[Guitar4God]

I have been using my friends air compressor for a long time and he up and moved away on me leaving me with a few unfinished projects. I have been looking at air compressors for a couple of weeks and have decided on a 60 gallon Ingersoll Rand compressor off the northern tool website. I'm open to suggestions as to whether or not this is an ok air compressor or if I can find a better one cheaper than the $579 that northern wants. I was first thinking about the craftsman 60 gal. but it had such horrible rating i thought i should ask around before i buy. Thnx.

[oldred]

While looking at that Craftsman did you check the price on the IR at Sears? Sometimes they have a pretty good deal on those things. What do you plan to use the compressor for? You mention the size of the tank a couple of times but not the CFM you are looking for, CFM is what you need to be concerned about and you will need to take the highest CFM tool you will be using regularly and try to get a compressor that is rated higher than the tool. An example would be if you plan to use a DA sander rated at 14 CFM then you would want to get a compressor that is rated at least that high and it would be far better to get one rated a few CFM higher. You might want to do a search here on "compressor" since this has been the topic of much discussion and just about every angle has been covered at least once.

[302 Z28]

Tank size should not be why you buy a particular compressor. The deciding factor should be CFM rating at a set psi. FWIW, stay away from any direct drive compressors, got with a belt driven compressor.

Vince

[Guitar4God]

I do need a compressor with 12-15 cfm in the price range of 500-600 bucks .

[lanierledford]

I agree with the cfm, but if its for a home (hobby) shop you can make out with less cfm if you have a large tank. You won't be using the tool all the time, and the compressor will have time to catch up, if the cut out is high enough . I have a 80 gal. tank with a 12 cfm compressor with a cut-off at 160 psi, and I've never had a problem. Don't make the mistake of buying by HP. Why put a $50.00 dollar saddle on a $10.00 horse? O yes, check the oil in the compressor first thing, I've heard of guys burning them up because they're shipped dry to prevent leakage.

[Guitar4God]

So the craftsman is $80 cheaper than the IR, but the user ratings on the sears website make it kind of discouraging i would like to have this compressor last me awhile and not break down on me. Mayb invest and get the IR?

O yea and thnx for the advice lanierledford.

[jor]

I just mentioned in another post that you might find a great deal on a used compressor on craigslist.com or your paper. I got a humungus SnapOn unit for $250. Had to put about $75 into it but ended up with a great garage unit. Good luck.
jor

[oldred]

[QUOTE=lanierledford]I agree with the cfm, but if its for a home (hobby) shop you can make out with less cfm if you have a large tank.QUOTE]

NOT TRUE! That's a very common myth when looking for a compressor and make no mistake it is a myth. You CAN NOT make up for less CFM with a bigger tank!! , it just don't work that way. The tank has almost nothing to do with how well your compressor will keep up with the exception of maybe an impact wrench and the difference between a 60 gallon tank and an 80 gal tank is usually mere seconds and even this is lost to extra recharge time. The size of the tank determines the on/off cycle rate and it it WILL NOT, nor is it meant to, increase the compressors ability to keep up with an air hungry tool in spite of popular belief. When shopping for a compressor get the most CFM you can and DON'T let the the size of the tank influence your decision. A 12 CFM compressor with a 40 gallon tank will outperform a 10 CFM with a 60 gallon tank just as easily as it would if both tanks were the same size. The biggest mistake you can make and probably the most common mistake is to go to the biggest tank in the store-A BIGGER TANK DOES NOT MAKE A BIGGER COMPRESSOR! If the CFM is not there then NOTHING else will make up for it, not more HP, bigger lines nor a huge tank.

[61bone]

Red
Think maybe there should be a air compressor forum? Then those that can't be bothered with a search could just go there and read all the dozens of threads on the subject. Done b******* now.

Forget everything else. Buy belt drive CFM.

[Rambo_The_Dog]

Listen to oldred - he's spot on on his advice - and consistent!

I'd second JOR's recommendation for looking for a used compressor on Craigslist.

I bought my Devilbiss PRO 4000 about 9 months ago on CL for 850.00 and it came complete with air hoses, a 100lb pressure blaster extra tips and accessories.

I think I got a fair deal and this compressor is more than I'll ever need.

[mustangsal]

Rambo,

How well does the copper pipe work in helping separate water,etc? Would you do it again if you moved to a new garage?

[Kevin45]

I'm open to suggestions as to whether or not this is an ok air compressor or if I can find a better one cheaper than the $579 that northern wants. I was first thinking about the craftsman 60 gal. but it had such horrible rating i thought i should ask around before i buy. Thnx.

If you are looking at a compressor in that price range, you are looking at a single stage unit. If you run air tools, plan on painting, etc, you want to get a two-stage compressor. If you have around $600 to spend, bite the bullet for a little while, save up a little more change and for $999 you can get an 80 gal. two stage Ingersoll-Rand Compressor. You will be glad you held out for a two-stage. Trust me!!! And like JOR stated...shop around for a used unit. I don't know what your area has in the way of "trading newspapers" but around here we have what they call the "Trading Post". It's a paper that you can pick up that has machinery, antiques, etc. There are always good used large two-stage compressors for around $400-500. And if you have a smaller two-stage, you can always sell it later and step up to a larger compressor. If you have a single stage 60 gallon, after a couple of years you almost have to give them away.

JOR...for $250 for a Snap-On you got a hell of a deal. Anything that say Snap-On, usually commands big bucks. Good steal, deal!!!

Kevin

[Kampr]

Originally Posted by mustangsal

Rambo,

How well does the copper pipe work in helping separate water,etc? Would you do it again if you moved to a new garage?

The copper pipe will cool the air quicker so that you can get the water out quicker. I ran 3/4" galvanized in my garage but if I had it to do all over again I'd use copper. I used a hand threader and it was very time consuming. I still have at least one small leak but don't know where it is.

Danny

[mustangsal]

Thanks Danny.

Any idea what the PSI rating is for sweat joint copper pipe?

[Rambo_The_Dog]

Originally Posted by mustangsal

Thanks Danny.

Any idea what the PSI rating is for sweat joint copper pipe?

http://www.coppercanada.ca/publicati...ationptb6.html

Short of getting a refrigerated line dryer (300.00+) using copper pipe is the best way to condensate and collect any moisture.

In the picture I posted thats approx 32' of 1/2" Schedule L pipe I bought at Home Depot. The fittings, solder, pipe was about 120.00

My shop is 22x40 so a single 50' retractable air hose reaches anywhere in the shop I need to work - so no additional need to plumb expensive copper pipe everywhere.

So far this setup is working well for me and I never see any moisture problems at the regulator/filter - it all gets trapped before.