When looking for a Air Compressor, what kind of specs should I be looking to get? I'm looking for a occasional use one for my garage. I would mainly use it to install parts, change wheels, etc.

1)HP - ?
2)Capacity - ?
3)Motor - ?
4)Max Psi - ?
5)Best Price - ?

6)Best brand for Impact Gun and Air Tools?
7)Will my current hand tool sockets fit in the impact gun?

 

If your going to use it for just air guns and rachets--4-5 woild be fine ---If ur going to be using it for DAs and Paint guns--5-7.5would better but minimal,, for serious stuff----, go 7.5 -10 HP

30-60 Gallon tank is fine---Serious , 120 Gal

220 Volt ---A 110 will kill ur Elec Bill

Comps come in single stage and two stage----- Singles have 2 pistons the same size---They both work together to pull air in and compress it. Dual stages have one piston that is half the displacement of the other. The large piston pulls air in and compresses it, then sends it to the smaller one that compresses it twice as much. They can be turned up but realistically,125 PSI for single and 175 PSI for dual

Air tools are ur call, depending on use over time

Standardize all ur fittings---so everything fits --Milton is the old stand by

 

Damn, 5hp? I was looking at 2hp,~15gal,~150psi,~6SCFM at 90psi ones at Sears and they cost $400. Is 2hp not good enough for air tools? Is Hp more important or the SCFM rating? I want to have enough power to take off any bolt on my car when I want to do wheels, suspension or any other mechanical work. I can usually get any bolt off with a breaker bar, so I don't want to buy a whole setup and it not work for those really tough bolts.

 

Im going by experience and yrs working with Pnuematics---What u are looking at would be fine if u use it Occationally---I think what u are looking at is a contractors "pancake" compressor, used for nail guns,staplers etc that dont need a lot of air storage. It will work ---But it is a "throw away"---use it till it goes down, toss it and buy another one.
U are narowing it down thou ---I believe for 400.00 more or so --thru Northern Tools for example ---U can get a Campbell-Hausfield vertical with a 60 gal tank that if u use it as u say, will last u a lifetime-------------CHANGE OIL !!!! DRAIN TANK !!!!
There is so much involved --I could write a small book---In line oilers/filters, gages,pvc air lines versus copper/steel, slopping ur lines,type of oil to use, 110/220 volt, reed valves/disc valves.
Bottom line is the Campbell reciprocating mach. is pretty good for the $$$s

 

I got the craftsman 30 gal 6hp oil-less for something like 300 and change a few years ago. I've used it mostly for cutting and some impact wrenching. Oh and an overkill tire inflator. It’s been good to me so far.

 

I bought a Craftsman 5 hp/220v, single stage/two piston, oil-type w/20 gallon tank, compressor over 20 years ago and have used it almost every weekend since then. It has had no problems at all, it is just big enough to run an in-line sander (my biggest air consumer). If I did not do any body work and just wanted to run a impact wrench I would look for an oil-type 2 hp/110v with a small tank, this would be much cheaper and far more portable. Some advice for long compressor life...drain tank after use, change/clean intake filter when needed, change oil often and do not overheat it. It may be necessary to use a small household fan for additional cooling during the summer if you are using a lot of air.
Note; the size of the tank only changes the frequency of starts, it does not increase the output of the compressor, this is why it is important to get one with enough capacity for the tools you will be using.

 

Thats right on tank size--ure comp doesnt have to run as often but on the down side, if ur comp is underated It has to run longer to replenish---What u gain u lose. I would shy away from oiless, but cool if u use it seldomly.
There are sooo many variables.

Something to remember thou----Due to cheap units and competition, HP is overrated !!!!!! what they say is a 7 HP may be a 4HP---This is a FACT !!!! Also, for the same reason, they run their regulators High so its putting out 175 PSI when it has no business putting out over 100 PSI.

Cooling is VERY important---1. Just cuz heat beats the hell out of it, Any time u compress something, weather it be Diesel or air u create Hi temps. 2. The hotter the air, the more condensation, leading to water in the tank, screwing up ur air tools and drops of water coming out ur paint spray gun, ruining ur paint !!!!!!

 

These are the two I was looking at:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...AUTO&ihtoken=1
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

I've seen the pancake ones that E***y is talking about. They look like crap.
Will these have enough torque to take off any bolt on my car?

 

What u have there is an oiless that has an electric motor that runs paralell to the piston thats driven by a eccentric as opposed to a crankshaft. It uses fiber type rings that dont need lube, or at least a minimum. It is not rebuildable. The elec. motor has a fan on the furthest end of the shaft to cool it. I see nothing about pressure, only CFM. Pressure is what gives u the power in ur air gun. Because of the tank size,CFM should not be a factor. It will be a factor if u are using a tool demanding constant air.
For the price---WTF, It should be all right for ur day to day maintenence.
I would feel better bout it if it was that price without all the tools.
Keep in mind that when it goes down after a couple -3 yrs ur just going to have a Boat Anchor.

Im giving u all the +s and -s, Like I said --for the price, it will prob work for u fine. And depending what u want for the future, give u an idea of what u may want down the rd. in a few yrs.
Hope this helped !!!!

 

Well the first one is oil lube and the second one is oil-less. I think the second one is 150psi, so the first one should at least be equal or greater than that. Is 150psi ok?

Link to the first one isn't working. Another try:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

If it doesn't work, its the Craftsman 25 gal. Air Compressor, 2 hp, Horizontal Tank, model #19541 for $379.99.

 

I couldnt bring the first one up. ---AH --got it ---First is much better and u have the option of getting urself some good airtools rather than getting stuck with a bunch of crap that the second one comes with.---150 is fine.
Im leery when they offer u TOO much for ur money.
With the second one , ur literally getting a 125.00 compresser with a buch of cheap tools

 

bump for any other (fresh) feedback.

..a few other small duty compressors I am looking at for minimal use - Impact gun for wrenching that I can't do with my own strength.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ord=compressor

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ord=compressor

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ord=compressor

 

I bought the first one in your links 6 or 7 years ago . Wish I had went with the stand up one though [ space saving ] Your should be able to get either one of thoughs compressors for less than $300 when on sales at Sears . Thats all you will need for a home garage . Get the 110 V. unless you have 220 in the garage already . You sound like it will not be used enough to warrant anything more expensive .