Gas powered air compressors

What is everyone s opinion on the best gas powered air compressors for the money? Going to be used to blow out radiators and knotters and to run air tools up to 3/4 drive

Quincy or Saylor -Beal

100psi and 40 CFM is size brand is what is availabel in the area for service ect.

emglo with a Honda

Check out what they have at Compressor World on line. I bought a gas one from them and it was a nice unit, Kholer powered, electric start. Used it a lot for sand blasting so had heavy use. Also got a replacement two stage for my shop unit, also a good buy. Worth a look anyway, best prices I've found.

My large 2 cylinder compressor powered by a 12HP Kohler engine all mounted on a trailer
cost me $100 at an auction.Only thing I had to do to it was buy a battery.

(quoted from post at 10:44:34 09/17/15) What is everyone s opinion on the best gas powered air compressors for the money? Going to be used to blow out radiators and knotters and to run air tools up to 3/4 drive

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No advice on compressor brands because most are assembled with parts from the same manufacturers. If you plan to run a 3/4" air wrench a compressor with a minimum of 20 CFM might be best. 20 CFM will also let you blow off anything you want without running out of air. Engine-wise I am real impressed with the Honda GX390. It's 13 horse and I think GX denotes the industrial version, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I've been around three of them, two on compressors and one on a power washer. The compressors both were 27 CFM so that's an idea of the size compressor this engine is used on. They always start and always run. In cold weather they have to be run on half choke for awhile because the EPA has made Honda lean them up, but other than that it's about as bulletproof as they come. I have also been around the cheaper version of this same engine and it doesn't start near as well and is more fussy.

I have a Smith with a 302 Ford and it works good.

The link below gives some idea of the CFM requirement's for various air tools. Make sure you read the NOTE right above the chart. It states something many people don't know, that being that tools are only rated on as 15 second run time. This means the CFM requirement really needs to be multiplied, up to four times, depending on how you plan to use it.

In other words, if a 3/4 drive impact takes 10 cfm, your going to need a compressor capable of at least twice that, a HUGE reserve tank, or both, otherwise your going to be waiting for the pressure to build back up between fasteners. If your doing something like the lugs nuts on a big tractor, you might as well plan on it taking awhile if you don't have that added capacity.

That gets annoying as heck after awhile, so getting a larger compressor, from the word go, is the only way to do it right.

Too, most tools are rated at 90 to 100 psi, but if you want to get any real work out of them, you need to run the pressure at least 120 psi, or higher. This usually means running a two stage compressor, unless you want the tools to be anemic as heck.

That said, as another poster suggested, the Honda GX390's driving a two stage compressor, and as big of a tank as they offer, ought to do just about anything you want to do with it.........short of getting into the rotary screw compressors that offer a constant output, without a reserve tank. It's not going to be cheap, whether you go new or used, but the extra money up front will save you plenty of heartache, and four letter words later.....


http://www.air-compressor-reviews.net/air-tool-cfm-requirements/

Thank s for the replies everyone. I m hoping to find a good used one with a Honda or a Kohler engine. So far haven t turned much up anywhere close

Stonerock you got the cegar! Yes Emglo is the peak of portables and if you change the oil, drain the tanks, and air filters they will run for years. I used to sell them many years ago and they are tough. Picked one up at an auction and the thing is that everyone there didn't quite know what it was. It is an Emglo D8HA-8P unit. Honda 8hp engine and the 4 piston pump with 8gal tanks. Pumps 0-125 pounds in 17 seconds! To check one of these pumps without running it turn the flywheel a little and you should hear the valves moan. The louder the moan the better the pump. Kinda like a metallic death rattle sound. That sound should be about the level of a really really loud cat's purr. If you can run the machine a "K" pump model, that is the two piston smaller pump, it will take about 35 seconds to come to pressure. Flebay has every part you need and all of the books are on line free. Jenny products is the company building them now. They are not cheep but at auction they are a life time bargan. My neighbor just sold a K pump unit he had for $500.oo. Now this thing was mint and had maybe 30 hours run time. By the way , the last pic. shows the air manifould to do "everything" you can think of. Straight air and regulated pressure. You don't need to do it all in brass of course. He he