Buying a Air Compressor

[davbell22602]

What kind of air compressor do I need for sandblasting and a da sander? I was told I need a 30cfm and 2 stage motor for sand blasting. I found a 60 gal single stage that has 18 cfm by ingersol at tractor supply for $849.99. this is for home use not professional. Do I really need a 2 stage vs a single stage motor?

 

[davbell22602]

Anybody?

 

[waggie]

DA sander, and blasting need lots of air. but if you're blasting once a week, for 20 minute at a time, the IR-SS5L5 should be ok. If you're gonna be using it everyday to blast, DA sand...etc, get the biggest dual stage, 80 gallon one you can afford.

 

[evintho]

The SS5L5 should be fine unless you're using a big blaster or D/A'ng cars for a living. I bought a SS5N5 (same as the 5L5 but with an 80 gal tank) from Trac Supply 5 years ago and I'm very pleased with it. I use mine a couple of times a week. I've got a cheap HF 90lb upright sandblaster and I never run out of air. Occasionally, when blasting the compressor kicks on, replenishes the air supply and shuts off.

 

[davbell22602]

For right now I just need it for restoring a 67 F100 truck. The frame needs sandblasted and the rest of truck needs da sanded for repainting.I would like restore 2 more trucks in future also.

 

[rodm1]

We get a lot of these posts and a good rule is take your budget and double it. Get only a oil filled crank case pump in the 5hp range. If you are Blasting, DA, Painting, or anything that will require several minutes of air consumption at one time.

Stay with top brands and get a commercial grade model. This will give you the best chance of having enough air. If you are not patient like me you might won't to go with a 7.5HP motor.

 

[davbell22602]

I cant go anymore than $1000 for new air compressor.

 

[PT Doc]

If looking for a new one, then you won't get much in terms of quality. There is a kobalt, craftsman, sanborn and others that are identical units that are rebadged. They are made by Powermate. They will be loud.

Also look into Harbor freight. Their units were supposedly made by Belaire. I was in Lowes last night and they a few CH units that were about $800. Keep in mind that all of these will be quite LOUD. If that's OK then your 1K budget will get you something. Good luck.

 

[Al Bundy]

From the sounds of it you're a hobbyist that's going to spend weekends restoring your truck. The IR SS5L5 is a great choice for your application.

 

[kythri]

30cfm?!

I guess I don't have much experience with large scale sandblasting (OK, *NO* experience with large scale sandblasting), but 30cfm is an ungodly amount of air.

That IR that's been mentioned twice puts out 18.1cfm @ 90PSI, according to the specs I just glanced at. That seems incredibly good for the price.

Do you have an air compressor sales and repair shop in your area? Check the yellow pages, call them up, see what they might have used. I scored an 80 gallon 7.5hp CH unit that dumps out 27cfm @ 90psi that was a trade-in for $650 delivered from the local shop a couple years ago.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

For right now I just need it for restoring a 67 F100 truck. The frame needs sandblasted and the rest of truck needs da sanded for repainting.I would like restore 2 more trucks in future also.

I think most were thinking blast cabinet, I was. Blasting a frame is a whole different proposition. You will need a huge compressor to do the job (best to use a diesel screw compressor) in a reasonable time. Either hire it out, have it soda blasted, or get a sandblast adapter for a pressure washer. I saw a truck frame done with a pressure washer blaster, it came out ok even though it was a huge mess.

Charles

 

[TAftw]

How about you check CL? You could find a nice old compressor that's better than today's quality for much cheaper than your budget. I bought a 60 gallon single stage Sanborn from the 80's for $250.

If you have $1000 to spend, check out old Sanborns, IR's, Speedaires, Quincy's, or Kellogg. These are all strong old American units and well within your price range.

 

[1983Camperspecial]

Avoid any newer IR's , the pumps are ****. Older machines are a much better bet.

 

[A_Pmech]

Several thoughts:

1) You're going to have a lot of trouble finding a 30CFM compressor for $1,000 new. What I suggest you do is look for a used machine. A Quincy QR-25 would be my choice, but there are other options as well. 30 CFM is 10 HP of air. You might get lucky and find a 5HP single-phase duplex, which would be easy to run on a residential single-phase service. Otherwise, you'll likely have to buy a 10HP single-phase motor to retrofit a 10HP three-phase unit. The motor will cost close to $2,000 new list. Substantially less used.

2) If you're willing to spend a lot of time at it, you can sandblast with less. I sandblasted a Do-All V-36 with a cheap *** farm store pressure pot and a 3HP IR SS3L. I could blast about 5-7 minutes before the nozzle pressure got too low.

After a little wire wheeling to blend everything together it took paint fine:

3) Open sandblasting isn't fun or particularly healthy for your lungs. If you're not prepared to buy the supplied air system and sandblasting suit then you should consider outsourcing the work which will substantially reduce your compressor requirements.

I guess I don't have much experience with large scale sandblasting (OK, *NO* experience with large scale sandblasting), but 30cfm is an ungodly amount of air.

30 CFM isn't even on the nozzle table for a commercial sandblasting gun. 300 CFM to 600 CFM is mid-range in a commercial single-nozzle sandblasting rig.

That's 3-4 of these into one sandblasting nozzle:

Looking forward to getting the 5120 up and running though. 100 CFM is enough for now, but I'm planning room for 2-3 more.