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Air Compressor Recommendation


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Looking for a less than $400 stand up air compressor for the garage to run die grinders, paint guns etc. Any brand/model recommendations? Harbor Freight Brand Experiences?

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Look at the CFM of those HF compressors. Won't keep up with much, especially the tools you listed. Spinning tools and spray guns are pretty big air hogs.

Oil bath like linked above would be ideal, maybe checked used. I have a oil-less old Craftsman that I just had to rebuild. Loud, not real fast, keeps up okay but completely disintegrated the piston/rod/bearing assembly last year. It is about 15 years old though. If I didn't search around for parts it would have cost the same to fix it as it did to purchase it. Instead I found the bearing locally, reused the eccentric, and found the rest online for a total of about $65.

Edited by jk13
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My dad runs this in his Barn / workshop,

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-professional-60-gallon-air-compressor-3.1-rhp/p-00916476000P?prdNo=18&blockNo=18&blockType=G18

It is quite loud but works fine. How much air volume do you anticipate running and at what psi?

Die grinder for the HDS repair underway is 4.5 CFM @ 90 PSI

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If that thing keeps up with your 23 CFM impact wrench...that's very impressive.

That is only at full torque, so unless you are just sitting hammering on a stuck nut forever it isn't consuming anywhere near that.

My compressor is from when they were still red, but the specs are pretty much the same.

Edited by oldjeep
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Thanks Ya'll, I ended up buying a Craftsman that was on sale. Basically best airflow for the dollar. It is oil-less :(, but for the price of oil bath compressors in this cfm range I can basically buy two of these it seems.

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-33-gallon-vertical-air-compressor/p-00916572000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

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I hate to crap on your parade, but you are going to need to buy at least 2 oil less for longevity and some ear protection. I guess the positive is that you can roll it outside and close the door so you don't go deaf. That is very similar to the Campbell hausfield that my dad keeps at the cabin. There is a reason they are cheaper, and that is half the cfm of a $450 60 gallon oiled compressor.

Edited by oldjeep
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Yeah, I know. It actually is quieter than I thought it was going to be, and far quieter than the die grinder. I'm a light user, so this is a big upgrade from the 6 gallon compressor we got with a nail gun I've been using. Most of my use is a HVLP spay gun, die grinder/cut off, blower for wood working and bike cleaning etc., I'm hardly a professional so...

Edited by Asmodeus2112
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Similar to mine. 3.5hp and 33 gallon oil-less but mine is horizontal. Making an air intake for it quieted it down a lot. Like I said it lasted me 15 years before exploding, under moderate home use. Most big stuff I do happens on the big 2 cylinder at my shop.

Should work out just fine. And if it needs to catch up that's just an excuse for beverage time. :cheers:

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Thanks Ya'll, I ended up buying a Craftsman that was on sale. Basically best airflow for the dollar. It is oil-less :(, but for the price of oil bath compressors in this cfm range I can basically buy two of these it seems.

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-33-gallon-vertical-air-compressor/p-00916572000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

That's just the latest version of the 10 yr old one that I have. Mine is very loud and when we move, I know I gotta trade up to a quieter one. That one there says it's only 78 decibels. Hmmmmm

Making an air intake for it quieted it down a lot.

Care to elaborate?

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Care to elaborate?

When looking at parts for mine I found this intake:

post-12034-0-62448600-1432500302_thumb.j

So I experimented with some tubing and things around the shop. Still loud because the piston is wide open on the bottom, but it definitely knocked it down some.

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Well, the new compressor helped me finish all the grinding in my HDS today, so glad to be done with that part. The new compressor runs the die grinder pretty much indefinitely, which is a huge upgrade from the cheap little 6 gallon one I was using. I will be so glad to have this HDS done so I can get back to doing fun work on the boat instead of sticking my head with safety glassed and breathing mask down as close to the exhaust silencers as possible to see way back in the HDS while grinding....

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I still run the Campbell Hausfeld two piston oil unit that my Grandfather bought when I was a kid. It is on its third motor, but everything else runs great. I have it hard piped from the basement into the garage so you can't even hear it, just flip a switch in the garage and you have air. I run an oil less in the shed. Other than the noise, it has been a great unit as well, but doesn't see the use the garage does.

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