Hey guys, been looking around for good air compressors and I am not finding anything definative. I currently have a small twin tank craftsman. It gets most of the stuff around the garage done but I am going to be getting into sand / media blasting, sanding, painting, etc... Not all the time but here and there. I was wondering what you guys thought a good brand is and how much they cost, possibly where to get them? I think I would like at least 12 cfm but at the same time I don't want to break the bank.

 

You'll need a 220v line, for sure. I didn't have one, ended up buying a HF gas compressor, twin tank, 8 gallon 11CFM 8hp. Works good, is portable and hearty.

 

How much did you spend? Do you think the 8 gallon tank is enough for media blasting / sanding?

 

It was around 600$ I believe. They have one probably suitable for around 400$ if you have a 220v line.

We did media blasting with it but we were using a gun. It does fine with my 13CFM HVLP gun and my 9CFM DA sander.

 

Cool, thanks. Hopefully some others will chime in as well.

 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_54284-1126-V...7C1&facetInfo=


I bought this one at the beginning of the summer for painting and using my da sanders and it works very well. I dont use it everyday, just mainly on weekends when Im working on my widebody NSX.

 

Thanks. Have you done any media blasting with that?

 

Media blasting is kindof a broad term. Do you have a particular tool you plan on using? That will help us figure out what the specs need to be.

 

No, just painting and sanding.

 

Pretty close to these items http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-p...ter-34202.html and http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-c...net-93608.html

 

10-14CFM should be enough to use those, but not on a 100% duty cycle. The first one requires 25CFM, so with a 12cfm compressor, you'll need to let the tank refill quite often, depending on how much media you're pushing.

 

Ok, good to know. I was reading that for blasting a 2 stage pump is better, however, the new 2 stages seem much more expensive. Are there brands that are good enough to be bought used? If buying used what do you look for?

 

Industrial units that are well built will occasionally go up used, but they often require 440v lines or other strange things.

In looking at used compressors: note condition of tank, ask questions about what kind of use the compressor has had, ask if the compressor oil was monitored and changed, note how well the motor/engine runs. The time it takes to fill a tank can tell you the current CFM output of the pump (and it isn't always the "Advertised" output).

I know that dayton made some good compressors, as did devilbiss. Don't buy anything harborfreight secondhand.

Some people say 2 stage pumps are better for compressors, but I generally find a 1 stage will be cheaper for the same output of CFM. The advantage of 2 stage pumps is the ability to compressor air with higher pressure. 1 stage pumps generally top out around 120psi, whereas 2 stage can do 200. Very few tools take over 120psi.

 

Hey mang, I appreciate that. Very useful info. Yeah the most I would be able to get is a 220 so something that large is out of the question. I guess I will keep my eyes open to see if a good used one comes up on cl.

 

220V units can produce enough CFM for most home uses. They can be found at a decent price used. Make sure to listen for pinhole leaks in the tank (or any leaks or patched leaks.) Any sort of leak in the tank destroys the structural integrity and indicates large amounts of internal rust that could cause catastrophic failure.

 

Any brands in particular that make good used units?

 

Dayton, Devilbiss, Speedaire, Rol-air. There are plenty of other good brands too. If you're going gas powered, honda engines are always a plus but B&S engines work pretty well too.

 

I ll have to check those brands out. I appreciate all the info. I ll post back with an update, probably will be a while since christmas is coming up.