Committing To Cordless / Experimenting With Airless

[HPRifleman]

I've been out of the garage/wrenching/tinkering hobby for about 20 years due to "life". I kept all my tools and have lugged them around with me from house to house. But now we built a decent garage and I'm ready to get back into it.

Back in the '90's, having an air compressor in the corner was just taken for granted. I still have my IR 231 and 107 as well as the compressor. The tank was getting old enough that I didn't really trust it so I started thinking about a new compressor. But the strides made in the new battery powered tools made me re-think that plan. So I placed an order for a Milwaukee impact gun.

The tentative plan is to see how long I can go without having to buy a compressor. Maybe the battery tools can meet all my needs and I won't ever need a compressor. Of course that would make me regret plumbing in a dedicated 240v circuit but that's the way it goes. I'm also wondering what will happen the first time I have to put more air in the tires of my F-350.

Anyway, the whole idea of going without air seems so foreign to me but maybe some of you have been in a similar situation.

 

[Buckaroo5]

I have been purchasing Milwaukee 12V tools - have the ratchet, 3/8" stubby impact, work light and tire inflator. The stubby is an amazingly powerful, small tool but I am still keeping the air compressor on hand to run my pneumatic impact for heavy duty situations. Also use it to run nail guns, air up tires and power the air blow gun. Would not want to be without it.

 

[zendriver]

The “Nothing approach” To compressed air really doesn’t make sense to me

trying to pump up my tire or blow off a bunch of dust off of something with a battery powered compressor it seems like a waste of time.

Decided to give up on the idea of having the garage monster compressor also but some reasonable price portables under $150 get things done very nicely.

 

[JradM]

The "no compressor" approach does make sense to me. I have one, but I don't fire it up near as much as I used to. It just depends on how much you want to spend on cordless tools and what type of work you do.

• Need to blow something off? I grab my Dewalt 20v blower.
• Need to fill up a tire? I use my 18v Ryobi inflator.
• Need to remove a stubborn bolt? Out comes the DCF899 HD impact gun.
• Need to sink some 16ga nails? It is so nice to be able to use the Porter Cable nailer instead of waiting for my compressor to pump up.

What do I fire up the compressor for?

• My sandblaster,
• If I need concentrated blow-out power,
• When I need to seat a tire bead,
• If I'm painting something, or
• When I need the air hammer.

Just think about your needs and whether cordless tools can fill them. Of course, cordless tools are often more expensive than their pneumatic counterparts - so that's something to consider too. But you might also save money not buying the compressor or plumbing/wiring it in.

It's also nice to be able to grab a cordless tool and be instantly ready to go. No waiting 5 mins for the compressor to power up and then draining the tank later.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You will still need a small compressor for filling tires and "dusting".

No one has come up with a reasonable replacement for a pneumatic hammer/chisel. Sandblasting.

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

I upgraded from a 30 gallon direct drive craftsman to a 60gallon oil lubed compressor a couple years ago then a 2 years ago I sold my craftsman c3 impact wrench and got the dewalt 899 and now I don’t use my compressor near as much but i do still use it. When i get to the body work on the project car I will be using it alot. Now the old craftsman would probably be the perfect size but it would still be noisy. I picked up a cordless ratchet and i use that alot but i only used a pneumatic ratchet a few times in the probably 15 years i had it because of the hose and how much noise the ratchet and compressor made. Cordless probably cut 80-95% of compressor usage out of my life

 

[dnschmidt]

Try to paint a car without a compressor. Those brush marks are really hard to sand out. Also, I truly like air sanders. There is no electric DA that's as small and well balanced as a Dynabrade and there are no electric air files or mud hogs for shaping Bondo or electric equivalents to my Hutchins 800 orbital. The reports of the death of air compressors are grossly exaggerated.

 

[quickfarms]

I would like to see a battery replacement for this little impact gun

 

[Snapped-off]

I would like to see a battery replacement for this little impact gun

I'd think the Milwaukee and IR 1" guns are pretty serious contenders.

 

[quickfarms]

I'd think the Milwaukee and IR 1" guns are pretty serious contenders.

The IR has a 400 FTLB torque setting, Milwaukee lists there’s at 350 to 450.

Budd lug nut torque is at 450 to 500

I still need a big compressor to air up tires

the cost for these impacts is north of a grand

for me it is not cost effective to switch

 

[Snapped-off]

The IR has a 400 FTLB torque setting, Milwaukee lists there’s at 350 to 450.

Budd lug nut torque is at 450 to 500

I still need a big compressor to air up tires

the cost for these impacts is north of a grand

for me it is not cost effective to switch

Perfect to finish off with the torque wrench. But I get it, its not realistic. I think air will still be prevalent for many years.

 

[Zewnten]

For a DIY'r I can see cordless being a serious contender for ease of use and quickly getting projects done with minimal set up.

 

[Sneezer]

I have always had a compressor, but nothing like the dedicated big shop units. My dad gave my his old 8 gal portable when I got an apartment. It was only good for airing up tires at the time, and would barely run the cheap air tools I got in some kit. When I got into a house I was able to upgrade to a 21 gal upright, and thought that was the most awesome compressor compared to that little portable. It did well enough, but was crazy loud and slow to build pressure. Could hear it in the other side of the house, and a couple streets away even.

I now have a 26 gal one with the quiet head on it. For me it is adequate for home DIY use. It will run my big impact long enough to break loose the toughest axle bolt, and does well with air ratchets and hammers. It is also cheaper to get additional tools if you look around, although I do have some light duty cordless impacts and ratchets as well. They all have their uses.

I picked up an 8 gal portable with a similar quiet head on it for my nailer. For me this has worked, but I got everything on steep discount and gradually buying over the years when the price was right. I wouldn’t be able to afford investing heavily in a battery platform all at once anyway.

My trailer tires need 65 psi - the little Ryobi 18v inflator will do it, but it takes a while and gets super hot. Nice to set it for a target psi and leave though. I keep it in the car for road trips, but when home it is far quicker to use the big tank.

 

[dnschmidt]

Perfect to finish off with the torque wrench. But I get it, its not realistic. I think air will still be prevalent for many years.I

I know where Indiana is and living next to it I know where CA is. But where the hell is RO?

 

[Snapped-off]

I know where Indiana is and living next to it I know where CA is. But where the hell is RO?

Romania!

 

[JradM]

All this talk of painting cars and 1"-drive impact guns... let's not forget this is being considered for a non-professional who hasn't wrenched in 20 years.

 

[quickfarms]

I know lots of people that have 1” and 3/4” impact guns at home including myself

even in California you can legally paint your own stuff at home

 

[tyyost]

Here at GJ we’d love to talk you into a new compressor. Reading your post, I wondered why you don’t put your existing compressor in in service and see if you do use it. Unless there is something I’m missing you think your tank may be bad, I guess from sitting in storage. If that’s the case, unless you know something you are not sharing about catastrophic damage I’d be tempted to fire it up and see if it hold air. You can always work on sourcing a new tank too, lots of dead compressors on marketplace or clist.

 

[gerryw]

No better sound than an air impact removing lug nuts !!
I’ll keep my comp just for that reason

With much practice im only 40 minutes away from beating the best F1 pitstop.

gerry

 

[Handyandy23]

You might not "need" an air compressor, but there are certainly limitations to not having one:

• painting (if you ever plan to)
• air hammer (not aware of electric versions of this)
• blowing up large tires is a lot faster
• air impacts are still stronger than electric, even if electric has come a long way. My IR 2235TiMax can still blow the doors off my DeWalt DCF899 when there's a really stubborn bolt.

OP also mentions dragging all his tools from house to house over the years - if that includes air tools, then it seems to mitigate any savings of not buying an air compressor and having to re-buy all those tools in cordless versions, rather than just buying the compressor and using the air tools you already have. And that's on top of the electrical OP said he already incorporated in the shop for a compressor, which is a sunk cost that isn't coming back.

I think both have their pros and cons and best uses. I grab my cordless tools first because they're more convenient. But when I'm halfway through a job and need an air hammer, or there's a big suspension bolt on my truck that won't budge I go grab the big air gun, I'm sure glad I have that option. And in the grand scheme of the cost of building an entire new shop, a decent sized compressor is a drop in the bucket.

 

[M635_Guy]

As a DIYer just getting back into it, I see no reason for a big compressor unless there's a blast cabinet or a need for something like an air chisel/air hammer. I have no need of those things, so just have a small compressor now and have switched almost entirely to battery tools (still have a couple pneumatic nailers). I don't miss air hoses or compressor noise at-freaking-all. I definitely don't miss the space the big compressor used to take up either.

My little 4-gal California Air Tools compressor handles tires, cleanup and various small tasks as well as I want, and it is so small and quiet. You can always go to a bigger compressor later if you need to, but I'd start with something small.

 

[duneslider]

My big battery powered leaf blower and little makita 18v blower work great to do all the dusting jobs. The little makita is great for workbench and tools and then the big one to blow out the garage. I don't use the compressor for dusting any more, the blowers are superior in my opinion.

I don't use my air impact anymore, at all.

The air compressor does not get used much at all anymore and my little pancake can handle everything I need now.

 

[VolvoRyan]

You can get pretty far without a compressor. Even just getting an M12 impact cut my compressor use waaaay back.

At some point certain battery tools get expensive enough to warrant a compressor. The dinky tools like die/angle grinders and cutoff wheels add up in cordless.... but are silly cheap in pneumatic.

The good news is that there's no reason to get a compressor until you need to, and there's nothing lost by kicking the can down the road. Cross that bridge when you get there.

-Ryan

 

[zendriver]

All this talk of painting cars and 1"-drive impact guns... let's not forget this is being considered for a non-professional who hasn't wrenched in 20 years.

This is Garage journal, where are you ask about a cold chisel can end up buying a jackhammer

 

[slowtwitch73]

Use a shop vac for cleaning things. Never understood the allure of blowing **** everywhere (to be cleaned up later).

 

[boom10ful]

The IR has a 400 FTLB torque setting, Milwaukee lists there’s at 350 to 450.

Budd lug nut torque is at 450 to 500

I still need a big compressor to air up tires

the cost for these impacts is north of a grand

for me it is not cost effective to switch

My M18 1/2 high torque takes off 33mm lug nuts with no problems.

 

[dr_clyde]

Compressed air is useful for more things than just running tools you know. Some devices and machines won't run without it. If you ever see yourself getting into machining at all, keep your compressor. Just off the top of my head, my bridgeport needs compressed air for the power draw bar, the coolant mister and to blow chips off the table.

Part of the problem with home shop air is guys don't want to invest in making a good, leak free air system, then keeping it charged up. You shouldn't have to wait for your compressor to get to pressure, it should always be at pressure, ready to go. Just turn the ball valve off when you leave for the day.

 

[Citation]

Growing up I had access to a good air system and lots of air tools (impact wrench, blast cabinet, various grinders/sanders, air rivet gun, drills, etc). However, most of my adult life I've had more limited air tools at home. I did a lot with a 4 gallon roofing compressor (impact, air gun, inflate tires, leak down tester).

I don't think one can reasonably work on cars (or a lot of other projects) without a compressor. However, something like an 4-10 gallon quiet compressor can do basically everything on my personal list other than run my cutoff wheel. If you don't intend to get into sanding, grinding or painting I would suggest looking at a lower noise compressor in the 4-10 gallon range or even a standard home compressor in that range.

As an example, here is a Goodyear branded quiet compressor

Robot or human?

<---On my computer this link shows "robot or human", it's a link to a Walmart listing.

The flow rate is low at 2.3 cfm but with a quiet pump it's not so annoying being next to it as if fills up. 8 gallons and 135 psi peak should give you a decent burst for things like an air gun or impact wrench. This should fit under a bench. It's the sort of thing I would consider if I had to start over.

BTW, I know many love their 1/2" battery impacts. I'm OK with my 1/2 air impact since I don't use it that much (I might use a compact 3/8th a lot more) and air tools don't have bad batteries after 10 years.

That said, if you think you will ever use cutoff wheels, sanders, or do much painting you will want a bigger compressor.

 

[Steve_P]

I personally can't imagine being without an air compressor. Die grinder, cutoff tool, air hammer, air sander, DA, paint gun, blast cabinet, monster strength impact.... I guess it depends on what you intend to do. If it's oil changes, tire rotations, and brake pads, then maybe ok with no "real" compressor. but you're eventually going to need to blow **** out of a bolt hole and the leaf blower isn't a good choice IMO; so you'll need some type of compressed air. With the price of a "5HP" 60 gallon 220V compressor today, I can't see why you'd be without it. And I realize everyone doesn't have 220V, so then a 120V compressor; it makes it easy to fill tires every few months.

 

[nikerret]

I don’t ever plan to go without an air setup. If for no other reason, it’s so much easier to ensure proper inflation of the 25 tires at my house. I don’t have a big battery impact, yet. My 1/2” air impact is really the tool I use the most. The rest have gone electric.

With that said, the 60 gallon running 11 CFM @ 90 PSI is going to be overkill, once I get a bigger battery impact. That may or may not have any bearing on what replaces this unit, when it craps out.

 

[Ton ton]

This is Garage journal, where are you ask about a cold chisel can end up buying a jackhammer

Well said.

 

[johninct]

Use a shop vac for cleaning things. Never understood the allure of blowing **** everywhere (to be cleaned up later).

For me, It was so nice to use my air vacuum to **** up stuff on the top of an engine yesterday. I am not against cordless, both have their place. If you have ever used air tools with a proper size compressor and piping, wow the performance you get.

 

[Xcursion88]

The "no compressor" approach does make sense to me. I have one, but I don't fire it up near as much as I used to. It just depends on how much you want to spend on cordless tools and what type of work you do.

• Need to blow something off? I grab my Dewalt 20v blower.
• Need to fill up a tire? I use my 18v Ryobi inflator.
• Need to remove a stubborn bolt? Out comes the DCF899 HD impact gun.
• Need to sink some 16ga nails? It is so nice to be able to use the Porter Cable nailer instead of waiting for my compressor to pump up.

What do I fire up the compressor for?

• My sandblaster,
• If I need concentrated blow-out power,
• When I need to seat a tire bead,
• If I'm painting something, or
• When I need the air hammer.

Just think about your needs and whether cordless tools can fill them. Of course, cordless tools are often more expensive than their pneumatic counterparts - so that's something to consider too. But you might also save money not buying the compressor or plumbing/wiring it in.

It's also nice to be able to grab a cordless tool and be instantly ready to go. No waiting 5 mins for the compressor to power up and then draining the tank later.

It's 6 to 5 and pick em'...
Having both is ideal!!!
That said if you're extremely busy you'll want air unless you buy a bunch of batteries.

 

[Sumboodie]

I would like to see a battery replacement for this little impact gun

Milwaukee has one. It's pricey though.

 

[Sumboodie]

Compressed air is useful for more things than just running tools you know. Some devices and machines won't run without it. If you ever see yourself getting into machining at all, keep your compressor. Just off the top of my head, my bridgeport needs compressed air for the power draw bar, the coolant mister and to blow chips off the table.

Part of the problem with home shop air is guys don't want to invest in making a good, leak free air system, then keeping it charged up. You shouldn't have to wait for your compressor to get to pressure, it should always be at pressure, ready to go. Just turn the ball valve off when you leave for the day.

I leave mine on.
It does tend to trip the breaker a few times a winter when it's well below zero, but not worth having a heater on it.

 

[vwpieces]

Part of the problem with home shop air is guys don't want to invest in making a good, leak free air system, then keeping it charged up. You shouldn't have to wait for your compressor to get to pressure, it should always be at pressure, ready to go. Just turn the ball valve off when you leave for the day.

Agreed. Or just having the compressor off for a few weeks and still holding pressure.
I have been in many shops where every coupler leaked... $3 fix. And most do not know you can take a coupler apart and sometimes just flip the rubber washer inside for a few more years of leak free use.

I admit I also have Milwaukee cordless tools and use them more often than the air tools. But I still do use the air tools too.

 

[Citation]

I've found that my compressors seem to hold air if I set the regulator down to zero. When I rebuilt my 26 gallon upright (had to replace the tank) I redid the air outlets and put a shut off valve on each of the two outlets. With the valves off the system shows basically no drop in pressure over at least a 1 week period (over the spring/summer since I set it up it's rare that I would go longer than a week without using the thing).

 

[Rinspeed]

The "no compressor" approach does make sense to me.

The no compressor approach makes zero sense to me.

 

[Alpine4x4]

I am in the cordless camp when it comes to tools. Invested in Snap-On 14.4 and Makita 18v. My Makita 1/2" impact hasnt met a bolt it wont remove and if it did I have a breaker bar for that. It flat out eats. Drills, ratchets, impacts, etc all cordless. That being said I still have an IR stand up compressor. Theres no replacement for a high CFM air compressor when it comes to nail guns, airing up tires, or an air chisel. It rarely sees use, but you cannot be without some sort of air supply.

 

[Sneezer]

I've found that my compressors seem to hold air if I set the regulator down to zero. When I rebuilt my 26 gallon upright (had to replace the tank) I redid the air outlets and put a shut off valve on each of the two outlets. With the valves off the system shows basically no drop in pressure over at least a 1 week period (over the spring/summer since I set it up it's rare that I would go longer than a week without using the thing).

Every compressor I ever owned held pressure if the regulator was set to zero. I just keep my 26 gal one pressurized so it is there when I need it. The little 8 gal I usually keep empty, as it gets used far less. I'll crack open the drain valve and blow out any water, then leave it pressurized. Works for me and never had any issues in a DIY garage space.