Air compressor

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Jeremy5431

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Hi everyone

Management (aka my wife) has approved the purchase of an air compressor. I’d like to be able to use it for double duty (house projects and for detailing)

Looking for recommendations. Max budget would be around $500

Thanks
Jeremy


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For a nice portable one can't beat the Makita 3hp big bore. And it's about 200 under budget..
 
When you blow out pads with a compressor are you using an oil free compressor or a some kind of filter?

I’m assuming you do not want to be blowing oil into your pad.


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Oil free just means the motor that runs the compressor its oil free. Most you worry about with compressors is water blowing out which is easily fixed by draining the line before use and after use. The bigger compressors usually all use oil. The portable ones and such usually are your oil free which is less maintenance. And cheaper to operate.


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Mdjas said:
Oil free just means the motor that runs the compressor its oil free. Most you worry about with compressors is water blowing out which is easily fixed by draining the line before use and after use. The bigger compressors usually all use oil. The portable ones and such usually are your oil free which is less maintenance. And cheaper to operate.


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Exactly right.

But most portables have zero recovery time. This means that they might be ok for a small pin nailer, but if using it to blow dry for detailing, they will run (compressor motor) constantly.

And the pressure will not be constant if you need it for over a few minutes.

All that being said, I own two portables. They are great for what they are designed for.

Just trying to help you make a smart choice. (And one that "management" agrees with). :)
 
If you're going to get it for home and detailing it will depend on what you're using it to do. I recently added a tornador set up, two actually. I leave a black with the blower cone on it and then a velocity vac set up so all I have to do is swap guns. If you plan on that or another high demand air flow tool you'll want to get a larger 3.5-5hp unit that puts out 10-12cfm's and a decent sized tank. I run a 60gal Husky from Home depot and love it. The Kobalt brand from lowes is great too. Costs a little more but it's two-stage and drives a higher psi thus more air on tap. Both are great. I went Home Depot as I'm biased to liking them better. Added in an extended warranty for like $100 too. Tucks away in the corner of my garage and doesn't take up as much room as I thought.

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The main thing to look for when comparing air compressors is CFM. Look around and buy whatever compressor puts out the most CFM within your budget.
 
Two differences to also be noted, is that I've found that oiless compressors usually throw out more noise that the more professional shop type air compressors which then commonly run pulleys and belts.

My 6HP 30 Gallon Craftsman was a good buy, has held up well over the years, and there's plenty of air capacity on hand to run things like Impact Power Tools, but it is also pretty noisy. You can hear it running a 1/2 block away.

For shop-garage use, it usually is a good idea to have a wall mounted water-sediment trap-filter that you can easily tie into.
 
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