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!