Compressor choice

[foamit]

Hi everybody

Looking to buy a workshop compressor,a local dealer has Sealey on offer, is this make ok? anyone had experience of this make?,I need one for blowing out wood shaving dust from my machines,maybe for nail gun and pumping up tyres on lawn tractor/car etc.
The two i have in mind are 50Litre 2hp giving out 7.9chm free air delivery 4.8cfm or a 50litre 3hp 12.6cfm freeair 12.8free air delivery , Now honestly this does not mean much to me ,can someone guide me in the right direction please?
any help appreciated .

 

[Burnerman]

Thats fine for what you propose to do, but you won't be able to use air tools with it....
If you fancy that later, you'll need 14.5 CFM but these are usually driven by a 3HP motor which likes to be hard wired.
Get a piston compressor, belt drive, and not a diaphragm type.
Clarke Industrial are OK, but their air lines are awful.
John

 

[merlin50]

I have a SIP 3hp compressor that has a 13 amp plug. a lot of SIP stuff is junk but the compressor has been good. there air hose is very good, the clarke air hose falls apart after a year

 

[sebmaster]

I used to have a Sylbo 3hp 14cfm belt drive compressor I got from www.shiremoorcompressors.co.uk (13 amp plug).
It was powerful and well made.

I originally wanted one to paint with but after reading various forums like these I was convinced I wanted a larger one capable of driving air tools

I ended up trading the compressor to my local garage because it was just too big to be useful (if you have a workshop maybe this won't matter so much to you); I replaced it with a small (fairly old) direct drive piston compressor. No name sorry, its long since worn off.
No tank but it puts out enough for blowing stuff clean; I put together a small tank with regulator and filter with some bits off eBay* should I need a smoother supply for painting. I find having this removeable tank much more convenient.

Anyway my point is don't let anyone sell you larger or more expensive than you need especially if your pumping up tires and using a nail gun which implies you may be moving it around.
I would recommend picking a nail gun, finding the minimum requirements for it and just buying the smallest compressor that matches them.

I've also never had a problem with any of the lines i've made myself with Air Line XF quick release couplings and cheap reinforced PVC hose.
Same with the accessories like the blow gun and tyre inflator, you can buy very cheap packs of them and I find them fine for what I do (with the exception of the spray gun which I replaced with a Silverline one)

Good luck.

*You can buy almost everything off eBay including electronic pressure switches should you choose to make a project of putting all this together yourself.
Check out:
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/lwsco/
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/tmexltd&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SELLERID

 

[sparkiedave]

you can run a nail gun from a very small compressor, unless you're firing it every second or so, sanders & spray guns etc require 14cfm (ish), a 10cfm with a 50litre tank will do a lot of what you seem to be need, but I do prefer a belt drive so if either the motor or pump die, they can be replaced independently
ps, the free air delivery is the important bit, that is what you can actually use, rather than what the pump allegedly produces, if it's to be used in a very dusty environment, it might be worth running it in a different building to stop the air filter getting clogged up