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Compressor advice

1K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  oldred 
#1 ·
Guys,

I'm getting ready to upgrade the compressor in my garage and wanted some advice. I have a Husky (Home Depot) 60 gal 10 cfm unit that is 10 years old and I need to upgrade. I do a reasonable amount of blasting and autobody stuff and this compressor is not up to it. I was looking online at some of the units available and wanted to know what you guys thought about the best brand. I am looking at an 80 gal upright with cfm in the 18+ range 220 volt 2 stage unit. I was leaning to the Ingersol Rand unit but what do you guys think? Is it necessary for a home hobbiest to go much above 18 cfm? Thanks for your help.

Mike
 
#3 ·
Which IR unit are you looking at? If it is that 5 HP single stage with the ridiculous 18+ CFM@90 PSI that CFM rating is as phony as a $3 bill! They have recently started rating that thing at a more conservative (and believable) 15+ CFM. Biggest problem however is the reliability factor, in the last couple of years they have had really bad problems with motors burning out and in fact last year we had one thread here that had 4 different cases of this in just that one thread! Like 302 said there is a lot of Chinese stuff on those IRs including the pump, some Chinese stuff may be ok and indeed it is getting harder to avoid it but those particular compressors have not earned a very good reputation. What price range are you looking at? For just a few dollars more you can go to Northern and get a genuine Quincy that is American made with a GOOD American built Baldor 21 to 30 AMP, or more, industrial motor on it. I will not pretend I am not partial to Quincy, I am but it is for a darn good reason IMO they are the best thing on the market, American made with American motors and electrics,etc, and since Northern started selling them they have become available at a more attractive price.

This one is about $300 more than a comparable Ingersoll but if you really compare the two that 300 bucks is a real bargain. Industrial Baldor motor, 50,000 hr industrial rated pump, etc. Take care of that thing and you can pass it on to your grandkids! :)


www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200350475_200350475
 
#4 ·
I have about 2k to spend but want to make sure I get a unit that will last. I would like to get about 18 true cfm since my blast cabinet and sanders can use 15 cfm I wanted to be able to keep up. Say no more, you have me sold on Quincy, but right now I'm focusing on size. For a home hobbyist do you think I'm worrying too much and going overboard with wanting to get at least 18 true cfm?

Mike
 
#6 ·
mike69 said:
I have about 2k to spend but want to make sure I get a unit that will last. I would like to get about 18 true cfm since my blast cabinet and sanders can use 15 cfm I wanted to be able to keep up. Say no more, you have me sold on Quincy, but right now I'm focusing on size. For a home hobbyist do you think I'm worrying too much and going overboard with wanting to get at least 18 true cfm?

Mike

I could not count the times in the 35 years or so that I dealt with compressors and air systems that someone has complained about not having enough air, in fact that was almost the exclusive complaint except when something was broken. However during that 35 years I never heard a single complaint about having too much air! :)


Bear in mind that Quincy specs are not inflated nonsense like some outfits out there and it should also be noted that their CFM numbers are for a 100% duty cycle. A big slow turning pump is going to stay a lot cooler than a smaller outfit turning at a higher rpm to achieve an acceptable CFM rating so the air it produces at first start-up will remain fairly steady even after heavy demand while the lighter unit may not be the same as what it will produce after running a while. What this means is the big industrial pump will continue to produce it's rated CFM at a fairly constant rate whereas the lighter smaller unit, even if rated at similar numbers, may have a significant drop in CFM due to loss of efficiency from heat after being subjected to heavy demand.
 
#7 ·
painting and sandblasting for 32yrs

hi dude, yes u want a two stage pump !! i've owned many of types and sizes of compressors. quincy two stage 5-7 hp 80 gal tank no smaller tank. it'll blast all day long. like i say you only want to buy one so get a big enough one and only one. my son helps me both of us sanding on a car at once no problem. if u paint u need bigger air tank. heat causes water painting and water blow. good luck gary :welcome:
 
#8 ·
Consider CFM as the main performance number and don't worry about the size of the tank, this has been discussed to death and it is a big mistake to base compressor selection on the size of the tank since that has nothing to do with how well it will keep up with tools. A big tank has some advantages DEPENDING on the pump/motor combo but rest assured Quincy will size the tank to match the performance, in short don't let the size of the tank sway your selection one way or the other as you will notice zero difference between an 80 gallon tank and a 60.
 
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