Air Hammer & Small Air Compressor

[MaineMetric]

I’m considering purchasing an air hammer but I have an Ingersoll Rand twin stack air compressor with a 4 gallon capacity. I’d be using it for personal automotive repair, primarily suspension and axle work. I realize that with its small capacity, that I might have to stop often to let the tanks fill back up again. I work on my cars regularly and use different sizes of Milwaukee M18 impact guns, so it’s difficult to justify a larger capacity air compressor just to power one tool.

I’m considering an Ingersoll Rand 119MAX. Will the 119MAX be effective with my twin stack? I’d like to get the hardest hitting .401 air hammer that my air compressor can handle. I’d love to get a SO 3050 but I don’t think I’d use it enough to justify the cost and I have a feeling a 4 gallon compressor is insufficient.

I’m not looking for a budget air hammer. One made in the USA would be great but I know there aren’t many options, and they are not inexpensive. For an imported air hammer I’d prefer to not go above $150 or so which is currently 119MAX territory.

I’d prefer long barrel but I’m open to suggestions based on my compressor. If I could get 15-20 seconds of use before having to stop for the tanks to refill, I’d be happy. Is this possible? Is it unrealistic to think that I can use a hard hitting air hammer with my compressor?

Twin Stack Small Portable Reciprocating Compressor 2 hp

The Ingersoll Rand oil-lubricated Twin-Stack reciprocating air compressor is designed to provide power, durability and portability on the job site or for DIY projects.

www.ingersollrand.com

119MAX Vibration Reduced Air Hammer | Ingersoll Rand

The 119MAX Air Hammer is built on the hardworking and respected foundation laid by the 118MAX. The results are light, quiet and powerful air hammer that delivers incredible levels of performance and power at a cost that won’t punish your wallet.

powertools.ingersollrand.com

 

[micromind]

With 4 gallons, it makes a difference whether the compressor is running or not when you pull the trigger.

I'm guessing here but with the compressor running, you might get 15 seconds out of it, probably not.

The air consumption of a tool like that is usually listed as 4CFM or so. This is based on running out for 15 seconds for every minute. The actual continuous consumption is more like 15 - 20CFM. The compressor might supply 3 or 4CFM which helps but it'll drain a 4 gallon tank pretty quickly.

 

[bcradio]

What will you be using the air hammer for? I almost only use mine in very short bursts.

 

[Jswain]

Worst case you need to buy a cheap small auxillary tank to tee into. But unless things are really stuck I'd imagine it will still work good for the usual separating tie rods, pushing thru bolts out etc.

 

[sparky 1971]

You're going to spend more time waiting than you will hammering.

I don't remember what my air hammer is, but it takes my 60 gallon compressor from a full 155 psi down to 105 where the motor kicks in a lot faster than I expected. And at only 3HP, the hammer uses air faster than the compressor can replace it. If I'm going to be hammering (or using the cut off tool) for what I expect to be a decent length of time, I tie my 30 gallon 120 compressor in to help out. Granted, the air hammer only comes out about once a year and by that time I've exhausted other options and am usually pissed enough that I don't care about anything other than breaking whatever it is that needs hammered off or out. That four gallon doesn't stand a chance unless you're ok with 10 second bursts and waiting however long it takes to recover.

 

[MoonRise]

Hard hitting.401 shank air hammer with a trigger that is controllable and not just on/off is the Astro Pneumatic 401K "Thor". About $130 or so.

As to running the air hammer off of that 4 gallon 135 psi air compressor, you will get only seconds of use before the tank pressure drops below the 90 psi that the air hammer needs. The motor and pump on that air compressor have NO chance of keeping up with the air hammer using the air. You will have to stop and wait for the tank to refill before continuing.

Maybe 10 seconds of use, give or take. Then you wait for the motor and pump to refill the tank to 135 psi, and do another maybe 10 seconds of hammering. Repeat.

Because of the way that most air tools are rated, the listed CFM demand is based on only 15 seconds of use in a minute. So the actual air usage is 4x what the rating is. If a tool is 'rated' to use 4 cfm of air at 90 psi means that the tool is actually using air at 16-20+ cfm continuously.

You really would need more air volume and a higher storage pressure to effectively use a decent air hammer.

Real Example:

The Astro Pneumatic 401K Thor when on full power ***** down the air from my small 120V 15 gallon 200 psi air compressor to 150 psi where the pump turns on in about 20 seconds or so, and then I might get another 10 seconds of use before the tank pressure drops below 90 psi and the air hammer is no longer hitting hard at all. Still tapping, but not hitting hard anymore. So, stop and wait for the tank to refill.

 

[Beauregard]

90% of my hammer time is in under 15-second bursts. If you're not cutting sheet metal 15 seconds of hammering should work.
I rarely get ahead of my CAT 10-gallon unit using my smallish SO PH45A.

 

[VolvoRyan]

I guess it's worth a try. How much is a HF 30 gallon compressor?

The IR long barrel guns are really nice. I had to get the old 118 because the 119 was not quite out yet. But these both get high marks. Vibration is minimal, do it's deceptive how much damage they can do.

-Ryan

 

[MaineMetric]

Thank you for all of your responses.

The main reason for wanting an air hammer is to remove stuck bolts and axles. I was replacing the rear wheel bearings on one of my Outback’s recently and on one side the axle did not want to separate from the hub. I’ve replaced 7 wheel bearings with no problems separating the axle from the hub and this one just didn’t want to budge. I spent hours trying to get it apart. I ended up having to remove the entire assembly and having a local shop separate them using an air hammer. I’d like to be prepared in case it happens again.

I’d be happy with short bursts and even though I know how useful an air hammer is, I don’t expect to use it often.

Any good articles on adding an additional air tank?

 

[The Cobbler]

this is GJ, try it and see what happens. and if you're not succesful, you have reason to buy another larger compressor !

on a serious notr tho , I think it all depends. you may find it fine some times , you may find the compressor too small sometimes

 

[Jswain]

this is GJ, try it and see what happens. and if you're not succesful, you have reason to buy another larger compressor !

on a serious notr tho , I think it all depends. you may find it fine some times , you may find the compressor too small sometimes

x2 get the tool and if it becomes a problem, fix the problem. Maybe you'll go 5 years without wanting to get a bigger tank/compressor, maybe you'll buy one used in 5 days. Or maybe it will work good enough for you and you never upgrade

 

[dnschmidt]

How exciting. Another I have a mini-compressor and I want to do something other than use a brad nailer or pump up a tire with it thread. I simply never get tired of these. At least he isn't asking if he can sandblast with it.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

How exciting. Another I have a mini-compressor and I want to do something other than use a brad nailer or pump up a tire with it thread. I simply never get tired of these. At least he isn't asking if he can sandblast with it.

I bet you could get 0.5 seconds of use before the pressure drops below even making the gun function.



The hammer says it takes 23.8 CFM under load. I'm going to assume that's WOT. Compressor can produce....... 4.3cfm at 90spi dynamic.

4.3cfm/23.8cfm means the compressor can supply ~ 18% of the air hammers CFM consumption. And you know that's a ******** number for output via the compressor, they always are.

How many CFM can a 3 8 hose handle?


I determined, from calculations shown below, the theoretical max air flow for ¼ inch is 13.35 CFM and for 3/8th inch, max air flow is 30.05 CFM. These numbers represent the max air flow out of a compressor with the regulator set to 90 PSI assuming no losses to friction or other inefficiencies.Mar 3, 2016

So the max output of that compressor couldn't even max out 1/4 hose with all inefficiencies ignored. Not trying to be a hater, but I rented an apartment from a dentist who had a compressor about that size to run his air tools. Like the stuff you use for grinding teeth or blowing air, all 1/4 line or smaller.

 

[Jswain]

How exciting. Another I have a mini-compressor and I want to do something other than use a brad nailer or pump up a tire with it thread. I simply never get tired of these. At least he isn't asking if he can sandblast with it.

Well, at least he's not (still) whining about self checkouts.

His pump is 100% duty cycle, if needed he could add as large as a tank as he could dream of and eventually it would pump it up. Ideal? No, but maybe better/cheaper for him and his intended uses.

 

[setfocus]

The few times I've run into axles really seized in hubs, it required more than 5 seconds of air hammering. More like 30 seconds full throttle with snappy ph3050b, all my weight into it. Then heating up the hub with torch, back to hammering. Back and forth a half dozen times. To point where I wouldn't want to reuse the hub/bearing from the glowing hot heat

Haven't run into a really seized axle since I got a .498 air hammer.

 

[FlaGman]

Sixtyfiveford just had a video using a battery powered palm nailer instead of an air hammer. It worked surprisingly well.

 

[Steve_P]

Thank you for all of your responses.

The main reason for wanting an air hammer is to remove stuck bolts and axles. I was replacing the rear wheel bearings on one of my Outback’s recently and on one side the axle did not want to separate from the hub. I’ve replaced 7 wheel bearings with no problems separating the axle from the hub and this one just didn’t want to budge. I spent hours trying to get it apart. I ended up having to remove the entire assembly and having a local shop separate them using an air hammer. I’d like to be prepared in case it happens again.

I’d be happy with short bursts and even though I know how useful an air hammer is, I don’t expect to use it often.

Any good articles on adding an additional air tank?

It sounds like you work on cars a decent amount since you said you've replaced 7 wheel bearings. You are well past the point of needing to have a significantly larger compressor. 4 gallons is only ~0.5 ft^3, so you're going to get one BRRAP out of an air hammer and that's it. That would probably knock out a tie rod, but not much else IME.

 

[Jswain]

It sounds like you work on cars a decent amount since you said you've replaced 7 wheel bearings. You are well past the point of needing to have a significantly larger compressor. 4 gallons is only ~0.5 ft^3, so you're going to get one BRRAP out of an air hammer and that's it. That would probably knock out a tie rod, but not much else IME.

It's compressed air though, not just tank volume. If he sets the pressure at the max between 90-135 is like 1.6cf I believe. Could set the pump to kick on at 100 as well which won't be much but some. I'm thinking he gets 6-7 seconds of brappp

 

[5ubtle]

Something else that my cause you problems is the (probable) small fittings coming out of the tank. A small compressor is designed to run tools with low air requirements, therefore it probably will have small diameter fittings between the tank and the quick connect. I know that my 119MAX doesn't run so well through 1/4" I/M couplers. If you do add an auxiliary tank, consider using 3/8" (or larger) piping.

Please be sure to let us know how this works out, if you do try it.

 

[MaineMetric]

I do have a lot to think about. I did some research and didn’t realize just how easy it is to add an auxiliary air tank to my compressor. Multiple sizes including a nice 20 gallon made by Industrial Air.

This IR twin stack served me well for its intended purpose which was to install finish trim on my entire house in 2012. I don’t think cordless finish nailers were even in existence yet. It paid for itself with that one project. Since then I’ve used it primarily for filling tires, occasionally running my IR die grinders, and yes, powering a Speed Blaster handheld sandblaster. Using the last two definitely empties the tanks quickly so if a bigger compressor is not an option, a 20 gallon auxiliary tank will also help a lot with the die grinders and sand blaster.

Latest versions of cordless tools like Milwaukee M18 Fuel have been great alternatives to air tools, but there’s still a few that cordless has been unable to replace.

At one point I owned an IR 60 gallon air compressor and numerous IR air tools, so I do know the advantages of higher hp and large capacity. Just trying to determine if I can work with what I’ve got now.