Best Air Compressor for Garage Use?!?!?

if you have the space and a little patience sometimes you can find a grocery store remodeling or going tits up lots of them use 60 gal compressors in back of store for their refrigiration and other things that can be had for a song,just make sure to get a single phase version.

PLUMMEN wrote:

if you have the space and a little patience sometimes you can find a grocery store remodeling or going tits up lots of them use 60 gal compressors in back of store for their refrigiration and other things that can be had for a song,just make sure to get a single phase version.

+1
I'm not saying that you can't get it done with an oil-less, but consider the single stage 60 gal. compressor. I watched craigslist for about a month until I found my current compressor. Husky 60 gal single stage that needed a little work. I picked it up for $200. All I needed to do was properly connect the copper supply line from the compressor to the tank, connect the airline from the tank to the unloader valve doohicky, and wire it. Yeah its heavy and you need to have a 220 VAC plug, but it takes up no more floor space than a 30 gal. unit. I just ran my full size right angle die grinder WFO for one hour straight and my tank pressure never got below 100 psi. When I finally let off of the trigger, the compressor shut off in about one minute. I'm confident that I can paint, use a small sandblaster, and power all of my needed tools with this compressor. I figure an air compressor is about like a boat you'll rarely wish for a smaller one.

I wouldn't go with oilless. I have both. You do need an oil and water trap if painting with oiled compressor, but you still need at least a dessicant with oilless, so no big difference, imo.

Oilless compressors have al. piston, Nylon ring and al. cylinder. They do overheat, especially if you're doing heavy stuff like painting. And you don't have to get crazy with your usage, just get it a little hot once, and it starts taking longer to pump up, and soon your cylinder is scarred beyond recognition. They are easy to put cylinders and pistons in, at about 30 to 50 bucks a pop.

As far as oil type pumps go, the hf used to have cast iron cylinders, though now I think they're al. with cast sleeves. My experience is the hf is as good as campbell hausfeld for less money.

Puma makes a good cast iron pump and can usually be found in Tractor supply stores or Atwood's, Gebo's or the like.

My personal favorite has been My Grizzly. check it out at Grizzly.com

Mine is the 3 hp. 11 gal, but makes 11.3 scfm at 90 iirc.

Good luck!

P.S. I'd trade any of the above for a commercial I/R or such from a fire sale, like PLUMMEN suggested.

Yeah if you plan on using this thing for tolls like DA's and die grinders it is best you get a 30+ gal. watch the cfm at 90psi that is the key. the more the better. harbor freight has some that are cheaper but they cant hang with constant use tools. I have a cheap little 13 gal I dont know what the cfm is on it but I cant run my die grinder for a minute without it dying.

I bought a 35 gallon 4 hp 150psi compressor at the pawn shop for $120.00. Looked like brand new when I bought it and I use it for everything I even spray texture on my drywall sidejobs. Its your decision, think what you will be using it for and buy one. After all the longer you wait the longer your project will sit. Unless you use it everyday a cheaper one will do. You will also have to buy the air tools that you will be using and that can add up so make sure you budget for that. It would suck to spend everything on a bad ass compressor and have no money for the tools to make it work. my .02 cents

Some of you will laugh at this one and I myself had some reservations when I bought it. I've had it for over 5 yrs and I love it. Less than $100 at Walmart. 6 gal, 2hp, up to 120 psi. It does everything I need it to do. A little bit of painting, a little bit of power tools, etc. Light and small enough to throw in the trunk of the car if I need air someplace else. I figure it is a throw-away when it quits.

I second JJDwoodman - I bought a craftsman 5 hp 30 gal oiless compressor when I was 17 to fix up my first car. It worked perfect until I asked it to WORK while sand blasting some parts and to begin priming parts. Then it quit starting on its own. I had to resort to using a string rapped around the cooling fan to "pull start" the compressor. After 3 months, the pull start method was the only way to get it going I wasn't smart enough to think to take it back, so I lived with it until I could afford a better compressor. I now have an Ingersol Rand SSL3 which has served me faithfully without any issues for over 6 years now. I'm not suggesting you spend the money on an IR compressor, but if you want your compressor purchase to last, I would suggest you consider a belt driven oiled lubed unit. They're tough, and like Plummen said, if you can find a deal on a used one, I bet it'll last longer than a new oiless compressor would

badrhino wrote:

Ok, thanks guys. I had just heard that some compressors won't have enough cfm to spray paint with. I have a feeling a $249 craftsman would be fine but I've heard some good and bad reviews about them. I would also think a harbor freight unit might do the trick and foe even less.

If you are just doing small things like bikes this will do great.. Small sanding jobs and small paint jobs.. They do put out lots of water so water traps as others suggested. But if you'er planing on painting a car or a big sanding jobs useing a DA sander FORGET it... It will work for air tools ..And has Someone else suggested Creigs list turns up some nice compressors for that $200 -$249..

I think I found a guy locally that is wanting to sell me a 30 gallon oiled craftsman compressor for $150.:laugh:

That's the kind of deal you're looking for. Do try to find out the cfm of the pump. The tank size doesn't matter as much as pump size.
Also listen to it run. Especially look for any oil leakage. The pump shouldn't have to struggle to build up to the shut off pressure. It should more or less build steadily, losing just a little speed at higher pressure. If pressure builds significantly slower at high pressure, you'll be looking at a rebuild shortly.

Again, good luck and post pics.

This one will give you all the air you need and everyone on your block.

denver.craigslist.org/tls/1614993629.html

Might as well pick-up this beast while ur at it.

denver.craigslist.org/tls/1614989032.html

Whoooooo, I don't think I need that much pressure. lol
Could you imagine the noise that these things would make.