Am I buying enough compressor?

[madmax908]

I am setting up my new hobby garage that has been wired for a dedicated 220v circuit for an air compressor.
I've been looking for an air compressor deal for a while.

The most air demanding tools I will use will be a sand blast cabinet that uses 9.5 cfm @ 90 psi, some spray painting, and some impact wrenches.
I saw this California air tools compressor on Amazon.
It is appealing to me because it has an air drying system (I'm in humid Florida), is quiet, and appears to outpace the blast cabinet by providing 10.6 cfm @ 90 psi.

Is this the ideal compressor for me?
Should I be looking for an 80 gallon one instead?
Is the 1 cfm extra "cushion" enough for my amateur compressor needs?
If this is not enough compressor, please feel free to suggest another more suitable one.

 

[danski0224]

If you have to ask if it's big enough, it isn't.

If you have to ask if it's too big, it's just right.

 

[mikedodge]

The one question you have to ask yourself is how often will you be sandblasting? It might be an inconvenience to have to stop and wait for the compressor to catch up but if it's something you rarely do is it worth it to get a bigger compressor if most of the time the extra size isn't needed.

 

[Steve_P]

IMO, that's the minimum CFM for a suction gun cabinet blaster. That's also quite pricey for the CFM. Yes, it's quiet. There was a thread a few weeks ago with a quiet Eaton compressor, I'll see if I can find it.

edit- see the Emax unit in the dnschmidt post for another option:

Super quiet air compressor setup for CNC plasma cutting

Looking at 4 options (but not limited to) for my CNC plasma setup which needs 8cfm @90psi however i will be spray painting using the compressor as well. I dont want the neighbors getting irritated hearing the compressor constantly running so im looking at some lower DB options such as these...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Firebrick43]

A friend and I both have 5hp 2 stage Eaton compressors without the quiet box and both are very reasonable with sound out put. You can talk on your cell phone and the other party can’t hear it and you can understand what they are saying.

Much quieter than any air tool or blast cabinet.

With the quiet box it obviously is even quieter, plus it’s 17 cfm and less money than the California Air tools linked above.

 

[Jswain]

You'll create less moisture in the compressed air too if you have a larger compressor. If your compressor is barely keeping up, or slowly falling behind it will create a hell of a lot of moisture. I'd take 2x the compressor with no drier 8 days of the week over the 10cfm unit for blasting.

I can't see the link you posted, but the 5hp emax recommendation by other members is solid, and that is the pretty much minimum specs I would be looking for if I was buying a unit for blasting/painting/regular shop use.

I have the same size compressor and it JUST keeps up when I'm blasting usually around 60-70psi ish

 

[Rockable]

HP is a measure of doing work. Some compressor manufacturers cheat on their HP rating. iMO, if you don't have at least a true 5 HP compressor, you won't be happy. I went through 2 before I got my I-R T30. It's noisy but it's outside and it does the job. A quieter true 5 HP will ensure that you don't have to start over. I have a HF refrigerated air dryer on my system and I am in NC. Moisture is not a problem for me.

 

[blwn31]

Personally, I would never pay that kind of money for a compressor for home use. A 5HP 9-10CFM at 90PSI 2 stage is more than adequate for home use, even blasting. I have a **** Blast cabinet for small parts and I never have to stop with my IR-T30 compressor. If you aren't on a time crunch, shop Marketplace for a used one for 1/3 the price. You can either buy a refrig dryer or use copper on the garage wall like I have with a good dryer for a fraction of the cost, just my 2 cents. Good luck on your search and purchase.

Keith

 

[GeoBruin]

For that amount of money, I wouldn't go with the CAT. I'd go with an oil lubricated, 5 hp, 2 stage compressor.

 

[madmax908]

I never have to stop with my IR-T30 compressor. If you aren't on a time crunch, shop Marketplace for a used one for 1/3 the price

I'm not pressed for time.
I thought it would be a good deal at 1/2 off regular price @ $1633, was quiet, and had the drying system.
Between what was posted here and the link to the other thread, I will have plenty of choices

 

[strutaeng]

Yikes! $3400 for "only" 10 CFM?! I understand your desires though, but that's pretty dang expensive on a $/CFM ratio.

10 CFM I would say is marginal, but should be enough for your needs. What are your spray gun specs? If you are not spraying like a complete full sized vehicle like an SUV or van all at once, you are probably okay.

Some air tools like DA, spray guns, die grinders, and such are real air hogs. Ideally, you have some fluff on the tool with largest CFM requirement. We don't know what you are using or doing, so we can only assume and guess.

 

[msharley]

These come in 16cyl, too!

If doing a whole lot of blasting? A used diesel powered compressor, for jack hammering, makes a lot of sense!

The "WhisperAir" is quiet & only uses 5 or 6 gallons of fuel per day...running two pumps & two hammers...

 

[M6erfan]

Never. Enough. Compressor.

 

[MileHighRover]

I would never spend that kind of money for an oilless compressor. Go with the EMax and enjoy your time in the shop. Whatever CFM you think you need for blasting, double it.

With the CAT compressor if you ever upgraded your blasting cabinet you'd have to upgrade the compressor as well.

 

[bob15]

Personally, I would never pay that kind of money for a compressor for home use. A 5HP 9-10CFM at 90PSI 2 stage is more than adequate for home use, even blasting. I have a **** Blast cabinet for small parts and I never have to stop with my IR-T30 compressor. If you aren't on a time crunch, shop Marketplace for a used one for 1/3 the price. You can either buy a refrig dryer or use copper on the garage wall like I have with a good dryer for a fraction of the cost, just my 2 cents. Good luck on your search and purchase.

Keith

What size compressor do you own? T-30 doesn't mean anything as you can get them with 9cfm up through and beyond 24 cfm.

OP: find a bigger compressor, 9-10 cfm isn't really enough.

 

[micromind]

HP is a measure of doing work. Some compressor manufacturers cheat on their HP rating. iMO, if you don't have at least a true 5 HP compressor, you won't be happy. I went through 2 before I got my I-R T30. It's noisy but it's outside and it does the job. A quieter true 5 HP will ensure that you don't have to start over. I have a HF refrigerated air dryer on my system and I am in NC. Moisture is not a problem for me.

Yes, a lot of compressors are greatly overrated.

Regardless of what the advertised HP is, figure about 4 CFM @ 100 PSI per HP. This means that the 5HP that produces 10 CFM is not 5HP, it's more like 2 1/2 or so.

Another thing to look at is motor RPM. If it's 3450 or thereabouts, the unit was built a cheaply as possible. If it's 1725 or so, it was built to last.

Further, if the motor nameplate lists the HP as blank or SPL, the actual HP is almost certainly less than the advertised HP.

 

[Toold_up]

You can always add a second tank...

 

[Rockable]

"You can always add a second tank."

That only lasts for a few minutes. Then you have to wait for the pump to catch up. It's not the same if you are using almost continuous air, as with blasting.

 

[scooby074]

Am I buying enough compressor?​

NOPE!

 

[blwn31]

What size compressor do you own? T-30 doesn't mean anything as you can get them with 9cfm up through and beyond 24 cfm.

OP: find a bigger compressor, 9-10 cfm isn't really enough

What size compressor do you own? T-30 doesn't mean anything as you can get them with 9cfm up through and beyond 24 cfm.

OP: find a bigger compressor, 9-10 cfm isn't really enough.

You were right, mine isn't a 9-10, I thought it was my bad. I have a 5HP 60 gallon T30 2 stage, that flows 14 CFM @ 90 PSI with a Baldor continuous duty motor. In my personal opinion this is a good sized compressor for the home shop, probably not a production shop. I realize not everyone's shop is the same, but for the vast majority of home guys, this is the best bang for the buck. It absolutely kicks the **** out of the old 2 cylinder 60 gallon Craftsman I had for 2 decades. Twice as quiet and can keep up with the all of my tools without breaking a sweat. With a good cooling system and dryer you will never get water even with it running constantly. But I get it, opinions are like **** holes, everyone has one and...

If Blasting was the sole mission, then a screw compressor would be the compressor of choice with big flow numbers.

Keith

 

[nadogail]

Compressor sizing is like a bank account, i have never heard anyone complain about their account being too big. On the on other hand, I sometimes hear about a compressor not being large enough.

 

[MongoTA]

I have a Quincy QT-54, I've had it for s few years now. 5hp, 2-stage, 175psi, 60cuft, about 15cfm @ 175psi. When comparing make sure you're looking at cfm at equivalent psi numbers. Also has a low rpm 50000 hour pump.

Costs about $1000 less than the one you show. Plenty enough for all your accessories, and better ones too.

Emax looks interesting but I've never seen one in action.

 

[micromind]

Compressor sizing is like a bank account, i have never heard anyone complain about their account being too big. On the on other hand, I sometimes hear about a compressor not being large enough.

I'm not sure about being too big.......lol......the hydrogen compressor at the plant I recently finished is 1250HP, 1400PSI and roughly 900CFM.

It runs on 4160 volts, 3 phase, 144 amps (this would be a problem at your average everyday subdivision house), I doubt if it'd fit in an average garage.

You'd need a regulator, if you hit a basic air tool with 1400 PSI, I'm pretty sure it'd just blow up.........Also, going from 1400PSI to 100PSI, the air will be picking' COLD. You'll need to heat it up a bit or it'll freeze anything it touches.

 

[shoot summ]

I'd look at this..

7.5 HP Air Compressor, V4, Single Phase, 80 Gallon Tank, Vertical, Industrial

This 7.5 HP Air Compressor with 80 Gallon Tank will provide years of reliable service. 5 Year Warranty on this Vertical Piston Air Compressor.

eatoncompressor.com

 

[HarrisFD]

I once bought a Chicom Porter Cable 5 hp 2 stage. Was about 20cfm @ 90. All was good until I needed parts. They were non existent. So I sold the Porter and bought a dead Ingersoll Rand for $150. T-30, 5 hp, 2 stage, 80 gallon. Around 17 cfm @ 175. I sold the 3 phase motor for $200, bought a single phase 5 horse Baldor motor off fleabay for around $400 and wired it up so it would work on my house 220. Despite being 30+ years old, I easily acquired all the parts needed to completely rebuild the pump, which is super easy, it’s a v-2 with no camshaft. Still runs great. Quiet and plenty of air. Maybe an $800 investment, will outlast me. They are out there. Search Craigslist and marketplace. Don’t waste big $ an a chicom compressor. Too much air is just right! As a bonus I can gear this one up with a 50% bigger motor pulley and change to a 7.5 hp motor. More noise but 25 cfm @175psi.