Air compressor Help Please thanks

[nu guy ky]

hey guys I was wanting to know What brand and Hp
and so fourth Would be a Good Air compressor
Looking to maybe spend 400-600 buck range
Would like the best I could get in that range

I knowYou can get as big as You can afford That is my limit
And would this be ran 220 ? Sorry for the stupid Question

Looking for some advice

Hope you all had a Great News Night

 

[Steve in Mi]

You give only the max $$$'s you will spend but don't say what you will use the compressor for, how often, etc. etc.. Maybe these links will be helpful to selecting the compressor you need and sorting out the REAL cfm/hp that is often hyped to the point of making a selection very difficult at best.

http://www.sawdustmaking.com/AirCompressors/air_compressor.htm

and

http://truetex.com/aircompressors.htm

 

[nu guy ky]

thanks for the link


Quote---
REAL cfm/hp that is often hyped to the point of making a selection very difficult at best.


Yuppers

 

[timgr]

I knowYou can get as big as You can afford That is my limit
And would this be ran 220 ? Sorry for the stupid Question

Re 220, that's a question of how many watts you need to run the compressor motor. 120V (110, 115, 117, 120 - all the same) circuits are used for wall plugs and can be either 15 amps or 20 amps. This means the maximum wattage (power) at 120V is 120V * 20A = 2400 Watts.

If you need more power than that, you go to a 220V circuit. 220V (or 230V or 240V - same thing) circuits can be sized for much higher power, but the service (ie the wires coming in from the pole, and the electrical panel capacity) must be sized up accordingly. You can add a 50 amp, 60 amp, 75 amp circuit at 240V, but the service has to have the capacity to handle it. The wiring must be the proper size (bigger!) for the circuit too.

A typical residential service for a 50 year old house may have a total capacity of 50 amps - obviously you can't add a 50 amp compressor circuit to that and expect everything to be fine. A 'large' residential service panel is 100 amps, and of that, you can take maybe 50 amps for the garage (that's what I have). However, if you have a big house with a lot of electrical appliances, or a big garage with a lot of power-hungry tools, that's not going to be enough.

The compressor specifications will say what amperage and voltage of circuit you'll need. Note that, if you go with a large stationary compressor, get one that uses 230V single phase. There's also 230V 3-phase, but that's typically only available in industrial buildings - a residential service will be single phase.

hth!

Also, there are lots of previous threads on this forum about air compressors. Search or go to the sticky about tools at the top of the "Tools" forum. Plenty of opinions and examples.

 

[nu guy ky]

Thanks for the info I'll check it out

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Virtually all stationary compressors are 240V. It doesn't make much sense for them to be 120V. Usually you use 120V for its portability. You can take the compressor anywhere and it can be plugged in and operate. If you double the voltage, you can halve the amp draw for the same motor, so using 240V is a no brainer as you don't need as heavy a wire. There are other advantages an electrical engineer could explain to you, but suffice to say, you are better off with 240V on the stationary unit. The kind of money you are talking will get you a decent single stage compressor with a 60 gallon tank. Shop around and don't buy anything that is labeled as "oilless" or is direct drive from the motor to the pump (you want a belt(s)) and you also want a cast iron pump if possible.

Charles

 

[KCHOTBOAT]

What do you plan on using it for?

 

[nu guy ky]

Just hm use Prb some air sanding ect.ect that sort of stuff
Thanks for the input Everyone has said the same Go with a belt drive.

 

[Ledman_70]

The first compressor I bought new was a Sears, 60 gallon, 6.5 hp. Worked great for about 6 years, but it was direct-drive and very noisy. It broke 1 of the 2 rods, so I rebuilt it. It broke a rod every year for the last 5 years, sometimes 2 rods a year, and the rebuild kit is about $50 shipped. Last summer I replaced a rod, only to have the other one break the next day...talked about PISSED!! I pulled the motor off and BEAT the compressor head off it with a hammer as the head is part of the motor housing, and bought a belt drive model...it's half as noisy, I have a spare 6.5hp motor for something else, and as soon as I get another footvalve, I will plump the 2 tanks together and have 120 gallons of air. Stay AWAY from direct-drive!
Jeff