Air compressor questions

[Dave]

Hi, all!

I’ve been looking at purchasing an (new, “real”) air compressor for a few weeks now. Last week I bought a very old, almost antique sears/craftsman air compressor. It had a heavy coating of oil grime all over it, a bent crankshaft, a missing reed valve, and would only get up to about 60 psi. I only paid $15 for it, so no big loss there.

Assuming I can’t get that thing working again, and I’m very doubtful I will, I’ve started looking at new, not ancient air compressors at harbor freight, menards, and home depot. I’ll mention now that I have about $175 to spend, and I have no air tools at the moment, so if I can get a compressor and an impact wrench, all the better.

I’m going to be using the compressor and the impact wrench very rarely, once every two weeks if that, and I will only have the compressor plugged in and switched on for about 30 minutes each of those times. The hardest thing I can foresee myself trying to remove with the impact wrench is lug nuts. I won’t be going anywhere near an axle nut or the bolt on the harmonic balancer.

I have a 10 gallon air tank that I plan on connecting to the main tank on the compressor, so I should be able to use an impact wrench for 10 seconds without the pressure dropping too low.

I’ve done some research and decided that unless a really good deal comes my way, I want to go oil-lubricated, not oilless. I would also like to be able buy replacement parts for if/when the compressor breaks down.

So far these are the compressors I am looking at:
ALTON 6 gallon air compressor at menards – $120
notes: I don’t really like this one because the company that makes it has a very minimalist website and I cannot find any replacement parts for it anywhere. The tank size and cfm are good for what I need.

8 gal. 2 HP 125 PSI Oil Lube Air Compressor at harbor freight – $120
notes: essentially the same model as above with 2 fewer gallons of tank size. There are replacement parts for this model. I am a bit worried about HF’s restocking fee when/if I have to return or exchange the compressor.

21 gal. 2.5 HP 125 PSI Cast Iron Vertical Air Compressor at harbor freight – $160 w/ coupon
notes: more than big enough tank size and good cfm. Won’t have any money left over to buy an impact wrench. Replacement parts available.

Husky 3 gal. Portable Electric Air Compressor at home depot – $100
notes: If you read some the reviews for this model, it seems that the clear oil sight indicator breaks off very easily and husky does not sell replacement parts. Also, husky’s idea of warranty service is telling you to take the compressor to a certain repair center and paying them to fix it. Tank size and cfm are both on the low side.

Husky 8 Gal. Portable Electric Air Compressor from home depot – $130
notes: essentially the big brother of the previous compressor. Glass oil sight doesn’t break. Still have to deal with husky’s “warranty service” as well as no replacement parts available. Tank size and cfm are good.

campbell hausfeld 4 gal. Twinstack Air Compressor from home depot – $180
notes: just outside of my price range, will have to scrape together some extra money and won’t be able to buy an impact wrench. Better brand name product. Replacement parts available. Tank size and cfm are just enough.

So those are the compressors I am trying to decide on. Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Topic

[Joshua]

My first compressor was a 5 gallon from Menards and a Craftsman impact wrench. It served me well starting out. I found that the compressor would fire up before one wheel was off, however with a touch of patience the setup worked. I added a die grinder and an air hammer as needed and finally upgraded to a 60 gallon Kobalt compressor after a few years. For my money I’d probably go with the CH 4 gallon. I have a 3/8 air ratchet of theirs that I like for the price. I believe Tractor Supply carries their products also.

[Jack Patteeuw]

If the motor and the tank are good, why not just buy a new pump ?

[Mason]

From my own experience, I wouldn’t get anything below 12 gal. My first compressor was a 10 gal. Harbor Freight roller with a cheap Harbor Freight impact (HF compressor quality was good, can’t say the same for the impact). I only used it for basic jobs like taking off a wheel or breaking axle nuts, but I still found it was turning on every 4-5 times I pulled the trigger. The sound of an air compressor running inside a garage gets real old real fast. It got to the point where I would tire myself out pulling on tight bolts with a ratchet before I would give in and roll out the headache machine, and before long I wasn’t using it much and decided to sell it.
Then I bought a much bigger more expensive IR compressor (don’t remember exact size right now) and get much more use out of that since I can do any job on one charge. It cost about 4 times as much as the 10 gal. from Harbor Freight, but I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth with the IR, which wasn’t the case at all with the HF. Hope this helps

[zero]

I have something similar to the C/H one you linked, it’s useless. Granted mine is smaller, but it’s useless on anything more than air nailers. For the time it takes to fire it up and inflate a tire, I’m pretty sure there’s electric alternatives that work as well. Twice a year when I change my tires, I just break them free with a long 1/2 ratchet and pull the nuts off with a cordless impact driver. I install them in the reverse order, my impact driver is only good for about 40ftlbs so I stick them on with that and torque on the ground.

The 2 most important aspects to keep in mind are the tank size and the CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) at operating pressure. It’s generally measured at 45 and 90 PSI, the latter being more important. Most impact guns use about 5 CFM so getting a compressor with a high enough output is one thing to keep in mind. Although as you get into a larger tank, the compressor specs generally go up also. Larger tanks will give you a more even pressure output and the volume for those difficult jobs where an air tool is running more than 3 seconds.

I’ve been slowly looking the last couple of years for a compressor for the garage, but being a professional I can neither bring myself to buy another set of tools or use cheap ones. But I did find THIS brand online at Home Depot recently. I just linked to a random compressor. The interesting thing is they are apparently very quiet, operating at 60 decibels. If you look on YouTube there’s a video review and the guys are talking, the compressor is running and you can’t hear it. They carry a bit of a premium, but I think I might end up going this route if or when I do.

[James O’Hara]

21 gallon. Anything else is a waste. You need that volume of air if you plan to use an impact on 3 bolts or longer then 5 sec bursts. I know it is Harbor Freight just look it over closely when you get it put it fully through its paces and exchange it if something ain’t right.

[Author]

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