Portable Compressor with high cfm

[Slkay944]

I am looking for a portable compressor 20 to 30 gallon tank with high cfm output. I found one at Grainger model number 1NNF7, 20 gal, Horizontal, 3 hp, 10.2 cfm @ 90 psi. The only issue is it is 220 only. I would like something that can be wired for 110 or 220. I have 220 in my garage but if I want to use it somewhere else I might not have access to 220. I am using with a couple of spray guns that I have that require 9cfm at 15 - 28psi.

 

[GeoBruin]

I hate to be the one to tell you this but it doesn't exist.

I conducted the same search you did and I found the highest flow 120 volt compressor on the market. The version I bought was branded Quincy but it was sold under other names associated with the IMC/Atlas Copco/Bellaire brands. Napa actually had the best deal on it at the time. Below is the link to the version I had.

Anyhow, you'll see it's rated at 7.4 CFM. And it pulled very close to 20 amps when the tank was near full. You just can't make 10 CFM without more power using conventionally available technology without stepping up to a 220/240 volt compressor.

If you are truly limited to 120 volts, but you have access to two circuits, you can get a couple of 5ish CFM compressors and daisy chain them. With how accessible, and cheap, and quiet oilless compressors have become, I'm becoming convinced that's probably the best option for a lot of hobbyists. Of course here on this forum you will here that a big old 5 hp, 60/80 gallon 240 volt compressor is the only option, and that's the direction I ultimately went.

If it needs to be truly portable, you may consider a gas engine driven compressor.

Good luck!

Edit: I just reread your post and I realize that you only need 9 CFM at a max of 28 psi. If you can use a short/fat hose and keep your pressure losses down, a quick boyle's law calculation shows you only need a compressor that makes 3.5 CFM at 90 psi to make your 9 CFM at a static pressure of 35 psi. That's doable with any number of 120 volt "2 hp" oil lubed compressors like the one I linked or even some of the oilless compressors made by California Air Tools or the Harbor Freight versions.

Quincy Single-Stage Portable Electric Air Compressor 2 HP, 24-Gallon Vertical, 7.4 CFM, Model# Q12124VPQ | Northern Tool

Long-lasting Quincy Single-Stage 2 HP, 24-Gallon Vertical Portable Electric Air Compressor is perfect for light commercial ...

m.northerntool.com

 

[dnschmidt]

Physics doesn't give a **** what anybody wants. If you want a high CFM portable compressor you'll need one of the gasoline or diesel powered guys that they tow behind dump trucks. As a spray painter a 110V unit will work for one or two panels with a low CFM gun like the Iwata LPH400-LV or the ASTRO Gold Europro gun. But for any more than that you're going to have to wait for the compressor to keep up. It all depends upon how big of an area you want to cover. For a complete respray there is no chance since you must keep a wet edge and that's impossible without sufficient air. For a door or a fender it's completely doable. Just did a front clip on a Subaru using a Sagola 4600 with the clear aircap and my friends 20 gallon horizontal Campbell-Hausfeld got it done and it came out great. All the prep sanding had to be done at my house since I've got an 80 gallon two stage 5 HP Quincy that can handle AirVantage air sanders.

 

[Stedlin]

I am looking for a portable compressor 20 to 30 gallon tank with high cfm output. I found one at Grainger model number 1NNF7, 20 gal, Horizontal, 3 hp, 10.2 cfm @ 90 psi. The only issue is it is 220 only. I would like something that can be wired for 110 or 220. I have 220 in my garage but if I want to use it somewhere else I might not have access to 220. I am using with a couple of spray guns that I have that require 9cfm at 15 - 28psi.

I was looking for exactly the same thing about six years ago and couldn’t find anything.
I decided to try building one and made a few prototypes.
This video shows one of my prototypes that appears to produce over 11 CFM from a 2 hp 115 Volt motor. I dropped the project but it left me with the opinion that it is possible to build a Compressor to these specs.

One of a kind air compressor.

 

[tarbellb]

A thousand compressor threads that read exactly the same : big cfm = big power


BTW that Quincey Geo linked is hot garbage
Just a rebranded generic low quality unit, at least the one my brother has.

A perfect example of Quincey cashing in on name and no substance

 

[vhol5]

Eastwood makes one.

Eastwood Elite QST 30/60 Scroll Air Compressor with Automatic Drain System

Combining whisper-quiet operation with high airflow and 100% duty cycle, the Eastwood Elite QST30/60 compressor delivers unmatched performance without unwanted noise.

www.eastwood.com

Disregard. 220v...

 

[Slkay944]

Thanks for all the feedback, might just go with the 220 one from Grainger and deal with no 110.

 

[RTM]

If you go to a house with no dedicated 220V garage service, build yourself a plug that fits into the dryer circuit, and a decently large extension cord to get out of the laundry room.

I ran my 220V table saw and bandsaw of my dryer outlet for years before putting in a dedicated circuit.

 

[GeoBruin]

He has 220 in his shop. He just wanted to be able to use it elsewhere.

 

[dnschmidt]

A thousand compressor threads that read exactly the same : big cfm = big power

Yep, and the reason for that is that the laws of Physics never change.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Yup. Physics. A group of my buddies work for Ingersoll Rand Industrial... They mainly install 200hp to 500hp screw compressors daily... But also do recips (piston compressors that most of us have)

I just recently learned that the rule of thumb is 4cfm per HP for screw, and a little less for recips (due to parasitic loss and intake strokes etc)... My real 5hp recip makes 17.4cfm (so less than 4cfm per HP obviously)

And you can only get so much HP per 110/220/etc.

 

[antman213]

I have a dewalt/jenny 8hp wheelbarrow compressor that is rated near 18cfm. So there is some stuff out there but idk about electric. don't necessarily need a tow behind

 

[dchawk81]

I have a 60 gallon 220 compressor and it runs off my portable generator.

It's a workaround to not having 220 in my garage because it's not worth wiring up knowing full well it's going to be torn down and replaced, but it might be worth considering.

In the back of a pickup it'd be like having a towed compressor without towing.

I forget the CFM off hand but it runs a 1" impact at least.

 

[ATC]

My buddy has painted 4 trucks with a 110V Craftsman 30gal standup. Getting ready to do a Galaxie too. It can be done.

 

[Stedlin]

It seems that many of you believe that my prototype compressor is violating the laws of physics.

It does In fact produce more than 10 CFM from a 115V 2 HP motor while drawing about 20 amps. It is mounted to a 20 gallon tank and fills it from empty to 120 Psi in 2 minutes.

The tank pressure drops about 3 psi overnight due to temperature drop. Tested at 70F and 30%RH.

This calculates to just under 11 CFM.

If this is wrong please correct me.

 

[tarbellb]

I remember when you were pursuing this design

Looked impressive got a link or more info

 

[Stedlin]

I remember when you were pursuing this design

Looked impressive got a link or more info

I’m impressed that you remember that. My memory is fading fast.

I now believe that the single stage version has more potential because it is extremely quiet and yet very efficient. However I got hung up on the design of the gate valves and the integration of flow streams.

At that point I switched to designing and manufacturing pneumatic fittings.

 

[GeoBruin]

It seems that many of you believe that my prototype compressor is violating the laws of physics.

It does In fact produce more than 10 CFM from a 115V 2 HP motor while drawing about 20 amps. It is mounted to a 20 gallon tank and fills it from empty to 120 Psi in 2 minutes.

The tank pressure drops about 3 psi overnight due to temperature drop. Tested at 70F and 30%RH.

This calculates to just under 11 CFM.

If this is wrong please correct me.

I don't believe your compressor is violating the laws of physics (and I don't see where anyone here has said as much, unless you're getting private messages). I absolutely believe there could be improvements in the design and certainly improvements in manufacturing tolerances that could get you to 10ish CFM at 2,000ish watts input. The trouble, as always, is that such a machine would wind up being a niche product and very expensive. I have no doubt it would have its uses but it seems like most of the posts here looking for a small footprint 120V compressor are people who don't want to drop the money on a larger 240V compressor or spend the money to wire for 240 power.

For my part, I'm glad you switched to air fittings because I now have my whole air distribution system capped with Stedlin Quick Couplers and Full Flow plugs, but I would also love to see what kind of breakthroughs you could make in the small compressor space.

 

[larry_g]

It seems that many of you believe that my prototype compressor is violating the laws of physics.

It does In fact produce more than 10 CFM from a 115V 2 HP motor while drawing about 20 amps. It is mounted to a 20 gallon tank and fills it from empty to 120 Psi in 2 minutes.

The tank pressure drops about 3 psi overnight due to temperature drop. Tested at 70F and 30%RH.

This calculates to just under 11 CFM.

If this is wrong please correct me.

If your pulling 20 amps on a 120v circuit then your consuming 2400 watts or just above 3 HP. So the rule of thumb that you can deliver just under 4 cfm per HP then your in the ball park of what is expected if your delivering 11 cfm.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Stedlin]

If your pulling 20 amps on a 120v circuit then your consuming 2400 watts or just above 3 HP. So the rule of thumb that you can deliver just under 4 cfm per HP then your in the ball park of what is expected if your delivering 11 cfm.

lg
no neat sig line

Here is the motor nameplate.


The current rises from about 17 amps to 20 amps as the pressure rises from 120 to 200.
The running voltage is 117.

17*117*.79/746=2.07 HP
20*117*.79/746=2.48 HP

 

[Slkay944]

Well I bought the 20 gallon 3 hp compressor from grainger, got a better price than list. It works great with my sand blast cabinet and my auto spray guns. No issues with air delivery, never had to run continuously to keep up with either.

 

[mike93lx]

How long is that going to last?

I am sure the engineers at IR could do better than what was quoted, but they need to produce stuff that will run for thousands of hours and often in terrible conditions. Your home brewed rig looks cool and puts up some numbers, but you are alreading overloading the motor.

It seems that many of you believe that my prototype compressor is violating the laws of physics.

It does In fact produce more than 10 CFM from a 115V 2 HP motor while drawing about 20 amps. It is mounted to a 20 gallon tank and fills it from empty to 120 Psi in 2 minutes.

The tank pressure drops about 3 psi overnight due to temperature drop. Tested at 70F and 30%RH.

This calculates to just under 11 CFM.

If this is wrong please correct me.

 

[Dakotadadv8]

Metabo has a 8 gallon gas power compressor 9.5 cfm. Makita used to make one as well not sure they still do.

 

[tak1313]

As stated above (as long as you're willing to go 220/240v), the scroll type is where you want to go. The Eastwood model is rated at 12.7 cfm @ 90 psi with a 26.4 gallon tank - AND it's quiet (63db).

If I had the need, that's the type I would gladly shell out for, but as it stands, I have a "regular" 60 gallon Husky (11 cfm @ 90psi)I got on the cheap as a clearance from HD that I haven't even started up in like 5 years.

They were clearing it at $275, and I just quipped to the sales guy if they would sell it for $175, not expecting him to say 'yes,' but he agreed right away (it was their last one in stock to get rid of), so I felt obliged to consummate the deal.

 

[dchawk81]

Physics doesn't give a **** what anybody wants.

My new signature.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have 220 in my garage but if I want to use it somewhere else I might not have access to 220.

Never going to happen ! A 3 HP motor on 120V would take over 20A running. Start up current could be as much as 60A.

 

[desertdog256]

Well I bought the 20 gallon 3 hp compressor from grainger, got a better price than list. It works great with my sand blast cabinet and my auto spray guns. No issues with air delivery, never had to run continuously to keep up with either.

I am looking at the same unit. Any tips for getting the “better price”? I have never bought anything from Grainger, and I am just a guy with no connections.

 

[mike93lx]

I am looking at the same unit. Any tips for getting the “better price”? I have never bought anything from Grainger, and I am just a guy with no connections.

It's easy. Just spend enough to have a rep. A few grand a month might be enough

 

[Slkay944]

I would try going to a branch and talk to one of the guys at the counter. I used A friend who gets a discount, got the unit for around $600 out the door.