Buying an air compressor

[McLEVIN]

Hey guys looking at purchasing an air compressor whether new or second hand.

just looking for advice and info on what type to buy. I'm not after a cheap supercrap one something that'll last a while.

basically i want it for working on my car, cars in the future so mainly want something that is portable can run rattle gun, sanders, die grinders etc. and possibly something that will paint decently as well.

not sure what to look for as in how much free air delivery i would need?

and whether I should go 3phase 10 or 15 amp...i have 3phase atm but future places i might not have available

or even petrol powered, only gain is i can tack it to track days etc.

here are 2 im looking at that should do what i want, i know the are boc and im sure there are others that are the same for cheaper...but are these what i should be looking at..

budget is a bout $1300 max

[jaz_ae86]

3hp belt driven is what you need:



Buy the biggest 240v units (the 17cfm units) and away you go.
The above two are 'Australian' and would be good for spare parts into the future. BOC may do spares but I don't know.

Also don't forget air preparation. Wet dirty air fed into air tools is a no and trying to paint without some level of moisture removal will never be good.

At a minimum buy a good quality filter/regulator for the unit. They come with cheap nasty Chinese copies usually of these:
well their old grey series.

Electric die grinder for the win, love mine and why use an electric motor to run an air pump to compress air to run an air motor to convert into high speed drill?
Got mine for $200 on special at Total Tools.

[Matt]

I bought one a while back that was 2.5hp and whilst it is 160L per minute it does struggle to run sanders and spray guns with enough pressure.

Unfortunately for what you are asking in terms of being portable, it won't be all that easy to move.

BOC have a 3.5HP unit for around $1300 , but rule of thumb for your intended usage, I'd recommend to buy the biggest one you can that will run on 240v.

You will need a 15amp power point, but that is only a case of swapping over the wall plate and any electrician can do that in a few minutes.

[Matt]

I purchased a peerless P17FB for $1250 from Sydney Tools today.

I'll let you know how it all goes, but I'm pretty confident it will do what i need it to.

3.2HP
110L Tank
300L Per Minute @ 100PSI

[3SGEturbo]

I also had a 2.5hp belt driven that struggled to run orbital sanders, die grinders and spray guns, you especially want a good compressor if you are planning on spray painting, cheap ones generate a lot of heat which can riun the paint finish.

I brought a ABAC 3HP 15amp compressor with a 60L tank, I paiding about $800 for it new but have seen them on ebay second hand for around $300-400, the pump is made by an Italian company "fini" and I have never had any problems, I can run my die grinders flat out and it will actually fill up while I am still using the air tools and then 30 seconds later it will kick back in, its also one of the quietest I have used.

What you need to look for is the CFM rating of the pump and not the pump + tank, from memory a few air tool suppliers told me you will require around 9-15cfm for spray painting.

[Tbo92]

If you want to paint and use air tools go as big as you can. There are not may small compressors that will do that. But I'd try to get one with free air, which is were it just comes straight from the motor even though the tank is empty.

[Matt]

The peerless one i have was shipped faulty, but i logged a warranty call and the next day someone was out to fix it.

Can't complain really.