Air powdered orbital sander, air compressor question

JWilliams.RadiantDetail

JWilliams.RadiantDetail

New member
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
710
Reaction score
0
Admittedly I don't know much about air compressors and air tools. I'm looking at the 3M Random Orbital Sander, and it looks really sweet. My question is about an air compressor for it. The spec sheet shows - Airflow Rate: 17 SCFM.

Looking at air compressors I'm seeing numbers like 5.0 SCFM on a $400 Dewalt unit. I Googled this particular sander and there's literally no reviews. And I'm not finding air compressors that are 17 SCFM. I did some Googling and a bit of reading on air compressors but I'm not wrapping my head around what I'm needing to understand here.

With this sander, what sort of air compressor would I need for mobile use? I know it's probably way overkill, but this looks like a killer piece of hardware to use with a Nanoskin pad to clay cars. Since it'll be use mobile it obviously needs to be small enough to where it can fit in a truck bed. I also haven't picked out a generator yet either so that's something else I have to factor in.
 
I just spent a few minutes searching that air sander and everything says 17CFM which is a lot lol. I didn't even think shops used that high of a CFM rating. I don't know if that means it is capable of doing up to 17 SCFM or requires it...

They do make an electric version but I'm not sure how much it costs.
 
P71Ryan said:
I just spent a few minutes searching that air sander and everything says 17CFM which is a lot lol. I didn't even think shops used that high of a CFM rating. I don't know if that means it is capable of doing up to 17 SCFM or requires it...

They do make an electric version but I'm not sure how much it costs.
Click to expand...

Unless something's really really wrong, or the info's just totally incorrect that number has to be peak. Either way there's so little information about this unit I'm not going to dive in and buy it + a compressor with the hopes it'll work. Good call on the electric one, I too found it a few hours after I made this thread, it was sure not easy to find though. I can't find any real info on the electric one either, but electric's simple. Well aside from using it with a generator that might not give out enough juice. lol. 3M's manual for this sucker sucks. One part makes it sound like it only has 3 speed settings with 7,000rpm being the lowest, and down a bit it says it's adjustable between 0 and whichever of the 3 max speed settings you have it at. But it doesn't go into detail how quickly it goes from 0 -> whatever. For the nanoskin it looks like you want to use the lowest speed setting on your buffer, which I'm not even sure what that is with the 3m one.

UGH, maybe I should stick to a DA buffer and just take frequent pauses to put it down and spray some lube on the car while I clay it.

HUMMMM, if anyone who works for Rupes or Porter Cable happens to read this thread. Make a buffer than has a small'ish liquid tank on the top where you can press a button and it shoots out a mist of whatever liquid you have in it. I promise I'll buy one! :D Serious though that seems like it would be a cool idea, perhaps something like this already exists I'm off to google.
 
quebert said:
Unless something's really really wrong, or the info's just totally incorrect that number has to be peak. Either way there's so little information about this unit I'm not going to dive in and buy it + a compressor with the hopes it'll work. Good call on the electric one, I too found it a few hours after I made this thread, it was sure not easy to find though. I can't find any real info on the electric one either, but electric's simple. Well aside from using it with a generator that might not give out enough juice. lol. 3M's manual for this sucker sucks. One part makes it sound like it only has 3 speed settings with 7,000rpm being the lowest, and down a bit it says it's adjustable between 0 and whichever of the 3 max speed settings you have it at. But it doesn't go into detail how quickly it goes from 0 -> whatever. For the nanoskin it looks like you want to use the lowest speed setting on your buffer, which I'm not even sure what that is with the 3m one.

UGH, maybe I should stick to a DA buffer and just take frequent pauses to put it down and spray some lube on the car while I clay it.

HUMMMM, if anyone who works for Rupes or Porter Cable happens to read this thread. Make a buffer than has a small'ish liquid tank on the top where you can press a button and it shoots out a mist of whatever liquid you have in it. I promise I'll buy one! :D Serious though that seems like it would be a cool idea, perhaps something like this already exists I'm off to google.
Click to expand...


Anything over 6 CFM is going to require a huge, belt driven compressor. Anything over 12 CFM is going to require a 2 stage pump.

I wouldn't be surprised if an air powered DA sander required 14-15 CFM, its those tools hog a lot of air. The way most people would deal with that at home is by using a 60 gallon compressor, and accepting that its going to cycle on and off fairly frequently. I don't think you can get enough air to operate that sander in a mobile situation without dropping a ton of money (like $3-$5k plus) on a compressor.
 
jdoublehcubed said:
Anything over 6 CFM is going to require a huge, belt driven compressor. Anything over 12 CFM is going to require a 2 stage pump.

I wouldn't be surprised if an air powered DA sander required 14-15 CFM, its those tools hog a lot of air. The way most people would deal with that at home is by using a 60 gallon compressor, and accepting that its going to cycle on and off fairly frequently. I don't think you can get enough air to operate that sander in a mobile situation without dropping a ton of money (like $3-$5k plus) on a compressor.
Click to expand...


Yikes, this is what I assumed, definitely not anywhere close to an option. The electric version's $450 as opposed to $150 for the air, but it should run off a basic generator, which I'll need any ways.
 
Semi DUH question here, this is the electric model - 3M Electric Random Orbital Sander Kit 28524.

The air one apparently needs a very high level compressor to operate. What type of generator would I realistically need for the electric one? I have zero idea what kind of amperage this sucker would pull.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top