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Air Compressors


rockmeupto125

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I decided I need an upgrade.  My old Campbell-Hausefield keeps clankin' along, bless its heart, but it's 25 years old and had a hard life.  I want to start looking for a replacement before it goes drain plug up.  Most know I'm not opposed to Harbor Freight products given the right circumstance, so I went looking online....WTF?  They don't have bigger compressors anymore.  When did that happen?

 

And now what do I do?  Tractor Supply has IR and Dewalt compressors, but I'm surprised at the poor reviews the IR compressors have.

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I've accepted this one's capacity for a long time.  I'm pretty sure I bought it in '96 from Walmart for $120 as a closeout.  It's a good little compressor.  Been drained at least 10 times in its life, been underwater once, and has pretty much zero maintenance ever.  20 gallon tank and 1 cylinder means I can take car wheels off but not truck wheels, and changing a tire means waiting through 4 compressor cycles and I often have to use my blast bottle to seat a bead, which takes another cycle, and those cycles are slooow.  It's been a great compressor for what it is, but I move slower and am not as strong as I used to be.  I'd much rather use my impact wrench to take off CV axle nuts than a 6 foot cheater bar. 

 

So I don't need commercial grade necessarily, but I would like higher capacity and output. It's interesting to read the different specs.  How does one unit have 15 cfm at 90, 125, and 175 psi, and the next unit have such different numbers?

 

I had a beautiful Quincy that Cal rewired and set up all nice for me that got all wet in 2011 and I didn't have time to attend to it.  😒

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12 minutes ago, rockmeupto125 said:

How does one unit have 15 cfm at 90, 125, and 175 psi, and the next unit have such different numbers?

Probably bullshit.  As pressure goes up CFM goes down, there's no getting around that AFAIK unless it's a variable speed/displacement pump but I doubt you're shopping $$,$$$ compressors.  If it's a really high end compressor they could be showing minimum output specs instead of maximum, but I can't imagine anyone would do that.  15 CFM is pretty big at any pressure so unless it's a fairly high dollar compressor they're lying all the way around.

 

It sounds like HF's bigger compressors would be an upgrade from what you have, maybe not enough to be worth doing, dunno.  I have an old cheapo oiless with about a 10 gallon tank and from your description it slightly outperforms what you have.  I was initially going to suggest just replacing your pump, but it's probably not worth doing with the rest being old and abused.  I'd take off the air filter and see if that speeds it up, then clean or replace it, other than that it's probably a waste to do any further work on it.

 

I have one showing up today that would make you jizz, ridiculous overkill for home use.  I guess you could run pipes around your entire neighborhood and sell air, then it would be worth it.

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I've got a Craftsman 20 or so gallon roll-around oilless that I bought used 25 years ago that still runs like a champ.  But it's in the car garage now as I installed the big 60 gallon I bought from HF probably a decade ago out in the big shop.  HF never made their own stuff, so it turns out the one I have is made by BelAire (6061V) which they still make today but I paid roughly half of today's prices.  They are practically bulletproof so fingers crossed it will be the next homeowner that has to do anything to it.  Mine also enjoys the climate and humidity control too.  If you've got the room and need the air, go as big as you can and get something serviceable.  I got lucky since HF was using a rebranded well built product that even though they don't carry anymore, parts are still being made for.  And for God's sake, if you get a big stand up compressor, get isolation pads because it makes life so much better!

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The mistake I made was not extending the drain.  On mine the petcock points straight down and I can barely get my hand/arm under it and when I open it, the oily water gets all over my arm. Since mine is hard piped in, it would be a pain to do now.

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1 hour ago, blackhawkxx said:

Since mine is hard piped in, it would be a pain to do now.

Maybe not.  Since you can reach it you should be able to unscrew it, install an elbow, then pipe into that to get it out in an easy location, then the valve.  You might consider an automatic valve, they do a quick purge every time the compressor cycles, they're cheap & easy to install.

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15 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

You might consider an automatic valve, they do a quick purge every time the compressor cycles, they're cheap & easy to install.

 

Not any more, at least last time I looked.  HF was $15, but stopped selling them.  Everyone else seems to be $100.  That was about a year ago I think.

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I looked at HF, they have their big 60 gallon in their August flyer, but oddly, not on the website, and there's no information about it on the website at all, which is strange.  Many discontinued items I've been able to access manuals for in the past.  Hmmm.

 

Anyway, I've been looking around trying to decipher all the apples to oranges comparisons.  In my wanderings, I came across a Husky C810 with a 3 cylinder head for $900 with an 80 gallon tank. Seemed pretty good.  I was searching a while for some specs and a review when I came across aircompressorsdirect.com.  They didn't list the Husky, but they did list the Quincy QT54, which I had looked at before because it was listed on Lowe's website.  I really liked that, but $1300 was a little stretch.  That actually seemed like a really good price for a Quincy 60 gallon 2 stage pump, and I considered it , and spent more time checking it out on that website. I was kinda leery of the reviews, with 96% super and 4% (verified owners) reporting the thing blew up in 40 minutes and that they thought Quincy support was shite. Reading about that, I noticed the Quincy 60 gallon 3.5 horse single stage compressor for $800.  That had even better reviews, but still the absolutely horrid few.  As I read the reviews, I became aware of yet another concern with getting a big compressor --- weight.  I can unload something that size from a truck readily with my tractor, but moving it into a corner of my garage would be a real labor for something that weighs 450 pounds and is bigger than I am. Perhaps a smaller unit more my own weight might be a wiser choice.  I'm not getting any younger, and I don't have help with stuff like this.  Also, I now realize that the cost of accessories for a compressor that makes 175 psi is significantly greater than your standard air pressures, and that's important as well.

 

So I'm leaning toward the smaller Quincy, but to quote someone........... "I don't knooww"

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Do you need a two stage?  Sure, it would make my life easier, but my single stage 60 gallon does everything I need it to do.  Sandblast cabinet, lug nuts on the 2500hd, so far no problems (although some of these axle torque ratings are absolutely bonkers which means reversing is LOL levels of stupidity.)  Don't forget, if you hard pipe your shop, all that pipe adds to your capacity.

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2 hours ago, rockmeupto125 said:

Also, I now realize that the cost of accessories for a compressor that makes 175 psi is significantly greater than your standard air pressures, and that's important as well.

The air outlet is regulated to whatever you set it to so unless you're planning to add something to the unregulated side the tank pressure has no impact on it.  175 in the tank lets you have more air volume.  If the regulator lets you go to 175 you could hurt tools or other stuff you add, it would also let you supercharge stuff.  Just remember that when you put two pounds of shit in a one pound bag it might make a mess.  Most tools are designed for 90 PSI, I run tank pressure with most of them, mine tops out at 120-125PSI

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