by the connection just beyond where the airline would attach on, but plumbers tape fixed that.

The other thing I noticed was that the belt vibrated savagely when I first got it. Three weeks later, the belt had cracked itself.

I got onto arco who told me ' Sometimes the drive wheels aren't lined up correctly and that I should try tweaking them before fitting another belt.'

I thought this was very bad business, but it was easier rather wasting my time trying to chase them to fix it or replace it.
Again, I wouldn't go for anything less than 200ltr if you are going spraying, even if it meant holding off and saving up a bit it would be worth it in the long run.

[armo]

try get a used or reconditioned one if it was just for spraying 200 liter would work with a decent hvlp gun ....im not sure about the air tools

[daniel garry]

i have a 100l clarke compressor(similar to http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-398422/clar ... essor.html), it does struggle a bit with some air tools but it wasnt bad for spraying, thinking of getting a 200l receiver from arcosales and plumbing them together

[RichyB]

Thanks for all the replies, I reckon I'll save up and invest in a 200L. It'll be worth it in the end.

I also need a MIG welder first..

Thanks again!

Rich

[pn951]

The advice for buying a compressor is simple. Buy the biggest you can afford. The bigger the tank the bigger the reserve of air, but thats not the full picture. What you need to watch is the advertised output. Some manufacturers/suppliers quote the theoretical capacity of the compressor which is a bit misleading but what you need to know is the FAD figure (free air delivery) which is what it actually puts out. If the air consumption of whatever tool you are using exceeds the FAD of the compressor, the compressor won't be able to keep up with it.

I have a 3hp SIP with a 200 litre tank which is fine for most jobs, but even that won't keep up with a sander or grinder that runs constantly. For such tools, buy an electric version. Its fine for paint spraying though, but will struggle to keep up with some HVLP sprayguns.

Compressed air is a very useful addition to any workshop it must be said!