Need Air Compressor Recommendations

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In the market for a new air compressor. 110V. Will mostly be used for inflating tires and general air tool use for shade tree mechanical work. Something on wheels preferred.
 
An oiled one with tank from the big box store will do you well. 2hp uses all the power in a 110 outlet, anything more than that is a marketing lie.
 
I highly recommend California Air Tools. They are ultra quiet and built very nicely. I wish I had something like it years ago. I don't see anything out there that comes close.
 
A paint sprayer or die grinder will need a healthy CFM rating to keep up. Impact wrenches need a fair amount, but if you can deal with the time to replenish between blasts it's less of an issue. Oil-lubed ones are usually quieter and last longer. Might want to add a moisture trap/filter, especially if you are using a paint sprayer. Don't forget to drain the tank periodically, they do collect water and will rust the tank. Ditto on the HP rating, some use marketing to claim ridiculous amounts of horsepower which are meaningless. CFM rating is what's important for running air tools.
 
Kolbalt 26 gallon vertical (with wheels) for $229. Good capacity for impact wenches and other fairly high air usage tools. The little 6 gallon tank compressors just don't cut it for using the larger air tools. Ed
 
I was looking for a new compressor in the past few months. I made this chart showing the price per cfm and the price per gallon to find the best deal. Dont pay attention to the last two on the list as they are just air tanks. The compressors around 5cfm are all 110v compressors. The harbor freight 21 gallon compressor is the best 110v price per cfm and second best price per gallon. https://www.harborfreight.com/21-gal-25-hp-125-psi-cast-iron-vertical-air-compressor-61454.html

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Get yourself a 220v circuit run. Pipe your garage with a few local quick connects. Buy the largest CFM compressor that you can fit into the space. I recommend Quincy. Spend a few thousand and get something that will really be worth having. You can NEVER have enough air. I went the same route you are going. Trying to get by cheaply. Eventually the axiom of working smarter not harder came into play. A true 5-7.5 horsepower two stage compressor with a 60 to 80 gallon tank is what everyone needs.
 
Originally Posted by sloinker
Get yourself a 220v circuit run. Pipe your garage with a few local quick connects. Buy the largest CFM compressor that you can fit into the space. I recommend Quincy. Spend a few thousand and get something that will really be worth having. You can NEVER have enough air. I went the same route you are going. Trying to get by cheaply. Eventually the axiom of working smarter not harder came into play. A true 5-7.5 horsepower two stage compressor with a 60 to 80 gallon tank is what everyone needs.

While i would agree its very nice to not have to worry about air consumption by going with a quality high cfm low rpm high volume air compressor I have been using a couple of 110v compressors hooked together for about 20 gallons of air for about 5 years and i rarely had a need for more air. Thats using an air impact, air grinder, air ratchet, paint sprayer, needle scaler, and some other tools.
 
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If you can wait i would see what kind of black friday deals they might have on air compressors.
 
Originally Posted by GeorgeKaplan
In the market for a new air compressor. 110V. Will mostly be used for inflating tires and general air tool use for shade tree mechanical work. Something on wheels preferred.



Originally Posted by eljefino
An oiled one with tank from the big box store will do you well. 2hp uses all the power in a 110 outlet, anything more than that is a marketing lie.


You may want to consider 2 compressors, one large enough to use air tools, and a smaller one you can run then hand carry for tires.

Eljefino speaks the truth. You can only get so much from 110v compressors, no matter what the label says.

Depends on if you are planning on running an air impact or just want a blowgun etc. I don't think you could paint much of anything with a 110v compressor. Small items may be.
 
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30 gal vert is a good size for a garage compressor. Big enough that you could blast and paint small parts, but small enough that it can be moved around easily. My dad is contractor and he has a 30 vert in the garage, a 20 horizontal for a jobsite compressor and one of those little ones...I assume they are 2 or 3 gal for a single nailgun.

20 gal can't run an air hammer, it's beat though I seized it running it out of oil but the breaker on the motor stopped it from siezing completely. I sandblasted a set of fenders with the 30 and it was barely enough. 30 gives you options and you can take it places easily.
 
This will not see true hard use. Absolutely no painting/sandblasting. 90% will be filling tires and some air tools with the biggest being an 1/2" gun. Some blow gun work. I like portability so the compressor is not anchored to the garage. Zero plans to run 220. Still want something that won't fail in a year. I don't want bottom level consumer grade but don't need hard-use pro level stuff either. Not opposed to engine driven either.
 
20 amps. I understand the limitations, that's why I am open to engine driven which in my case is more feasible than running a 220, especially since I'd like to keep it portable.
 
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like todays lawnmowers etc only a few manufacturers make ALL, do a general search read + decide. a little too big don't matter, but an undersized compressor will be a waste of $$$$. whenever asking for help spending your $$$$ a pricepoint will narrow things down as there small high efficient units that roofers + the like use but $$$$$$$
 
I use one of those tiny portable contractor compressors at home, mine's an older Porter Cable oil type. Dewalt used to sell a good one too. Hard to find quality portable compressors with oil bath units.

I put it in the attic, hooked it short section of air hose to a water separator and a 50 foot retractable hose reel on the garage wall. Nice, hidden and will absolutely run a 1/2 inch impact wrench. Will also run a detail gun, and a small die grinder.
 
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