Air Compressor Advice Wanted, oil lube or oil free? Options

[dkos]

Been thinking about getting an air compressor. Mostly want it for cutting tools, body saw, impact wrench, finishing tools..might want to use it for painting. Sears has an oil lube 25 gal for under $400. It runs a lot quieter than the 30 gal oil free unit they sell and has similar SCFM #s. I'd much rather have the quieter compressor in my little garage...is there any reason to avoid the oil lube models? Any problem painting with a 25-30 gal compressor?

[bondo]

Only avoid the oil lubed ones if you don't want it to last a long time (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

(my compressor is an older model of the one pictured. I love it.)

[mihai914]

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/agree.gif) Don't buy a direct drive, it's louder, crappier... If only I would of asked someone who new!

Mihai

[jasons]

25-30 is probably a little small to paint. You will also want to run a DA sander and that compressor is probably a little small for that too. I have a 50 or 60 gallon husky sold at Home Depot. It is cast iron, oil, upright,belt driven, runs on 220v. Costs $398 I think. Check it out first.

BTW, I painted a car with this and it pretty much ran the whole time I sprayed or ran the sander. So that gives you some idea of how much air you need to paint.

[seanery]

I agree with the others regarding the oil lube, that's what you want.

[bondo]

My 5 hp craftsman 25 gallon is barely big enough to paint with (using a conventional sprayer, haven't tried with a HVLP). It runs the whole time, but the pressure never drops anywhere near the pressure I was regulating to. I don't have a DA sander, so I don't know about that.

[DonTraver]

Get a 5hp compressor as a minimum, it will keep up with just about any tool you use. I like 220 volt over 120 volt motors. Biggest advantage of 220 volt, you won't have everyone trying to borrow it. Not when they hear that they're going to have to run a 220 volt circuit for it. I have some family members who like to borrow tools, never return them, or break them, don't return them, don't take care of them, etc.

I have a rule, if I lend you tools, and I have to go get them cause you didn't return them when you said you would, you don't get to borrow tools again. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/ar15.gif) Good tools are a investment and are not cheap.

Get a oil filled compressor, they last much longer than the oilless compressors. Buy spare maintenance items when you buy the compressor, compressor oil (yes, it's a special oil), air filters, etc.

Never/ever use one of those regulator/lubricator systems on your compressor, you will comtaminate all your air hoses, which means you cannot use it for painting. Get a simple regulator, oil your air tools separately.

Buy a pair of oil/moisture separators (buy spare filters), mount one by the compressor, mount the other one 25 to 50 feet downstream of the first separator. As the air cools, moisture will drop out of the air. You want very dry air to shoot paint with, moisture laden air will give you fish eyes and other nasty stuff when you paint.

I use 2 oil/moisture separators and 1 chiller that I stick in a coffee can filled with ice cubes to cool the air before the 2nd separator.

One thing to remember, you are putting together a system. To make it all work right, you need all the components.

Good luck, a good air system is one of the best tools you can buy for your shop.

[jasons]

QUOTE (DonTraver @ May 31 2005, 07:37 AM)

Never/ever use one of those regulator/lubricator systems on your compressor, you will comtaminate all your air hoses, which means you cannot use it for painting. Get a simple regulator, oil your air tools separately.

Or if you do, make sure you have seperate circuits for dry air and oil.

Also this is good advice about the "cooling loop" Compressor setup is a topic worthy of its own thread.

[kart54]

There is a great article on the Jensen Healey Preservation Society page about this by Mark Rosenbaum. Mark is a retired engineer with way to much time on his hands. he measured airflow of almost all the tools we use, calculated the rate needed, compared prices and came up with a list of items including compressors and tools.
I am not comupter literate enough to link you to the site. It is www.JHPS.com and then search in the threads under Mark's name or under air compressor. He chose a 33 gallon Sears as the proper compressor if I recall correctly. His is a small home shop restoring Jensen Healey's so shouldn't be to different from yours.
Randy
Porsche 914 #58 SCCA G prod
1974 Jensen healey

[dkos]

Thanks for all the good advice and suggestions...keep 'em coming.

That 60 gal from Home Depot sounds great, but I don't have 220 in my garage.

I'll have to check out that Jensen Healey website.

[brant]

yes..
the pictured compressor above is a little small for painting.
and if you paint with your compressor running all the time, then you have the problem of too much condensation (from the heated air being compressed) and moisture in your paint.

you can use in line dryers etc, but that is barely adequate.
I've seen some guys with small compressors rig up cooler systems just to paint.

they run the pressured air through copper tubing submerged in cold/ice water (in an open cooler)..
too much hassle if you ask me.
buy a bigger compressor to start with and you won't have to go through all the trouble later.

Also, the DA takes more air than an HLVP
I can barely run a DA on our big tank with 6hp
so you may want to talk to an electrician about getting 220 and a bigger one to start with
brant

[ArtechnikA]

i, too, had an older version of the one you pictured. it had a 120/220 motor that i jumpered for 220V and it started and ran better that way but it was nice to have the 110V option. i do regret that i had to leave it behind in NV - the Costco Coleman has a big tank, which is good, because it shakes the whole friggin' house when it cycles. i may try to find some vibration-isolating mounts or put it on an inner tube or something...

anyway - i couldn't find an oil-cylinder in my price range when i needed one.
following "a while" with the factory oil i dumped it and replaced it with 5W-30 Mobil-1 and never had a moment of trouble. changed the oil once a year or so. had it in service more than 20 years...

i painted a couple of houses with mine (in and out) and while the delivery was a little marginal it always caught back up if i needed to move a ladder. i mounted a 5" computer muffin fan where it would blow on the cyulinder and head and that really helped keep the temps under better control.

[fadler1]

I painted my car about two years ago with a similar compressor. One thing..............if your garage is on a ground fault interupter, check the amps on the garage circuit. I got everything ready to go and the compressor slowed down......panic..........after I made up the paint. Had to run a line to somewhere else in the house with 30 amps.

Still got it done, but lost some stomach lining.

Frederick (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/blink.gif)

[Lou W]

I have a Speedaire, 2 hp, 2 cylinder with a 20 gallon tank, running on 220V. Very pleased with it, bought it in 1984, still runs great. I have no problem painting with it and running my Air File, however, while using my die grinder and 4'' disc sander, it does fall behind. I would recomend a larger tank than what I currently have, I would also agree that the oil filled compressor is your better choice. I am planning to upgrade mine next year. I ran a 1/2" pvc line up the wall, above the ceiling accross the garage, and down the other wall and into a water and oil trap, about 50 feet away from the compressor and out my regulator, I have two water drains, one right after the compressor and the second at the bottom of the pvc located near my traps. This allows the air to cool down some before it hits the traps, I then use typically 2- 25 foot hoses with my spray guns or tools. When I wired my garage for my compressor, I added an inline switch to turn my compressor on and off without having to unplug it.