Lets Talk Air Compressors

[Ben]

What do you guys have for air compressors? For 20 years I've been using a little 2 gallon hot dog style compressor that I got from Costco. It has been fine for its 90% use of tire inflating. I need a new, larger one now.

My expectation is that I don't need anything extra heavy duty. I need something a bit larger than what I had for tractor tires, and I'm thinking it might be time to invest in a minimalist impact tool set. I don't anticipate any painting, but you never know. No long duration jobs so I'm thinking I don't want a ginormous tank.

I've been considering one of the dual tank hot dogs in the 5 gallon range, or else one of the 15-20 gallon wheeled units. I've read some good reviews on the Ridgids (Home Despot) and the Kobalts (Lowes). I'd like to stay under $300 and something that will run on a 110/30amp breaker (or maybe even 20 in case I need to hook it to my generator in the field). Thoughts?

[Boomhauer]

I had a Porter Cable upright 20 or 30 gallon unit. Great for homeowner use

[bedlamite]

I have a 60gal twin cylinder I picked up used.

Here's the best bang for the buck:

[Ben]

I saw that coupon yesterday and was considering going the Harbor Freight route, but was unsure about quality in the long term. I'm open to it though if people have good things to say.

[K Frame]

I have a small Porter Cable. Got it on a Black Friday deal at Lowes years ago. Inflates tires, runs my pneumatic finishing nailer. Pretty much all I need really.

[bedlamite]

I saw that coupon yesterday and was considering going the Harbor Freight route, but was unsure about quality in the long term. I'm open to it though if people have good things to say.

Pretty much all reasonably priced air compressors are made in the same place in China, including my 60 gal Sanborn, I've looked and the pump is the same as the harbor freight model with a different air cleaner: https://www.harborfreight.com/3-hp-145-psi-cast-iron-twin-cylinder-air-compressor-pump-60383.html

Regardless of brand, avoid the oilless models, they have a limited lifespan.

[Brad Johnson]

Air compressors are one of those things I'd spend a bit more on, especially if it's something you know you'll use often. Cheap ones have to be replaced every few years. A good one will probably last a lifetime if properly serviced.

Big Box brands have upped their game a bit in recent years but still aren't the US-made units of decades past. If you get a decent one they will probably be okay presuming you keep them serviced. Change the oil often for the first hour or two of operation, keeping a sharp eye out for metal shavings. If you get past the first few hours with no issues then you're probably golden.

A Quincy will set you back a bit more than the Big Box brands but they have a well-earned rep for rugged reliability. If memory serves, their 20 gallon "grandpa had one just like it" wheeled unit runs somewhere around six bills. I think all of their reciprocating compressors are still made in the US.

Regardless of brand, at the very least go with an old-fashioned oiled unit. As bedlamite mentioned, oilless is bad (yes, there are some decent ones but you will pay dearly). Pay attention to oil drains and make sure they are decently accessible on the assembled compressor. Having to dismount the compressor head to drain crankcase oil sucks.

Brad

[MechAg94]

I have had a small electric Husky air compressor I got at Home Depot 12 or 15 years ago.  It works well for airing up tires and small air tanks.  It struggles to keep up with something like an air tool removing truck tires.  For what I need, it has done very well.  If I did any significant pneumatic work, I would definitely need something better.

[cordex]

My dad bought a big compressor for Harbor Freight years ago.  It had real trouble getting up to any serious pressure and he ended up getting rid of it.  Soured me on HF compressors but maybe they're better now than they used to be.

I've got a Campbell Hausfeld display unit I bought about eleven years ago that's still working well.

[HankB]

I have a small Porter Cable 150 psi "pancake" compressor. Mostly used for filling tires, I recently found that it also works just fine to supply a Paasche airbrush.  

[Hawkmoon]

The one I've had for many years is a Craftsman 2-cylinder, I think about a 5-gallon tank, and I think 3-1/2 horsepower. I bought it to run an automotive paint gun, and it's fine for that. Overkill, even. Then came the day I bought an air-powered die grinder. The compressor really could not keep up -- I'd have maybe a 20 percent duty cycle. Run the grinder for a few seconds, until it slowed down so much it wasn't doing any work -- and then wait while the compressor built up the pressure in the tank again. Rinse and repeat.

Get bigger than you think you'll ever need, because whatever you get, eventually you'll wish you had gotten the next bigger one.

[Hawkmoon]

Regardless of brand, avoid the oilless models, they have a limited lifespan.

TRUTH!

[K Frame]

You need this one...

https://www.compressorworld.com/r-series-25-hp-duplex-air-compressor-two-stage-250-gallon-208-230-460-v-3-phase-hra25d-25.html?matchtype=&network=g&device=c&adposition=1o1&keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwwtTmBRBqEiwA-b6c_xhemKxSdE7eQPwfe6A6vzfdfNQIvpBTV1KYU6tBd1BPL_Avm216gBoCpcgQAvD_BwE

[Ben]

You need this one...

https://www.compressorworld.com/r-series-25-hp-duplex-air-compressor-two-stage-250-gallon-208-230-460-v-3-phase-hra25d-25.html?matchtype=&network=g&device=c&adposition=1o1&keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwwtTmBRBqEiwA-b6c_xhemKxSdE7eQPwfe6A6vzfdfNQIvpBTV1KYU6tBd1BPL_Avm216gBoCpcgQAvD_BwE

Well, I've got the space for it. 

Interesting on the oiless hate. I never thought about it one way or the other, but my little Costco unit is oiless, and like I said, has been chugging along for 20 years. Not that I'm opposed to going oil - I suspect I'll be using the new one a bit more and for longer periods.

[Brad Johnson]

Cheap oilless is fine for occasional short-duration use. Don't expect them to last long if used much more than that. If they overheat even the teensiest bit, they're toast. There are industrial oilless units which will stand up to constant use, but they are just as much as their oil-lubricated brethren (sometimes more). Besides, they're loud and just plain annoying. There's something about the thumpa-thumpa-thumpa of an old-school shop compressor which soothes the soul and calms the senses.

Brad

[K Frame]

Uh, you're not wanting to do this with your new compressor, are you?

http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=57858.0

[dogmush]

This one:

https://m.harborfreight.com/29-gal-2-hp-150-psi-cast-iron-vertical-air-compressor-61489.html

I'll post more when I'm not on my phone.  But buy that one.

[charby]

I have a Coleman 5hp 20 gallon. It runs my air finish nailer fine and fills truck tires just fine. What it doesn't do well is run my air ratchet, air hammer or impact wrench. I think I'm going to upgrade to the 60 gallon one from Harbor Freight.

[zxcvbob]

My old Quincy compressor threw a rod a few years ago, and I bought a 5HP (240V) Coleman (I think it's a Coleman) compressor to replace it, and it's a really poor replacement.  Even tho' it's 5HP and the Quincy was only 3HP the new one sucks in comparison.  There was a class action lawsuit about air compressor ratings and I was a party to it, but the company basically pleaded guilty and paid no damages at all to the customers (not even a stupid coupon), the entire award went to the lawyers.   

I also have one of those 120V 6 gallon Porter Cable pancake compressors and it works great.  You can find them on sale quite often for $100.  I think it works better than the 5HP Coleman compressor.

I wish I had kept the old Quincy 30 gallon air tank and put a new Harbor Freight air pump on it.   The big one, then just turned it nice and slow with my 3 HP motor and a tiny motor pulley.

[zahc]

IR garagemate. Real, cast iron pump. Real, TEFC motor. A real compressor.

[dogmush]

OK, I'm on a real computer now.

At $300 you aren't going to get a good, professional use compressor.  Honestly, even the IR that zahc mentioned is an $650 import, albeit a nice one.  So for your use, and budget, you are looking at occasional use, homeowner grade stuff, but you still don't want a crappy one.

Pretty much all of the Husky, Kobalt, Dewalt, small IR, Harbor Freight black (Stay away from HF red compressors), and the like are very very similar in parts and build quality, and are all coming in from China.

You will notice that most, if not all, of the sub $300, oiled compressors are going to be direct drive.   That is, the motor is directly coupled to the crank of the pump.  This is cheaper, and more compact, but it is also a lot louder, and tends to signify a smaller motor.  Take HP ratings in this category with a large grain of salt.  They smaller, direct drive motors also provide much less air volume at the 90psi that most tools want to work at.  Those small pumps are going to run a medium sized and a small cylinder to hit the pressure, through a reed valve that is basically just a feeler gauge laid between the block and the head.  They don't last real long, and they are loud as hell, and if you have a really stubborn bolt that you are going at with a 1/2" impact, they can't supply enough air.  Just not great.

That HF compressor I posted above is the cheapest one I've found that has a real, cast iron pump, connected by belts to a good, brand name motor.  (mine is a Marathon motor).  The 29Gal tank is big enough to have a good reserve of power, and the two cylinder pump will actually give you the 6 CFM @90PSI it claims.  It's also pretty much the biggest Air Compressor you can plug into 120VAC.  (it will need a 20Amp circuit)

You can buy better compressors, but you will need to double the $350 HF wants for that one to do it.  You also won't outgrow that one until you start trying to sand, paint, or abrasive blast. 

And it's quiet.  I have one of the 21Gal direct drives sitting next to mine (I run them in parallel for big jobs) and it's A LOT quieter.

[Ben]

Okay, thanks. I think you guys talked me into Harbor Freight.

I'm going to give serious consideration to Dogmush's post, even if it's a bit bigger/more expensive than I was originally looking for. HF has a 25% off super coupon for Sunday that would bring the price down. It would definitely be a "shop only" unit though, as the weight would make it difficult to move around the property, plus it would need my bigger genny to run.

The 21gal would be a bit easier to move around and run off my smaller generator, but if the quality of parts is significantly less than the 29gal, it might be one of those "cry once" deals.

[dogmush]

The 21gal would be a bit easier to move around and run off my smaller generator, but if the quality of parts is significantly less than the 29gal, it might be one of those "cry once" deals.

I have the 21Gal sitting next to the 29 Gal in my garage.  In the 6 or so years the twin compressor set-up has been my shop air I've replaced 3 valves on the 21 gal, and nothing but oil on the 29 gal. I have probably double the hours on the 29, because if I only need a little air, I use that one. YMMV  A 2000 watt Honda will run the 29 Gal compressor (barely).  What's your smaller gen?  the 21 Gal is still like 1700 watts, and has a harder start.

[Ben]

I have probably double the hours on the 29, because if I only need a little air, I use that one. YMMV 

Okay, you have me confused from the "intuitive" POV. I would have expected for just short bursts of air (topping off a car tire or whatever) you would want to use the smaller one. I'm sure it was in the manual or something, but on my little 2gal one, I always drain the air out before putting it away (condensation?). Are you leaving the big one pressurized?

My small genny is a 3500, so it sounds like it would run it okay. It's still mostly a matter of transportability of the 180lb compressor if  I were to need it in a pasture or something. Given the thing seems to be bulletproof though, I'm leaning towards giving myself a hernia loading it into my truck at the HF tomorrow. :)

[zxcvbob]

Okay, you have me confused from the "intuitive" POV. I would have expected for just short bursts of air (topping off a car tire or whatever) you would want to use the smaller one. I'm sure it was in the manual or something, but on my little 2gal one, I always drain the air out before putting it away (condensation?). Are you leaving the big one pressurized?

My small genny is a 3500, so it sounds like it would run it okay. It's still mostly a matter of transportability of the 180lb compressor if  I were to need it in a pasture or something. Given the thing seems to be bulletproof though, I'm leaning towards giving myself a hernia loading it into my truck at the HF tomorrow. :)

You don't realize it yet, but you want 2 air compressors.    A 30ish gallon belt-driven compressor, and a Porter Cable 6 gallon portable compressor.  That PC compressor is amazingly handy.  Don't get the Harbor Freight compressor that looks like it; it's not even close and costs almost as much.