Honest air compressor needs

[mike93lx]

Just thinking worse case scenario, that seems to be the only way a small compressor would give me an issue in this situation where as a 30 gallon would have plenty of reserve.

I still don't understand the concern. How would that cause an issue? A 1hp motor running constandtly will not overload a 15 amp circuit.

 

[Tallpilot]

This site is the reason I have 4 tool boxes filled with all doubles of tools lol. I built two cars with a 250 piece craftsman set and some other misc tools, now I have doubles and triples of things and too many specialty tools Ill probably never use.

I’m right there with you. My lady has enough of my old tools in her car to start as an apprentice mechanic anywhere but a Euro dealer and all she has are the castoffs.

 

[Citation]

For better and worse this site is a mix of pros and amateurs. The upside is lots of great knowledge to draw from. The downside is sometimes the correct answer differs depending on who is asking. The right answer for a pro may not be correct for an amateur. I grew up using my dad's tools in his shop. His shop wasn't a hobby and the tools often reflected that. My garage is a hobby and that means I typically care a lot more about low cost as I won't use the tools day in and day out. Like the OP I've done a lot of car repairs with limited tools because I can't justify a lift etc. If I think hard about it few times would I say I needed even the compressor I have to finish a job. But often it makes the job much easier. Like many shade tree mechanics, time isn't exactly money to me so sometimes it's ok if it takes longer with a lesser tool.

That said, having grown up using good tools I love it when I can "justify"or luck into a good tool of my own. I'm sad that when I lucked into three 80 gallon compressors (one needed a new pump) I had no garage to realistically put them in. My father and two sibs were the benefactors of my good fortune... I'm still living in 120 V land

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

If you are going to have only one compressor something in the 20-30 gallon size, about 5 CFM will do just about anything (even short periods of sandblasting). Smaller than that and common tasks become annoyingly slow or very short cycles.
They also are small enough to be portable. Hard to take a 60 gallon unit far away from the garage (actually moving it around in the garage is difficult).

 

[2StepsAhead]

I still don't understand the concern. How would that cause an issue? A 1hp motor running constandtly will not overload a 15 amp circuit.

Im not saying it will cause an issue, Im saying IF somehow the breaker tripped that would be the worse case scenario.

 

[2StepsAhead]

For better and worse this site is a mix of pros and amateurs. The upside is lots of great knowledge to draw from. The downside is sometimes the correct answer differs depending on who is asking. The right answer for a pro may not be correct for an amateur. I grew up using my dad's tools in his shop. His shop wasn't a hobby and the tools often reflected that. My garage is a hobby and that means I typically care a lot more about low cost as I won't use the tools day in and day out. Like the OP I've done a lot of car repairs with limited tools because I can't justify a lift etc. If I think hard about it few times would I say I needed even the compressor I have to finish a job. But often it makes the job much easier. Like many shade tree mechanics, time isn't exactly money to me so sometimes it's ok if it takes longer with a lesser tool.

That said, having grown up using good tools I love it when I can "justify"or luck into a good tool of my own. I'm sad that when I lucked into three 80 gallon compressors (one needed a new pump) I had no garage to realistically put them in. My father and two sibs were the benefactors of my good fortune... I'm still living in 120 V land

Thats the ups and downs of me asking, I was kind of hoping someone would point out a limitation I mightve missed with my specific needs but so far it just seems like people recommend larger for expandability (which I get to a point) but Im kind of at a point where I've gone overkill sometimes and regretted it.

I dont do automotive for a living or even as side work, I work on a few of my project cars from time to time. The only reason I need air is for when air is a necessity like filling a tire lets say specifically.

I actually just purchased a lift because the lift is something Im willing to deal with given price, space, electrical needs, etc because I spend most of my time lifting my vehicles up and down for suspension installs/changes, brakes, tire rotations, oil changes.

Im the same with way certain tools, Id rather do something slower and avoid getting certain tools that I would only use once in a blue moon. When it comes to a compressor, Ive never had one and did plenty. My main concern isnt even price, its more about it taking space, noise and maintenance.

If Im going to use air so sporadically I dont want to give up a lot of space in my garage, nor do I want something loud because I usually work on my cars in the evening and my garage is a vinyl one so noise is a big concern.

 

[Jordanangel]

I have the husky 30 Gallon oil less compressor and it does everything minus my die grinder and air hammer for long periods of time, it is loud enough you can hear it in my house from the other side of the garage. if i did it over again, buying a similar size compressor i would get an oiled one like I wanted, but the one i got was $200 as a scratch and dent at my local HD. my suggestion for size and price would be the HF 21, or 29, honestly the 21 gallon is a lot more compact but still a decent 4.7 scfm at 90 to run anything you are running.

 

[Kalos]

This is an unusual 240V, 40gal, 12.8SCFM@90psi compressor:

Puma TE-5040V (at HomeDepot).