Air tool help

[Goldeneagle]

I'm in the same situation. I like to tinker out in the garage but don't have enough compressor. One of these days my poor little Craftsman is going to blow up from over use.

[pazthru]

Would an auxiliary tank be of use in a case like this?

[Jerry H]

The unit you posted is good for airing up tires and running a small nail gun.

What you need to look for is how many CFM your tools use and how many CFM the compressor creates.

I have and old Craftsman 4HP 30 gal. tank and if I am running my paint gun I can drain the tank. It works good for my air ratchet and impact but it will not run my DA sander for long periods of time without me stopping and letting the compressor catch up.

Any tool that runs constantly is like having the end of the air hose wide open.
Sanders, cut off grinders, paint rigs are all air hogs

[Jerry H]

Would an auxiliary tank be of use in a case like this?

Not really, adding a tank will only increase the amount of time it takes for the compressor to recover.

[Texastaxi]

You guys think this one would do the job? Not heavy, all day use. Just cutting here and there and basic house shop stuff.

http://m.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-compressors/21-gal-25-hp-125-psi-cast-iron-vertical-air-compressor-61454.html

Thanks for the input

It would be better than what you have, but it would still run a lot depending on how much you're running the tools. You need to look at the usage of the tools (CFM), and try to match your compressor's output, to that, if you really want it to keep up. Here's the output of that HF compressor.



You need to make sure that all your tools will operate below these numbers, for the compressor to really keep up. Keep in mind though, this is continual usage. Very rarely do you run the tool 100% of the time.

Here's the specs from one of the HF cut off tools.



You can see that the average usage is less than the compressor's output, so it would work well. The compressor would still run a lot, but it would keep up way better than what you have now.

This is all theory, of course. No product ever performs like the spec sheet says it does.

Would an auxiliary tank be of use in a case like this?

Yes, until you depleted the air in that extra tank, then the compressor would never quit running and the pressure would continually decrease until the tool quit running.

[Longhorn95]

Blow harder

[dropem]

You guys think this one would do the job? Not heavy, all day use. Just cutting here and there and basic house shop stuff.

http://m.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-compressors/21-gal-25-hp-125-psi-cast-iron-vertical-air-compressor-61454.html

Thanks for the input

Cuz I don't think that one is going to work for you either. Your not that far away from me. Like I said earlier you are more then welcome to borrow my 30 gal. to see if that size will work for you.

[GrapeApe]

The best solution is more air.

I have this running to 2x 300g tanks

[Cuz]

Blow harder

Lol! This guy...

[Cuz]

Cuz I don't think that one is going to work for you either. Your not that far away from me. Like I said earlier you are more then welcome to borrow my 30 gal. to see if that size will work for you.

Thanks DropEm, I appreciate the offer. I might just take you up on that.

It's one of those things; I don't think I "need" it enough or will use it enough to spend $500+ on it so I was hoping to find a happy medium.

[PopArcher]

PM sent

[mchildress]

Check the CFM of the compressor against what the CFM of what the tools require. I upgraded to a bigger one with a plasma cutter. My older compressor CFM should of kept up but wasn't. She had many hours and sounded good just wasn't keeping up. I rebuilt it throwing new piston and rings in her and she is back ginning like new.

[gatorgrizz27]

Unless you're willing to buy a 60 gallon 220v compressor, I'd just take the cut off/die grinder back or give it to someone if it was cheap enough. The compressor you have will run nail guns, and probably that air ratchet and an impact wrench for light duty use. Get a dremel and 4.5" electric angle grinder if you don't have one, they should suit your needs fine.

The cutting/grinding/sanding tools take a ton of air and you are typically running them for a few minutes at a time. Small - medium size compressors just don't have what it takes.

[Cuz]

Unless you're willing to buy a 60 gallon 220v compressor, I'd just take the cut off/die grinder back or give it to someone if it was cheap enough. The compressor you have will run nail guns, and probably that air ratchet and an impact wrench for light duty use. Get a dremel and 4.5" electric angle grinder if you don't have one, they should suit your needs fine.

The cutting/grinding/sanding tools take a ton of air and you are typically running them for a few minutes at a time. Small - medium size compressors just don't have what it takes.

This is what I'm leaning towards now. I can't justify buying a high dollar compressor to run an air tool a few times a year. A $40 electric grinder is sounding purdy good now.