Air Compressor Opinions

Another thought just crossed my mind--can you buy a more efficient sander?
Good idea, but the Grex is the only 2" ROS I've seen...and I really like the 2" size.

41g3beh5wGL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
 
hey vaughn, have you looked in the yellow pages under air compressors?
i know the local shop takes trade-in`s that they rehab and sell for a fraction of new. if my memory serves the marble guy bought a pair of old saylor-beal 80 gal`s for around a grand....
might be worth a phone call?
 
Vaughn, I don't know much about compressors but this one is in your neck of the woods. Might want to check it out.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/tls/643608995.html
I've been watching Craigslist, but hadn't looked since that one was posted. It sure looks like a nice deal (I have to question the "300 psi" that's advertised, though). Unfortunately, I don't see how I'm could fit an 80 gallon tank. A 60 is going to be pushing the limits as it is.

Tod, I did a bit of calling to (sort of) local shops, and didn't really find anything real interesting. 60 gallon vertical tanks are hard to find used. The Curtis-Toledo dealer had a workable price on a two-stage 5hp new one, but I'm looking for something lower in the decibel range than the mid-80s. (The more I've pondered this, the more important the noise issue has become.) I'm also leaning towards new, for the warranty, and so I know how it's been serviced. In the meantime, I've also been doing a lot of reading on the auto repair and hot rodding sites, getting info from another bunch of guys who use a lot of air.

While I've got you here...

I'm planning on running black pipe for air lines. Don't need a lot...I figure four 10' lengths of pipe will do all I need, including a drying rack. I'm looking at real 5hp units that are in the 15 to 20 CFM range, most likely a single stage - so not more than 150psi, and most of them have 3/4" outlets. Should I run as much 3/4" pipe as possible, or reduce it to 1/2 fairly early in the chain? The price difference is minimal. I'm guessing going with copper line is not worth the roughly 30% to 40% (about $75) increase in price. Is that a correct assumption?

I also intend to have a main regulator/filter after the drying rack, but before the overhead pipe run to the air drop by the lathe. At the lathe, I'm planning on two male quick-connect ends. I want one of them to be regulated down to about 85psi for the sander, and the other one to be open pretty much full bore for blowing chips and dust. I'm figuring on putting small inline regulators on each of the two, right before the quick-connect. Do you see any problems with a setup using that approach?
 
mornin` vaughn,
i`d stick with 3/4" pipe for as much as possible, where you need a regulator is at the tank, put a ball valve there too! i like to use a short section of flexable hose to isolate the compressors from the pipe....black pipe being ridgid and compressors shaking..
be sure to use "female" disconects in your piping not "male" nipples;)
what pump are you looking at?
 
FWIW, Vaughn.

When I was teaching we had a compressor repair guy come in and talk about air compressors and air tools. He had some definite opinions about them and was happy to share. Said for a box of donuts at the repair shop around break time, you could find all you needed to know about air compressors.

Maybe a little more research... :thumb:
 
hey Vaughn.

I would second what tod says about the plumbing. Mine is actually 1/2" BSP and I have never had any limitation but if I was starting from scratch I would go up a size. I have a length of flex hose between the regulator on the compressor and the start of the pipework. I have a condensation loop built into mine but also incorporated a filter/regulator at the start of the system to further help get the water out of the system. The one in the pic is the largest unit I could easily lay my hands on. It wasn't cheap ($100ish) so you may want to see how you get on without.

Make sure that your outlet connectors face upwards and that you have a drain at the lowest point in the pipe. (I know you knew that but ....)
 

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Vaughn

I have been pretty satisfied with my HF filter/regulator. Well I should say the filter part of it as the regulator isn't too great. It goes on sale for about 20.00..

Garry
 
mornin` vaughn,
i`d stick with 3/4" pipe for as much as possible, where you need a regulator is at the tank, put a ball valve there too! i like to use a short section of flexable hose to isolate the compressors from the pipe....black pipe being ridgid and compressors shaking..
be sure to use "female" disconects in your piping not "male" nipples;)
what pump are you looking at?
Thanks, Tod. I'll plan on reducing from the 3/4" at the quick-connects. I'm going to have flex hose from the tank to the black pipe in the wall, and another piece from the ceiling to the air station by the lathe. (The valves and such for that will be mounted on the side of a cabinet that's in the middle of the room, so I'll be dropping from the ceiling to the cabinet with another flexible connection. (The cabinet's on wheels. It doesn't get moved much, but I don't want to use a rigid connection between the ceiling and the cabinet.)

Here's a sketch of what I have in mind:

Air Line Layout.jpg

The little blips on the line are ball valves. And based on what you're recommending, it sounds like I should move the big regulator from where it is now (after the drying rack) to right after the ball valve on the tank. (I had thought it made sense to run it through the rack to remove some of the moisture before running it through the regulator/filter.)

For now, I'm planning on one outlet by the door (for sweeping off the back porch) and two outlets on the cabinet. (Actually, on a piece of ply or OSB mounted to the side of the cabinet.)

To answer your question about what I'm looking at...

I looked at everything from Harbor Freight to Ingersoll-Rand to Quincy. I compared specs, warranties, opinions, and anything else I could dig up. After a lot of studying, I ended up pulling the trigger today on a 5hp single-stage twin cylinder from Eaton. It’s basically this one on a 60 gallon vertical tank. In purple, of course.:p My two biggest criteria were 15+ honest CFM at 90psi and quiet operation. I could get that kind of airflow out of a lot of different compressors, but no others I found run in the low 70s on the decibel scale. This one is real well spoken of on the auto repair forums. It’ll put out more than enough air without breaking a sweat, and it’s a good 10db quieter than the other comparable compressors, single or dual stage. Should be more than ample for running my little Grex ROS. And anything else I can come up with in the future. :D It’s made from imported parts, but from everything I’ve read, they’re good, seriously overbuilt machines, and the 5-year warranty covers everything from the pump to the motor to the ball valves to the electrical switches. (Every other machine in my shop is of the Tai-Chi variety, so this one should feel right at home.) ;) I figure you and Larry will have my hide for not getting a Quincy, but the noise was a big issue, and I've not read any bad opinions of the Eaton stuff. There’s one guy in particular on the forums over at hotrodders.com who spent over 30 years as a compressor mechanic, working on everything from little homeowner machines to the big industrial stuff. His favorite is also Quincy, but he speaks VERY highly of the Eaton compressors. I doubt my relatively light use will work this one very hard at all, and it should last longer than me. I guess time will tell. Between now and when it gets here, I need to run some power and air lines. And make room to put the dang thing. My garage is getting hard to move around in. :rolleyes:

Thanks much for the help, and I'll surely have more questions as I go along.
 
Congrats Vaughn...now you can really move some air and dust. Blowing off dust/curlies is about all my $100 compressor does...good to know there is a thread I can look at when it's time to upgrade!
 
cool! now you`ll have air.....die grinders, air drills, sanders......
about the regulator....it goes at the tank, the filter is a totally separate item and can be placed where you want.
 
Tod, here's where I was getting the idea for the reg/filter arrangement, although I plan to use something better than the HF knock-off in the pic:

cooling rack 800.jpg

Dunno if it's right, but it seemed sensible. On the other hand, it makes sense to have a filter near the end of the line, to catch anything that might develop (rust, etc.) between the compressor and the tool. As I mentioned earlier, I also want at least one other regulator in the system so I can run a 90psi sander and have a 120+psi blow nozzle next to it.

I'm also considering making the rack itself out of copper. It wouldn't cost a lot more, it'd cool/condense better, and it'd give me an excuse to learn how to solder copper pipe joints. :eek:
 
This "drying rack" idea is new to me. I thought you only had to add a foot of pipe at the bottom of a vertical run to collect moisture, put a valve at the bottom, and you're good.

Is the 'rack' really necessary? Is it more important if you'll be spraying finishes, or is it a good idea even if you're just powering some brad nailers?
 
Rennie, I'm pretty certain that it's overkill for my needs, since I don't have room for serious finish spraying, but figured if it's not too much money, there can't be much harm in adding it. (I may consider fewer loops, though.) The sander uses quite a bit of air, and anything I can do to reduce the amount of crud running through it seems like a good idea. Also, I figure I can take it with me when the time comes to move from this house to something with a bigger shop.
 
Tod, here's where I was getting the idea for the reg/filter arrangement, although I plan to use something better than the HF knock-off in the pic:

View attachment 19626

Dunno if it's right, but it seemed sensible. On the other hand, it makes sense to have a filter near the end of the line, to catch anything that might develop (rust, etc.) between the compressor and the tool. As I mentioned earlier, I also want at least one other regulator in the system so I can run a 90psi sander and have a 120+psi blow nozzle next to it.

I'm also considering making the rack itself out of copper. It wouldn't cost a lot more, it'd cool/condense better, and it'd give me an excuse to learn how to solder copper pipe joints. :eek:

vaughn,
copper does not condense better than black pipe.....the smooth walls doen`t offer the same surface area, the thinner walls don`t offer the thermal mass and copper is a much better heat conductor than black pipe..(think all-clad pots-n-pans)...
i put the regulator at the tank so as to keep line pressure at 120 psi, each drop has a filter or a filter/mister....my paint line has a toilet paper filter as well as a particle filter.
if you just want to learn to solder copper do some waterline plumbing;)
 
This "drying rack" idea is new to me. I thought you only had to add a foot of pipe at the bottom of a vertical run to collect moisture, put a valve at the bottom, and you're good.

Is the 'rack' really necessary? Is it more important if you'll be spraying finishes, or is it a good idea even if you're just powering some brad nailers?

rennie, moisture kills air tools...and finishes...i built my first set of loops over 20 yrs ago `cause i couldn`t afford a refrigerated drier......they work pretty well for folks who have low/medium air use....if you notice moisture in your lines then it would be a good idea to remove it either with a rack of loops or a coalescing or toilet paper style filter or any combination of them.
 
vaughn,
copper does not condense better than black pipe.....the smooth walls doen`t offer the same surface area, the thinner walls don`t offer the thermal mass and copper is a much better heat conductor than black pipe..(think all-clad pots-n-pans)...
i put the regulator at the tank so as to keep line pressure at 120 psi, each drop has a filter or a filter/mister....my paint line has a toilet paper filter as well as a particle filter.
if you just want to learn to solder copper do some waterline plumbing;)
Yeah, the more I've been looking at it, I think I'll stick with black pipe. Here's the latest doodling...

Air Line Layout2.jpg

I've put the main regulator at the beginning of the chain, then I'm thinking of smaller ones at each outlet. I figure I'll drop down to 1/2 pipe at the cabinet, and maybe even 3/8 for the leg with the two outlets.

Any suggestions for the flex hose between the compressor and the wall, and the ceiling to the cabinet? Is that something a NAPA shop could fabricate for me? Or am I better off with barb fittings and hose clamps?
 
Any suggestions for the flex hose between the compressor and the wall, and the ceiling to the cabinet? Is that something a NAPA shop could fabricate for me? Or am I better off with barb fittings and hose clamps?

either......shop on price.
your pressure will be low (120psi ish) so barbed fittings with clamps will hold it`s what ever you like the looks/price of.
 
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