Another Air Compressor Thread... for new shop!

[sti491]

So I close on my new house and workshop Sept 8. All I have to do survive the mortgage appraisal next week. Everything else is done, inspected and pre approved. Yay! Some of you saw my new shop in another thread when I first looked at the property. Really nice 30x40 pole building built in 2010, 6" concrete floor, scissor trusses with tall doors/ceiling, 100 amp service, nice wood stove in central NC. Beautiful private lot.

When I sold my last house I sold my crappy Air Compressor. This shop will have a lift. It is a hobby workshop for me and my adult son, maybe light commercial fabrication (welding), but mostly motorcycle and car type work. I want to run impact & other air tools, DA sander, eventually a media blaster cabinet, be able to spray paint bike tins, light car body work. I will probably not paint an entire car in there, but would like my new compressor to be capable of it, but not necessarily spec'd as if that's what were doing frequently, because we won't. It is unlikely we will ever run two DA's or other air hog tools continuously at the same time.

Here is what we are considering at the moment: Quincy 5-HP 80-Gallon Two-Stage QT Pro Air Compressor (230 Volt 1-Phase). https://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Quincy-251CP80VCB-Air-Compressor/p856.html

What do you think? Anyone with experience, are we are sizing this correctly? Also, anyone have this exact or similar Quincy Compressor? I would rather have it in the corner of the shop inside, and not have to build an exterior shed for it. I am wondering how noisy it will be inside if you are at least 15 feet away from it.

All comments are welcome. We are not set on this specific compressor. We want the best $ value I can get, these bad boys are not cheap! But, I also want one that will last us my lifetime (I'm 63), get the job done and not be so noisy it runs us out of the shop if it's inside. Those are my goals.

 

[sberry]

5 Hp 2 stage will do it all. It will supply a professional body man.

 

[sberry]

I painted about 50 cars, trucks, travel trailers, dump trucks, a cement truck, tractors with a 3. If you are doing a lot of sanding or a little sandblast a 5 is a lot better.

 

[mike in tucson]

Quincy is an excellent brand, known for robustness and longevity. We rented one to supplement our other compressors while we were building a line with pneumatic screwdrivers (air hogs). The Quincy performed well under continuous load. The unit looks more substantial than most similar units. We purchased a Kaeser rotary since it was so quiet, we could locate it indoors. I also bought a Kaeser for my garage. Buy quality and you wont be sorry.

 

[charger0926]

I have the qp5 pressure lubricated version of the qt5.

super quiet and plenty of capacity, you'll do fine with either of these

 

[Matt Matt]

You should be fine. It will be loud, but not unbearably loud. You can always port the intake to the outside (but you also have to be mindful of neighbours). I have done this on a similar compressor using 1 inch rubber hose. This will cut down on noise quite a bit. Sometimes the Pully safety cage becomes a noisemaker. A lot of times, this is why they are removed. Usually a two stage drops out at 175 PSI. Most air tools only require 90 psi. A shop your size you might want to consider doing some plumbing with at least three drops. Three-quarter gas pipe is pretty cheap as a main trunk. You can drop 1/2 inch there after. Or you can run a manifold off of the compressor with three or four lines that are rated for 200 psi plus. Some tools you will have to reduce the pressure for optimal performance. I have outfitted plants in 1/2 mill ft.² and also done stores with 2000 ft.². That compressor should run most tools that you have at a rating of 10 CFM or less. That compressor will fit 95% of your needs IMO.

The biggest culprits to air compressors are leaks, blasting cabinets and large pneumatic disc sanders. Fix your leak's if you get them and just be mindful well using a blasting cabinet or a pneumatic disc sander, and give the compressor a break.

 

[southalabama]

Nice compressor. You'll be fine. If you plan on a lot of sandblasting I'd say bigger tank but I think you'll be fine.

Quincy based just down the road.

Yeah ***** for Quincy Indiana but good for Bama.

 

[seagravedriver]

I bought an IR. Next shop gets a Quincy. It's the little things.

 

[montanafordman]

I bought the 5hp quincy QT-54 that is a step below what you're looking at and I'm completely happy with it. Lately I've used it for lots of cutoff and die grinder/autobody work which is pretty hungry for lots of air. The 2hp 120v oiled compressor I had before just couldn't keep up but my quincy 2 stage does wonders. If the model you're looking at had been within my space and $$ budget I would have gone for that. I think you'll love it.

 

[sti491]

Thank you everyone for the input!