Air compressor recommendations

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captainobvious

New member
I'm shopping for an air compressor for the home shop. Looking to stay in the $300 or less range if possible. Will be used for household projects occasionally, and for my audio builds for sure. I'll do some adhesive spraying, high build primer/paint spraying and some sanding with it at times. Those 3 things are probably the highest air usage requirements.

I checked Harbor Freight and they have a realllly cheap 21 gallon 2.5hp model on sale for $159 with coupon. Not sure if I trust HF compressors though.
http://www.harborfreight.com/21-gal...iMTU4LjAwIiwicHJvZHVjdF9p ZCI6IjEwMzQ3In0=

Another option I found is the Husky 33 gallon model available at HD for $299. It's an oil-less version with pretty nice specs and good reviews.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-33-gal-Quiet-Portable-Electric-Air-Compressor-C331H/203995169


3rd and 4th options are more pricey (more than I'd prefer to spend if I can get the jobs done with the other units).

Husky 30 gallon oil version for $439
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-30...table-Electric-Air-Compressor-C302H/206695048

Husky 60 gallon oil lubricated stationary (not on wheels) model, single stage 240v for $449
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-60-Gal-Stationary-Electric-Air-Compressor-C602H/205389936
Problem with this is I'd need to have a new outlet run to the garage which will likely be expensive. It has FAR more air output capacity than the others but is essentially immobile due to size and weight and requires electrical so makes it a much harder buy.


Any others in my price range that would be recommended? Are either of my first 2 suitable options for the limited use they'll see?
 
That Husky 33 gallon looks like a great option. Very similar to the Craftsman one I have. Can't complain one bit about it, very quiet compared to most others, and rarely ever have needed the tank to refill during usage.
 
I assume that one requires a 220v line as well, yes?

What should I expect to pay to get one of those put in? Panel has room and it's a 200 amp service box. Probably a good 80-90 foot run of cable to get it out to the garage area on the wall where it would be terminated. I could probably run the wiring/conduit myself and then pay to have the breaker and outlet installed. I may want a dedicated 20 amp or so setup in the garage for 110v anyway as well.
 
I own the Husky oiled 30 gallon and it's been great. It will run most anything including my media blast cabinet intermittently. I've had it for a couple years now and if I had to buy again, I would go the exact same route.
 
I dont have a specific one to recommend, but I do have some general guidelines to offer....

Definitely get an oiled compressor vice oiless. The oiled compressors are quieter. Also, 220v is easier on the electric bill. Lastly, get the largest tank you can afford and house. The larger the tank, the less time you will have to wait for it to fill with compressed air. Oh, also one spec to keep in mind while researching is the CFM (cubic feet per minute). This is how fast the motor compresses air. The higher the number, the faster the air compresses, the less time you wait to use tools. Hope this helps some.
 
The Best Air Compressors :)

  • 1-Gallon. Rolair AB5Plus.
  • 1.2-Gallon. Bostitch CAP1512-OF.
  • 2.5-Gallon. Senco PC0968.
  • 3-Gallon. Makita MAC320Q.
and the list gose on... :)
 
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Since this got bumped back up - I picked up the 1 gal Makita Quiet Series for my home bike shop. It's in the house, so I wanted something quiet and out of the way. This little thing is the tits. It's super quiet - can't hear it in the other rooms. Build quality is great. Has enough capacity to seat large tubeless MTB tires - even fatbikes. It's not a good garage compressor - have a standup for that, but if you need compressed air in the house (and who doesn't?) it's hard to beat!
 
The quiet is nice, eh? I have to use earplugs if I'm running my 30 gal Husky.

Current draw is also low on these little guys so you can run them off an inverter. Who couldn't use an air compressor in the truck?
 
At my last meet, I ran the Bostitch pancake compressor for a few second, then switched on the CAT compressor. One person exclaimed "You've gotta be fukkin kidding me"
 
This looks promising - I'd even consider impulse buying this to replace my still newish 20 gallon LOUD compressor.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-2...REC-_-pipinstock-_-206695048-_-311273546-_-N&

I love the vertical format because the footprint is small. I love mine.

I wouldn't go smaller than a 20 gallon personally - it's got enough air to get stuff done. I've even painted a car with an old one I had, and even used a vacuum venturi for overnight for vacuum bagging a composite project.

True story - we had a foundation crack buried behind drywall in the basement. After removing the drywall, I tried borrowing a pancake compressor and it simply didn't have the air or the pressure to run my air hammer. Fortunately my 20 gallon wasn't too tough to wheel down the stairs and I jackhammered 3" deep, floor to ceiling.
And I often use a Mac impact gun and never had a need for more power.

And this one looks promising because it's priced inexpensively, if it's truly quiet as advertised. Mine is so loud I'm worried about my neighbors complaining every time I fire it up.

Big enough to be powerful when you need, small enough to be portable if needed, quiet > loud, and bang-for-the-buck is a good thing.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
 
I wonder if I can hook one up to a secondary tank. There is a real hyperbolic price curve on these things.

1/2 gal, $200
1 gal, $225
2 gal, $275
6 gal, $325
10 gal, $450
20 gal, $900
60 gal, $3000

Why no 30-40 gal option at the $1000 price point, or less. they cut off at 20. Air body saw runs the tank immediately. Primer sprayer also depletes the tank instantly. 30 is marginal but doable. 60 gal is overkill on the pocketbook.

Putting a 10 or 20 gal passive tank inline right off the main tank might be good, wonder if that would cause undue stress on the compressor.
 
I really think it depends on how often you are abusing it. Adding a larger tank could shift the equation from "infrequent" to "every time it fires up", but maybe I'm not quite thinking of it correctly:

Air compressors have a "duty cycle" for the percentage of time the motor is supposed to run before you are being abusive to it, so that's worth digging out of the spec sheet.

But like I said - I painted an entire car black with my old, cheap 20 gallon Porter Cable compressor... And later, used a vacuum venturi that basically had my compressor running constantly to make that vacuum - for like 8 hours straight. And it didn't die.
Other than that I didn't really abuse it.

Of course I can't say that is true for every cheap - or expensive - compressor, but I have a feeling that duty cycle factors into how often you abuse it - but adding a larger tank WOULD definitely run the motor longer.

Honestly, for portability alone (the emergency air-hammer chiseling in my basement is an example of why) I'll probably stick with a 20 (maybe 25 or 30, but that's starting to get huge) gallon vertical compressor, at risk of infrequently abusing it.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
 
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