What type of air compressor is suitable for home shop?

HMF

HMF

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Hi Folks,


An air compressor is often quite desireable if not necessary to have in the home shop, for blowing down machines and cleanups, as well as for powering air-operated power tools.

This is a realization that recently hit home with me, and now the operative question is, on a cost-benefit type analysis, for a home shop person, which make and model air compressor would serve the needs of a small hobby-machine shop? Harbor freight and Sears both have sales all the time on their packages, and from what I have seen, cost is not necessarily a determinative factor, since sometimes, the less expensive outfit can be a better option than the more expensive.

What do you folks recommend?

Thanks!

Best,


Nelson
 
Nelson,

I would definitely stay away from the oil-less compressors for the reason stated earlier and they are not particularly robust. I prefer 5+hp 60 gallon model. This should provide sufficient air for most of your needs. Any compressor is noisy or at least you are going to get tired of hearing it run. I prefer the vertical tank models. You can put them outside and build a bit of a shed/enclosure around them and run your air lines through the walls and then run your piping. Not only do you get rid of the noise, but it doesn't cost you any shop space ;)

Randy
 
I have a IR 10HP 120 gal unit. It is 3 phase but I run it with a VFD on single phase and the beast NEVER runs out of air. It actually isn't that loud. With the VFD it ramps up and down nicely and no voltage spikes. I use it quite a bit for air tool and painting, at least lately.
 
If you don't mind something used, watch Craigslist. I picked up an old Ingersoll Rand 2 stage for $25. A kid was moving out of town, it was his grandfathers. The motor was wired for 220 but had a 110 plug on it. Worked much better on 220.
 
Thanks for all the replies, guys.

One thing comes through the responses, and that is that the noise will annoy everyone in the small house. I don't plan to run the compressor all the time, just while I am using an air activated tool or cleaning up. Thanks to the noise, I am almost better off buying one of those small Rubbermaid sheds, leaning it against the house, running a dedicated line outside the window and running my lines inside the basement from outside. The cheaper Sears models or HF models that I always look at are apparently particularly noisy, and those are within my price range. The wife would never go for the noise, and the kids have to study, so I need to make some arrangements for an outdoor installation.


Best,

Nelson
 
In answer to the OP, it all depends on your needs. Some just need a little air for a blowgun to blow the chips off now and then. Others are sandblasting trailers. For the first group, a $59 HF or Campbell-Hausfeld hand-carry compressor will be just fine. For the second group, a true 5hp two-stage 80 gallon industrial grade compressor is barely enough. (I've got both, and a couple in between).

If I had to broadly generalize, I'd say that most would do well with an old-school 2hp 20 gallon portable horizontal unit - oil-lubricated, belt-driven, about 5.8cfm@90psi. Sears and Grainger and just about everybody else have sold millions of that type for decades, and for good reason. Reasonable price, reasonable performance, reasonable noise level, reasonable space and electrical requirements. It will run an impact wrench well enough to rotate your tires. It will not run an air sander for long.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
 
My compresser is in a quit room in my shop.Take 2x6s and make a square then put 2x4s on 12" centers but stagger them one side then the other,then run insulation in and out through the 2x4s. Coat the outside with 5/8s drywall. if need quit upstairs do top same.
Mine's in the corner so only 2 walls one moves( on hinges but slides on floor.I have two of these one for my wood shop 2hp dust collector
and one for 5hp 30 gal vert.compressor.Both running ,still can talk and hear normally even use the phone no problem .
Hope this helps.
 
Oil-less compressors also tend to self destruct eventually. I have the salvaged tank and motor from one, waiting to be mated to a oil type one of these days when more pressing projects are done...
 
Just echoing (no pun intended) the info above- you want a belt driven type. Those oil-less buzz boxes are intolerable if you have to be in the same room. Most home shop air requirements are modest, but if you want to shoot paint with a pro type gun, or run auto body air tools like a DA sander, you need more than the typical small compressor. Look at the CFM and pressure requirements of your intended tools and buy a bit more air compressor than that. Also, be sure to put a filter and water trap on the outlet. With heavy use on a humid day you'll be amazed at how much water can be collected.

On a side note, there's a gas station near here with a small two cylinder air compressor on a 15' or so tower. Attached to the shaft is a windmill type fan. Hey, free air!

Best,
Conrad
 
I made my own. I took an old compressor from a freezer i got for scrap. Removed the freon lines and converted line one to the tank pressure and the other one (inlet) has a lawnmower type air filter on it. Then i got a 6 gallon tank from the boneyard from under an old semi truck. It has been working well for the last 25 years and only cost me 17 bucks for a pressure switch and a pop valve i already had...Bob
 
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