Air Compressors - What do i need to know before i buy

[SMIT]

hey guys

Just looking at buying an air compressor i want a decent one, not one that you can buy from supercheap for $129 that being say i dont wanna spend too much.

is there anything i should look out for when buy one? What brands are worth trusting?

I will be using it for a bit of everything, including spray painting as i want to give it a go.

[delcowizzid]

11-12CFM or cubic feet a minute at least if you plan to use airtools and spraypaint.thats about the biggest you will go on a single phase outlet too ide say most over that are 3 phase

[pow3rslave]

what sort of hp/litreage is good for spraypaint or airtools?

[delcowizzid]

i never go off HP cause its not a true judgement of what it can pump out in cubic feet a minute doesnt matter how big the tank is if it cant keep it full nothing worse than having to wait for air to build up especially when painting or using tools.pretty much anything that is direct drive with no belts and pulleys is a no go really they are all low cfm normally.you get 3 clacks out the rattle gun and then you have to wait for more pressure again

[SMIT]

11-12CFM or cubic feet a minute at least if you plan to use airtools and spraypaint.thats about the biggest you will go on a single phase outlet too ide say most over that are 3 phase

Ok should i get a 3 phase one then? i want to be able to use it allot and i want quality, what cfm output would you recommend then? any brands that you trust?

[delcowizzid]

the only problem with 3 phase is you need 3 phase power wherever you plan to use it over here not many residential propertys have a 3 phase connection and it will cost extra.brands arnt to important i bought my last one from an angineers shop where i buy most of my stuff was a good machine cant remember the brand was bright yellow and 12CFM is all i can tell you.its one of those situations where yes bigger is better.should get something 12 CFM or higher for around $600 bucks easy enough.

[hsvpunk]

Smit, GMC is good. my old mans got one, i use it a fair bit, he uses it alot too.
Only thing we did was just extended the power cable so it was abit longer.
no iea on pahse thingy though.

[Tom_1569]

Personelly, I would buy the biggest and best one you can afford. Why spend 1 grand on one you cant do the job properly when you can spend 2 grand on one that will, buy ONE.

3-Phase ones are alot better, as they generally flow more etc, the alternative is get a petrol one which I did, and can be used anywhere, which I find easier. Now have an air pole driver for the fernces in the paddocks.

Peerless are excellent, if you go petrol go a peerless with a Honda motor, cant go wrong there.

[SMIT]

thanks for everyones feedback so far... i dont think i wanna spend a $1000 on one unless i really need to. I suppose $600 would be a good price. I might goto frankston bearings and see what they have to offer.

[DANNY8]

Haven't GMC gone bust? My first air compressor was a $99 GMC special....and thanks to their 12 month replacement warranty I ended up with 3 small air compressors, and then they sent me a bigger petrol one (worth $600) coz they got sick of all my compressors shitting themselves. First was a gasket leaking, they sent out a new one and I gave my old one to my bro who made a new gasket and is still using it 2day a few years l8r. 2nd time was an electrical fault so then send another one, 3rd one was a leaking pipe, they sent me the petrol one, and I used the pipe off the 2nd compressor to fix the 3rd and I still use it out the back. But it was to small, and I don't like using the petrol one to often so when and bought an SRT one for about $400 with a heap of air tools with it. Haven't really tested it out tho but it runs a lot quieter and seems to be better!

[SMIT]

Haven't GMC gone bust? My first air compressor was a $99 GMC special....and thanks to their 12 month replacement warranty I ended up with 3 small air compressors, and then they sent me a bigger petrol one (worth $600) coz they got sick of all my compressors shitting themselves. First was a gasket leaking, they sent out a new one and I gave my old one to my bro who made a new gasket and is still using it 2day a few years l8r. 2nd time was an electrical fault so then send another one, 3rd one was a leaking pipe, they sent me the petrol one, and I used the pipe off the 2nd compressor to fix the 3rd and I still use it out the back. But it was to small, and I don't like using the petrol one to often so when and bought an SRT one for about $400 with a heap of air tools with it. Haven't really tested it out tho but it runs a lot quieter and seems to be better!

That SRT one looks preety decent especially for the price. Anyone got any recommendations of places to to get this stuff?

[Tom_1569]

Haven't GMC gone bust? My first air compressor was a $99 GMC special....and thanks to their 12 month replacement warranty I ended up with 3 small air compressors, and then they sent me a bigger petrol one (worth $600) coz they got sick of all my compressors shitting themselves. First was a gasket leaking, they sent out a new one and I gave my old one to my bro who made a new gasket and is still using it 2day a few years l8r. 2nd time was an electrical fault so then send another one, 3rd one was a leaking pipe, they sent me the petrol one, and I used the pipe off the 2nd compressor to fix the 3rd and I still use it out the back. But it was to small, and I don't like using the petrol one to often so when and bought an SRT one for about $400 with a heap of air tools with it. Haven't really tested it out tho but it runs a lot quieter and seems to be better!

I see your air-compressor, and raise you MINE.

[SMIT]

I see your air-compressor, and raise you MINE.

I've read through your "My ride" thread before lol.... Tuff as ride!

[maginoodle]

like has been siad, the bigger the better.
i chucked in 260 with my 800 tools for trade allowance and bought a 12cfm peerless. i bought peerless because it is a good reliable brand.
i run a rattle gun and a air ratchet no probs.
havent had to do a spray job since getting it(hopefully soon on my project).
a mate of mine bought a $300 cheapy brand 10 cfm not long ago, dont know what brand. i know it doesnt keep up while spraying but when we do spray jobs we tend to too much of a car at once. we paint speedway cars for a mate and there overspray isnt a problem so the only time we stop spraying is to top the gun up. so if you are only intending to paint small jobs ie one panel at a time a 10 cfm should be ok. i would recommend to get a quality brand because big tools should be a once off expense.
cheer shane

[andyman]

hmm ill get a pic of the air compressor at work, its a gooden,

my one at home is a p.o.s arlec enforcer that i pinched off dad, only really usefull pumping up tyres, my rattle gun sucks it dry literally, but i have a big rattle gun

[Rossbx]

[QUOTE=DANNY8;1180641]Haven't GMC gone bust?

Yep, GMC have gone bust, so you won't be able to buy one of those. Bad part of that is that anyon who has any GMC tools (air or electric) has lost any warranty. If the tool breaks down then you will just have to chuck it in the bin. Bearer of good news arn't I?

Check out what Glenfords have in the way of compressors. Talk to the staff there and they should be able to point you in the right direction...

[delcowizzid]

gmc here was so cheap i wouldnt care at throwing it in the bin.i used to buy gmc tools for one job and charge them to the job and if they died after that well so be it throw it and get another.good thing was the angle grinders and stuff came with spare brushes for the engine

[DANNY8]

a mate of mine bought a $300 cheapy brand 10 cfm not long ago, dont know what brand. i know it doesnt keep up while spraying but when we do spray jobs we tend to too much of a car at once.

My VK had a full respray (come out wicked!), was done with my $99 GMC compressor....didn't go to bad either lol.

Altho there is a few small marks in the paint which my mate rekons is from the compressor running out of air, but not 100% sure on that tho coz it was only his 3rd paintjob so he hasn't come across the problem b4.

[Phantom VK]

Peerless is crap now. We used to sell them at work years ago but after they moved their manuafcturing to china we got heaps of warranty claims.

I have been selling compressors etc for about 12yrs and can I recommend buying a 14-15cfm. This is the largest that will run on single phase power reliably.

There is some cheaper units out there that have ratings of 19cfm on single phase power but they have the same size pump just running faster, so the pump doesn't last as long.

In my experience around $800 will get you a decent 15cfm compressor.

Best brands are Swan, ABAC (which is now McMillan) or Pilot.

I have a 14.8CFM ABAC at home & it runs virtually everything from rattle guns to spray guns, die grinders etc.

Incidently the ratings changed about 5 yrs ago, so an old 17cfm compressor has the same rating as a new 15cfm. (approx)

[Lumps of cheese]

Dunno what the brand is but i purchased one for work secondhand for $600 with a honda motor and it's fantastic. More than does the job.

[SMIT]

Peerless is crap now. We used to sell them at work years ago but after they moved their manuafcturing to china we got heaps of warranty claims.

I have been selling compressors etc for about 12yrs and can I recommend buying a 14-15cfm. This is the largest that will run on single phase power reliably.

There is some cheaper units out there that have ratings of 19cfm on single phase power but they have the same size pump just running faster, so the pump doesn't last as long.

In my experience around $800 will get you a decent 15cfm compressor.

Best brands are Swan, ABAC (which is now McMillan) or Pilot.

I have a 14.8CFM ABAC at home & it runs virtually everything from rattle guns to spray guns, die grinders etc.

Incidently the ratings changed about 5 yrs ago, so an old 17cfm compressor has the same rating as a new 15cfm. (approx)

Great info there. I went and had a look at the McMillan range today that is what they recommended as well but they wanted around $1400 for something that does 14cfm and i dont really want to spend that... who stocks ABAC? i might have a look on ebay and see if i can find something decent.

[Phantom VK]

Great info there. I went and had a look at the McMillan range today that is what they recommended as well but they wanted around $1400 for something that does 14cfm and i dont really want to spend that... who stocks ABAC? i might have a look on ebay and see if i can find something decent.

McMillan formally was known as ABAC. 14cfm shouldn't be any more than $900.

These are electric units I am talking about though, $1400 sounds about right for a Petrol 14cfm compressor with a honda motor.

I can do a Pilot 14CFM compressor, with a 3hp motor & 58ltr tank for $900 inc GST.

That is ready to go fitted with a filter regulator.

Only problem is that I am located in Griffith NSW about 600km inland from Sydney. I could get it freighted to a depot for around the $80 mark.

Sorry just realised you are in Victoria, can get it to Melbourne for around the same money.

[wrx884]

Mayb a bit of a silly question but if i wanted 2 learn some spray prainting on some car panels would gettin a hold of 3-4 of those cheapy compressors and hookin them all up 2 1 line, then puttin in a line regulator after the joining connection from all compressors would that give me the same effect like a $900+ compessor would??

[maginoodle]

Mayb a bit of a silly question but if i wanted 2 learn some spray prainting on some car panels would gettin a hold of 3-4 of those cheapy compressors and hookin them all up 2 1 line, then puttin in a line regulator after the joining connection from all compressors would that give me the same effect like a $900+ compessor would??

yes, the bigger cfm of a good compressor is what is required. volume of air rather than the pressure of the air is important, i only use around 50-60 psi when i am spraying. a cheapy will do the job but slowly as you need to stop/start spraying.

[greenacc]

can you use a low pressure gun with one of these compressors ? I had a beaver air compressor that was about the size of a soccer ball and ran a low pressure spray gun with 2 pak continuously !!.