Air Compressor for the garage... What spec?

I'm looking for a compressor for the garage... What spec do I need to operate an 'Air impact wrench' etc Looking for a decent one that doesn't cost the earth

Gonna fix yourself now ?

Sorry....

.

I bought a compressor from here:

http://www.diy-compressors.com/shop/starter-kits.htm

If you look at the Compressor choice link to see what compressor is suitable for which tool.

[timwilky]

There are a couple of things to look at. The power obviously and the size of the tank.

If you are going to be using a lot of air, ie spraying etc then you need a large tank as you are more intersted at the cfm you can deliver rather than the pressure which is of more use for air tools such as impact wrenches where you need high pressure for short durations.


Important then are you auxillary fittings. My compressor output goes into an evaporator to remove water and then branches, one to an adaptor and the other through an oiler and then onto 4 branch points in the garage with a pcl fittings. The idea is that my spay gun, spray airline pipe cannot become contaminated with lubricating oil. All my tools are pcl fitments and can only then fit onto the lubricated points.

Originally Posted by timwilky

If you are going to be using a lot of air, ie spraying etc then you need a large tank as you are more intersted at the cfm you can deliver rather than the pressure which is of more use for air tools such as impact wrenches where you need high pressure for short durations.

Tank size has nothing to do with cfm.

[timwilky]

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

Tank size has nothing to do with cfm.

Not quite in the context I was refering to,

The volume of stored air in the tank is indicative of the capacity of air capable of being delivered whilst the compressor is topping up. I agree there is more to the cfm than just the tank size. including pipework bore, and the pressure it is delivered at etc. However without that large reserve of air in the first place tasks such as spraying would see air delivery purely at the compressor pump rate and become "pulsy"

Yep. Sorry, was being a little pedantic

[northwind]

For my respray, I've mainly used a wee joke compressor with a 6 litre reciever, from B&Q. On paper, totally inappropriate, but it worked just fine. But on the down side, it did blow up So I've just got an old stock SIP with a 12 litre receiver, still smaller than would be recommended for spraying but it works a charm.

I don't really know much abiout it, jsut some rules of thumb. How I judged it was, I check the consumption stat for the tools you're considering, and make sure the free cfm of the compressor is higher. The higher the better, and the bigger the receiver the better, in general- means the compressor will need to run less often,w hich generally means it'll last longer. Displacement in CFM and free CFM are different things though.

Also, consider noise levels... My old one was seriously loud, the new one's 89db IIRC)- which is still pretty loud. If you'll be uising it constantly, or at night, then really you want it to be as quiet as poss. But really quiet ones cost a fortune.

With tools, you might want an in-line oiler for it? Not sure about that, it's not something I've done. I don't really have enough use for them, I just use the paint gun and the air blower.

[Blue Flame]

Aldi's are selling one this Thursday with an air wrench etc as additional items.

See Here --->http://www.aldi.co.uk/special_buys/index.html

Is this any good ??

[northwind]

Well, Aldi do have a formiddable reputation as a supplier of heavy plant...