Good Starter Compressor?-What tools will it Run Well??

RTR

Well-known Member
I am looking at this compressor on sale at Sears. Will it be a good one to start out with. I do normal chores like airing up tires, working on riding mower, maybe a small Farmall Cub from time to time. I MIGHT do some painting with it....but probably not.

Will this compressor be a good fit?? I like it because I might not live in this house forever and all I have is the attached garage.

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Here are the Specs on it. I really don't know what all that means and what to look for, so that's why I'm asking all of you experts!

THANKS!
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From what I see for what you want it is over kill but then that is good because I can tell you for sure if you have one you want it to do a lot more then you think you will want it to do. Since it has enough gut to run an impact then it is good enough to do all you want and then some
 
It will work , but those Oil less compressors are really noisey. You wont be able to talk in the same room with it . If you can isolate it in a closet or better yet in an outdoors enclosure it will be acceptible. They don't last near as long as a oil lubed compressor , but for infrequent use you'll get by with it . See if they will demonstrate one in the store for you !!
 
Shop for compressors, by knowing what the CFM (cubic feet per
minute), that the tools you have, or intend to purchase, use. If you
look at the specs of the tool, it will tell you what CFM required. Air
nailers, and impact wrenches are usually the big consumers of air
power. Once you know that, if your shop is a one man show, you
know about what you need in compressor output. If you have
multiple tools being used at the same time, then the picture would
change.
 
If you do much of anything with a compressor you'll want something that makes 12-15 cfm @ 90 psi with a maximum of at least 125 psi... and an oil lubed pump. They generally call those about a 5 hp compressor. Mine is also a portable type rather than a standup. That works OK for me because I hide it under the work bench...
I can also take it if I need it elsewhere.
It'll be a bunch more money but somehting that will outlast you more than likely. One of my neighbours has had probably 5 of those small lube free compressors in the time I've had mine and does less with it.... They're junk as far as I'm concerned.


Rod
 
I've had a 30gal from Sears for probably 15 years or more, the horizontal one, not the stand up. Yup it's noisy........I mean REALLY noisy! It is good enough for day to day stuff but for running a larger impact or doing anything like sandblasting or painting it's not enough. It runs constantly when sandblasting and doesn't have enough oomph. It's too big to lug around and too small for some of the bigger stuff.
 
it would be a good one to start out with
the other guys have a lot of good points
HOWEVER they all cost 4-8 times the price of this one
this one is cheap enough that if you reealy use it enough down the road you will get rid of it due to too loud, too small, etc. At that time put it on Craigslist for $125 snd move onto a much nicer unit for 900 to 2500.
bought a compressor back in 1981 it is oiless 1 hp and done a lot with it. still in the garage and still use it to air tires up. I turn it on and walk away while it is pumping up.
Good luck
Ron
 

Thanks Ron. I basically wanted to know if it would run at least the 1/2 in. drive impact gun and acutally break rusty bolts loose with it instead of running the gun and working properly on NEW stuff. Also, like I said before.....I MIGHT be doing some painting with it with a HVLP gun, or I MIGHT hook it to a sandblast cabinet......only if It would work properly.
 
For that price you should be fine. It will run a 1/2" impact. I run a 3/4" impact with mine and it will knock most things loose but I could benefit from a larger diameter hose, I only run 1/4" line.
Mine has been good enough for 15 or so years and just in the past 1-2 years have I thought about an upgrade.
 
you won"t break rusty bolts loose with a cheap impact, figure $250 to $400 for a impact strong enough to do that. that compressor will have enough power for most minor things. for real strong power and run time then 2 stage running 175psi and 15scfm or more, like I said big $$$
my hvlp is a stand alone unit so no experience howevever size the gun to your compressor until you realy want a big unit then lay out the big $$$
good luck
Ron
 
Shop around for a good used compressor. A real one, not a toy like the one pictured. Like someone posted...it's too big to be portable and too small for serious work. Whatever size compressor you think you can get by with now won't be big enough later. Instead of throwing money away on a "starter" compressor just buy a good one to start with. Watch commercial and industrial auction listings. With so many businesses closing there are deals to be had.
 
If you've got a 20+ gal tank and a 125 psi pressure switch you can run an impact easily enough for SHORT duration. It's the size of the tank you've got and the line coming out of it that counts for the impact, not the size of the pump head.
I agree that you want a better quality gun tho. Something that makes 800 plus ft-lb of torque. For moderate use a newer composite gun will work OK and be fairly cheap.

Rod
 
If it says it is an Oilless compressor, DON'T waste your money on it. My Boss bought a new one a few years ago. Short time went by, it quit pumping. I rebuilt the piston. Short time went by, it quit pumping. I rebuilt it again. Few weeks went by, the motor crapped out. I pulled the stuff off the top and turned it into a big spare air tank. Get a 5 horse electric with a twin cylinder pump that uses oil. You will never regret it.
 
Yes, that would be a good starter compressor for occasional use on a budget. If you have capacity concerns look up the air consumption of the largest air tool you want to power and compare it to the SCFM the compressor can deliver at those pressures.

I've had a similar horizontal 25 gallon 7.0 SCFM@90psi oil-less Craftsman compressor for about 20 years. It's OK for occasioanl use and should be fine for the uses you described. It's OK for painting building exteriors, filling tires, blowing dirt out of radiators and running smaller air tools like the ones included with the compressor. Look up the price of the included tools and the compressor as seperate items to get an idea if the bundle is priced reasonably.

Be aware that oil-less compressors are much much louder than a lubed compressor, as loud as many diesel tractors under full load (90 to 100 decibles?). If it will cycle a lot I prefer to wheel it around a corner so it is only 1/4 as loud. A 50 foot long, 3/8 inch ID air line has been adequate for me so far. That would be too small for regular full-time shop use.

My compressor will trip most 15 amp circuit breakers, if not on empty start-up it will trip them on re-start under pressure. I keep it on 20 amp circuits and have no problems even when using extension cords.

The 500 hour life is plenty for most people. If you intend to use it for several hours every week or to use it for painting vehicles, then get a commercial duty oil lubed compressor.

The pressure regulator is the weak point on mine, it's plastic and I've replaced it twice, the second time with an off-the-shelf metal regulator.

Compare prices of oil-less compressors and lubed compressors of the same capacity, and then check your local Craigs List for resale prices. If this unit turns out to be too small for you after several years you should still be able to keep the air tools and resell just the compressor for $100 to $150.

Good luck.
 
I had one(too loud) and sold it as soon as I found
the one I have now. Watch Craigslist and you will
find a big one for cheap, just don t get in a
hurry.
 
I have one almost just like that and it has worked ok far me.I have run an impact and a zip gun with it yes they are loud but for the money they do the job adiquitly
 
For 260 bucks including accessories, you can't expect to get much of a compressor. What you have here is the pump from a pancake compressor mounted on a large tank. It will be noisy and will take a long time to pump up. It will be fine for airing up tires and operating intermittent-duty tools like an impact wrench. It won't keep up with high-volume tools such as a die grinder or paint gun.

Question: Do you have 240 volts in your garage, or is it practical to install 240 service? If so, that opens you up to a whole different class of compressor, one that can last you a lifetime.
 

This is going in my garage that is attached to my house. I live in a subdivision.
 
No it probably is 1.5 hp, they used to be sold as 5 hp before the
court case. I've got a 15 year old CH one, its got more than 500
hours on it but I'm just waiting for it to go. Its loud, slow, and gets
the job done. I borrow a portable usually but once in a while use
this one as a big air pig. Plug it in charge it up then wheel it over to
the tractor bucket.

Did I mention its ear splittingly loud?
 
Do like everyone else said and save up for something better. Real tools cost real money, this thing puts out enough air to pump up a tire or run a nail gun. The tank is deceiving and makes it look bigger than it is. You won't paint with this. You do not have the capacity here to take all the tires off your car with an impact without letting this thing run to "catch up". There are some really good options for $600 or so gets you 3 hp which will do much more. 8-900 should get you into 5 hp which is really more than the average guy needs.
 
go look on the northern tool website, they have a decent selection of compressors like you want.
 
agree there - with those cheap impact guns, you'll find yourself reaching for the breaker bar more often than the impact gun.

Sure it's nice to zip nuts/lug nuts on and off quickly - but if you have to loosen half of them first with a socket wrench anyways... it's kind of pointless.

I think you'll find that unless you're using it constantly - it's hardly worth firing up that noisy compressor, waiting several minutes for the pressure to build, dragging out the air line, oiling your gun if you don't have an oiler, just to take some lug nuts or bolts out "quickly" - followed by noisy draining of the compressor when youre done...

with moisture trap and another regulator you can run an hvlp gun for painting.

A dual action sander or die grinder will run, but you'll have to stop constantly to let the compressor catch up.

forget any kind of sandblasting.

an air wrench would run ok - however - I personally never use one because most bolts I remove are frozen too solidly (see comment on impact wrench) think you'd probably find the same.

So it's usefulness is limited

On the other hand, I think every man needs a compressor and ANYTHING is better than nothing - so that makes the question easier.

You'd most certainly be happier spending a more now larger, quiter, faster one without a doubt. But if that's not in the budget - then so be it.

You need a compressor - you can't be out there filling tires with a bicycle pump.

maintain this one well, you can always sell it in the future when you're ready to move on.
 
Junk. Spend about $450 and get a 60 gallon vertical 11.0 cfm 220 volt model from farm store on sale. 50 ft hose on a manual reel next to it.
The tool i will sell LAST from my shop.
 
Why would you drain the tank, other than to periodically drain water out? Keeping the tank under pressure prevents condensation from non-use...

Rod
 
The oil less compressors will not last long. Plus the direct drive compressors are very noisy. Here is a much better compressor for just a little more money. It is a twin cylinder, 110 volt, belt driven , oil filled compressor. It has almost double the capacity of the one you show.

You can pickup good impact wrenches on Graigslist cheap. So for maybe $200 more you will have a much better system to use that will last longer.
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Theisens Store compressor.
 

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