Compressor - to wire or not to wire

[nayr]

I guess a little bio would help first. New to this forum but have been reading a good amount of it over the past couple of months. I am in the process of getting my garage to be a fully functional shop. Have cleaned, painted walls, cleaned up and repaired 2 workbenches (almost) and am ready to start putting in some bigger equipment. It is a two car, detached, and slightly oversized (meaning it has a 36" door and room for a workbench on the side of it, as well as a little storage room in the back). I plan to use this space mainly for fabrication of new stuff though very likely some restoration work as well.

Now for the compressor situation. A decent size compressor is going to need a 240V outlet. My garage has a 125 amp subpanel, with a 60 amp main breaker occupying two of the six available "slots". It is fed by two different phase wires so I guess a 240 outlet would be possible. However it would require some work since everything is 120V on 12 gauge wire right now. I was originally going to post this in the electrical section but my questions are more about the tool:

What do you use your compressor for?

Was it worth what you invested in it?

Do you have any opinion on air vs electric tools?

Do you know of any compressor big enough for a blast cabinet I could run on 120V where i could just put in a bigger breaker and pull some larger cable?

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Matt018]

Currently I have a Craftsman professional 33 gal, Its a 110 but ran on a higher amperage circuit (not sure of the spec). I use it to run impacts, air ratchets, hammer, drills, Die grinder, DA sander, and HVLP gun.

That compressor runs all the tools decently enough, but the DA sander gives it a work out, and sometimes i need to take a break in the work. Thats not a big deal because i rarely do body work.

As far as Air vs Electric, I love my air tools, When im working on a big project for hours at a time the air hose doesnt really bother me and the power of air is just a huge difference. Also your not gonna find a substitute for tools like a 90deg die grinder, air hammer, DA sander etc. Also air tools are much more compact for storage in the tool box.

You mentioned you would be doing restoration work and in that case you definetly need a good compressor, mainly for running sanders and a spray gun. And youll need a good compressor for a blast cabinet too. So i would look at picking up a 60 gallon or 80 compressor and wiring up the shop to run it. I have a large 220 unit sitting in the garage that i want to wire up when i can. Simply because a smaller unit will run most tools but there are many times that a larger compressor is wanted.

 

[Major Ramifications]

Well, since 120V equipment is designed to be used in a 20A maximum circuit, it would not do any good to add a larger than 20 amp 120V circuit.

Can you run a blasting cabinet with a 120V compressor? Yes, but not very well.

If you are considering running a larger 120V circuit, then by all means just run a 220.

I do not understand your description of the available service, but it sounds like you have 220V.

 

[bobcatdan]

Buy the biggest compressor you can. 175 psi.

 

[RECox286]

If you don't have the funds to get the biggest, baddest compressor

on the showroom floor, then, your next stop should be the bank !

(Honestly, less than the ^^^^ recommendation is like pushing on a rope.)

Uncle Bob

 

[Mmfh]

A decent 60 gallon unit will work good for what you want to do, only thing is how big is your blasting cabinet?

Worst case would be you blast for a minute or so, wait for the air pressure to build back up, blast again until the pressure drops below about 80 psi.

You could use a small 110v compressor to do blasting, but It would take a while as most of the time you would be waiting for the air pressure to come back up.

My 2 cents, your mileage will vary.

Mm