Air Compressor And Blast Cabinet

[freudianfloyd]

I am looking to upgrade my 3hp 60 gallon single stage compressor. As of right now, it serves my purposes, although at times I'm pushing it. In the near future I would like to get a blast cabinet so I dont have to sneak my stuff into work and use theirs when nobody is looking.

I found a compressor on market place that sounds good, but I want to make sure it will be enough for any future requirements. The specs on the compressor are as follows:

5hp
Single phase
80 gallons
20.6 Displace CFM
2 stage
175 PSI

I dont have a blast cabinet in mind, but im guessing if I do pick one up, it will be an old industrial one, or at a minimum, something better quality than a Harbor Freight one. It wont be used constantly, more for little restoration projects or small parts, maybe up to 30 minutes continuous use at most.

Will this compressor be enough for this, or will it work good for short bursts? I think a blast cabinet will be the biggest air user I would have, but would like the ability to run 3/4" to 1" impacts if needed.

I know im not giving alot of info, but im still looking for blast cabinets as well.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Shoreline_]

I recommend to Get the biggest compressor for your electrical service. Impact guns are an intermittent usage tool. Bigger capacity takes care of that when the pump is undersized. DA sanding or air grinding maybe the next biggesr constant use user.

Great deals are all over the place. Check out this Quincy.

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[GeoBruin]

This question comes up frequently. You will get lot of answers ranging from "you'll be fine" to "blasting with that compressor will be basically unusable".

The reality is, you're not going to grt a straight answer because so much depends on the size of the blast gun (or really the tip/jet combo) you wind up using, the pressure you want to blast at, and what material removal rate you consider acceptable.

You can change out your gun and the tip/jet so you will be able to blast continously, but the material removal rate may not be high enough to blast large things at a reasonable pace. Alternatively, you can use a larger tip/jet but you may outrun the compressor.

In my opinion, a 20CFM 80 gallon compressor is great for blasting most things for most people. Especially for a home shop. I have a 15 CFM 60 gallon compressor and I have gun that allows me to run it continuously. I'm very happy with my setup, but my cabinet is so small I could never fit anything large enough that I wished I could remove material faster.

 

[txvwnut]

I have a 5hp 2 stage 20cfm 60 gallon tank and it will cycle on and off while I'm using the blast cabinet and some of my blasting sessions can be and hour long. You shouldn't hurt for air with that compressor.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Thank you guys for the information

 

[Sumboodie]

I have probably the same 3hp 60 gal. It's like 9-10 cfm at 90psi and only rated to 125? Psi.
It's the box store special that was ~$450 15 years ago.
Saw almost the exact same at Homes Depot last week, randomly in my way while I was getting plywood.
$899 now. Or may $799. I.was surprised how nothing had changed but the price.

Anyhow I got a 5hp 80 gallon as the main and tied in that 3hp unit as a backup. If pressure drops under 120 it'll kick on and help the big guy (or in case big guy doesn't make air for some reason).

Also the 2nd tank is additional air storage which isn'tavailable thing.

I had planned to just sell the little guy, but compressors bring little here. Maybe would have gotten $200-250 out of it... maybe.

 

[freudianfloyd]

I have probably the same 3hp 60 gal. It's like 9-10 cfm at 90psi and only rated to 125? Psi.
It's the box store special that was ~$450 15 years ago.
Saw almost the exact same at Homes Depot last week, randomly in my way while I was getting plywood.
$899 now. Or may $799. I.was surprised how nothing had changed but the price.

Anyhow I got a 5hp 80 gallon as the main and tied in that 3hp unit as a backup. If pressure drops under 120 it'll kick on and help the big guy (or in case big guy doesn't make air for some reason).

Also the 2nd tank is additional air storage which isn'tavailable thing.

I had planned to just sell the little guy, but compressors bring little here. Maybe would have gotten $200-250 out of it... maybe.

Yeah, mine is the standard Campbell Hausfeld. I traded a guy a few boxes of 9mm ammo for it about 15 years ago. Its been a good compressor but not big enough for my needs.