Yeah this compressor is way overkill. But from what all I learned about compressors in the last few days I think I did ok.
I called and talked to at least 5 different manufacturers reps or salesmen.
From what I gather 7.5 hp single phase is really a bad place to be in the market. You either get a 5hp air pump running overspeed or pay more and get a 10hp air pump running at a slower speed.
I ended up talking to a guy that runs a compressor shop/dealer that does FC-Curtis, Jenny and Champion and I think Shultz.
He spent about 2 hours talking to me, explaining the compressors and uses. Gave me some really good quotes on the FC-Curtis and 3 different Champions. I price checked everything on the internet and compared to the quotes I got from other dealers and saw that it was a smoking deal on the squatty Champion. Bonus it was in stock and ready to ship, not easy to find these days. Almost everyone else was giving 10-16 weeks lead time.
Honestly went over budget by quite a bit. But the shorter height on the compressor is going to help with my shop layout and I got what I hope is a mostly American made compressor that will give me a long service life. (my kids too
) My wheezy old 30gal(?) Craftsman that I've abused for 20 years is going to get retired. Like I said my wife helped talk me into it because she does metal art and wants a blast cabinet. She wants to learn welding, so I might be getting a welder soon too LOL
