A probably-stupid question about air hose reels...

[M635_Guy]

I'd like to put one in my garage, but I long ago gave up my big compressor and only have a small California Air Tools 2HP 4.6 gal. compressor. Can such a small compressor deal with a reel and a 50-ft. hose?

Compressor specs:
2.0 HP (Rated/Running)
4.6 Gallon Aluminum Tank
6.40 CFM @ 40 PSI
5.30 CFM @ 90 PSI

I have zero intentions of adding a big compressor ever again, at least in this house (we've looked at some properties over the last couple years that have giant garages...), so a suggestion of upgrading to a bigger compressor aren't happening. If it doesn't work with this one I'll just live with what I've got.

 

[SusKatCas]

The compressor doesn't really care about your hose reel. It's a little bit of extra storage volume if you have a 50' hose and only use 10' of it.

 

[SARG]

My most extensive use of the 4 compressors I've acquired over the years is keeping the dozens of tires inflated to proper pressure.
Then ... I bought a MIlwaukee M18 Inflater and the compressors are pretty much retired.
And ... I've also switched from my air tools ( impacts & grinders ) over to the M18 electric variety.

 

[bdbecker]

The compressor won't care, its whatever is attached on the other end that might. If you're just blowing off workbenches, running a nailer, or filling up tires, etc., you won't have any problems. If you are running a tool that wants all the air your compressor can push out, having 50' of extra hose between the tool and compressor will impact the tool's performance.

For what its worth, I've got a CAT 8010 (lower hp than yours) hooked up to a reel with 100' of hose on it. I don't have or use any tools that require larger amounts of air, so I've been perfectly happy with my setup.

 

[imagineer]

I have 2 - 50' air hose reels. 1 in the workshop, mounted above the bottom chord of the roof trusses, plumbed to a 60 gallon compressor.
The other is built into a cabinet in the garage and plumbed to a portable 20 gallon compressor. Both work fine.

My advise is don't go cheap on the hose reel. Buy a good, industrial quality one that won't leak, or is rebuildable.

 

[GeoBruin]

Nice compressor.

The one metric you didn't list is the maximum pressure. That unit has a max pressure of 120 PSI. That's going to be your limiting factor when running a long hose. For example if you wanted to run a tool that needed 90 PSI and demanded 20 cfm, that 50-ft hose is going to cause a pressure loss of over 10 psi at the tool when your gauge pressure is 90 psi. Since the factory cut in pressure is 90 psi, that means by the time your compressor even Cuts in, you will only be seeing 80 psi at the tool.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) your compressor would only be capable of supplying 20 CFM at 90 PSI for a few seconds anyway, so that use case is probably not realistic for you. For every other use case other than a high demand air tool, the hose won't matter for you for reasons others have mentioned. To that end, I say go for it. Hose reels are convenient.

 

[tak1313]

As others have said - the compressor won't care, but your tool might depending on what it needs (pressure/cfm). There is always friction loss through any hose depending on diameter and length, so if your tool's needs are at the margin of what your compressor can put out (especially psi), it may not be enough by the time it gets to the end of the hose.

The higher the psi requirement of the tool, the more you have to compensate at the compressor for the friction loss by the hose, so it COULD get to the point where you can't put out enough psi at the compressor to meet the needs at the tool.

Don't forget there's a relation between cfm and pressure you MAY need to account for - the higher the cfm need of the tool, the more difficulty the compressor might have keeping up the psi at that rate. Although it can be an issue regardless of the diameter/length of hose, the friction loss can exacerbate the problem.

 

[tarmy]

Put your reel up OP! I have three of them…all hooked up to various compressors.