Setting up a garage air compressor

[markag]

I have happened onto a perfect storm of spend allowance from the one in charge. I have left over money that I haven't spent yet from Christmas, and now my birthday is just over a week away. My wife asked what I wanted, and I told her I wanted an air compressor. At first the answer was a "no", but then I told her I had left over christmas money that I could thow in there... and now she is on board.

I'm planning on getting one of the 60 gallon units from Lowes, HD, or Menards. They are all the same compressor. 3.7 HP, 11.5 cmf @ 90 psi. Menards has it listed for about $20 cheaper then lowes. http://www.menards.com/main/tools-h...ationary-air-compressor/p-1655323-c-12910.htm

I also have a harbor freight 20% off coupon that does not exclude compressors that I found through the HF coupon thread. I am goign to try and see if any of the stores will take it.

What I'm looking for is any advice on setting up the compressor in my garage. Long term, I'm leaning towards black iron pipe. I'm thinking copper would be preffered, but it is about 2x the cost of the iron for the same lengths of pipe. I figure black iron with a filter at my hookup location will work fine for home use.

I'm planning on getting into powdercoating at home, and will probalby do some sandblasting with the compressor. I plan on eventually getting a blast cabinet, but will probably start off with an outdoor siphon feed setup. Other then that, I'll use it to run air tools for automotive work and occasionally for home improvement. I will possibly do some hvlp spraying from time to time, but probably not often.

Are there any good tools out there for optimizing garage layouts. Also any information regarding air line setup would be great. Specifically, I'm looking for suggestions on the sequence and setup of shut offs, filters, regultors etc. I've been able to pick up a decent amount of good informaion from searching, but any help you could give would be great.

Thanks!
Mark

 

[brawls43]

Lots of great info on TP Tools website. I've been trying to plan out my plumbing layout as well and this seems to be one of the best sites for info and pretty good prices.

http://www.tptools.com/Metal-Piping-Kits.html

 

[32krazy!]

if your going to be sandblasting and painting i would upgrade to a 2 stage compressor for better reclaim. the unit you posted wont fill the bill

 

[markag]

Painting would be very rare. I'm not planning on painting a whole car or anything. Painting cabinets would probably be the biggest painting job this would see for a long time. I may do occasional small car parts here or there, but probably not very often. Most car stuff will probably get powdercoated instead of painted.

Sandblasting would be smaller items, nothing larger then say an intake manifold or valve covers. I'm not sandblasting for a living, so I can wait to let it catch up. I would rather do that then spend hours with wire brushes and sandpaper to clean stuff up.

I realize this range of compressor is just barely adequate for painting and blasting, but there is no budget for a bigger unit. The budget is already being stretched to get one of these 60 gallon box store compressors.

 

[mo2872]

I have the Lowes/Kobalt you listed.......it STINKS at sandblasting, even small items. It's your dime, though!

 

[markag]

I think we could agree that it would work better then the 2hp 29 gallon 120v compressor that I originally was looking at from harbor freight If I was to follow my wife's budget 100%, I wouldn't be able to get anything more powerful then the harbor freight unit. I'm already using loopholes and pulling strings to stretch it up to any of these 60 gallon units.

I don't want to be argumentative, but I really don't have the budget to go any higher on a compressor. I've searched craigslist for used units, and there just aren't any around that would have more output then the 60 gallon kobalt/husky/sandborn unit. This compressor will mostly be used for air tools, and only occassinally for sandblasting. Even if it *****, it will be better then no compressor at all. It will be a great compressor for running impacts, nailers, and other general use air tools.

 

[Jvvmusme]

Wait for craigslist bargain, or ebay

 

[doan]

I think we could agree that it would work better then the 2hp 29 gallon 120v compressor that I originally was looking at from harbor freight If I was to follow my wife's budget 100%, I wouldn't be able to get anything more powerful then the harbor freight unit. I'm already using loopholes and pulling strings to stretch it up to any of these 60 gallon units.

I don't want to be argumentative, but I really don't have the budget to go any higher on a compressor. I've searched craigslist for used units, and there just aren't any around that would have more output then the 60 gallon kobalt/husky/sandborn unit. This compressor will mostly be used for air tools, and only occassinally for sandblasting. Even if it *****, it will be better then no compressor at all. It will be a great compressor for running impacts, nailers, and other general use air tools.

I have a 60Gal similar to the one you're looking at. Its about the best you can get unless you want to go to about $1000 or more. I don't paint with it, but I run a lot of sanders and grinders. It will just barely keep up with a die grinder or sander. If you take a break now and then its fine.

I'd like to have a bigger one too, but its a big $$$ jump to make a meaningful upgrade of 20 cfm or more. Unless you use it to make money, its hard to justify spending more. It will run any tool you hook up... you just might have to wait for it to catch up sometimes.

 

[markag]

I have a 60Gal similar to the one you're looking at. Its about the best you can get unless you want to go to about $1000 or more. I don't paint with it, but I run a lot of sanders and grinders. It will just barely keep up with a die grinder or sander. If you take a break now and then its fine.

I'd like to have a bigger one too, but its a big $$$ jump to make a meaningful upgrade of 20 cfm or more. Unless you use it to make money, its hard to justify spending more. It will run any tool you hook up... you just might have to wait for it to catch up sometimes.

Thanks for the input. I realize that this compressor has it's limitations, but I feel like I have realistic expectations for what it can do.

As far as ways to hook it up and get the setup up and running, what kind of suggestions do you guys have?

If I'm going to install air pipes in my garage, would it be best to mount the regulator and filter early on in my run (near the compressor), or would it be smarter to put them at a drop where I would hook up my tool? I know the filter would work better at the end of the run so the air has the best chance to cool down. I'm not sure if it matters where I put the regulator.

 

[DoghouseForge]

just saying...new is nice, but I scored this one for $250 and it came with a full set of tools, 100' of hose, and a hose reel...just had to be patient and keep my eyes open.

Its 7hp 60 gal... i use it for sanding and running shop tools. havent tried sandblasting yet.... Only things I changed were the oil, water seperator, and putting a bigger air intake/muffler on it.... made a big difference in the volume...

If your wanting to do stuff that the machiene your looking at wont do then a used 2 stage might be in your budget.... and you can accomplish your goals.

JP


Yes.. thats a belt driven Nerf Gun in the background. Never undersetimate the value of a good Nerf war! ; )

 

[TheClaw]

For running the air lines you might want to consider PEX tubing instead of pipe. I had extra Goodrich rubber hose laying around so I routed that from my compressor to an overhead hose reel. About half way done I discovered PEX and almost started over. Something to consider, all the fitting, tools and pipe can be had the box home stores.

Jeff

 

[doan]

Thanks for the input. I realize that this compressor has it's limitations, but I feel like I have realistic expectations for what it can do.

As far as ways to hook it up and get the setup up and running, what kind of suggestions do you guys have?

If I'm going to install air pipes in my garage, would it be best to mount the regulator and filter early on in my run (near the compressor), or would it be smarter to put them at a drop where I would hook up my tool? I know the filter would work better at the end of the run so the air has the best chance to cool down. I'm not sure if it matters where I put the regulator.

Unless you have a really big garage, just stick the compressor in the corner, screw the regulator in the side, and hang a hose real on the wall. Easy access to the regulator seems important at 1st, but unless you're painting, you'll find that you just leave it on 90 most of the time. Even with painting you will prob want a regulator on or close to your gun.

 

[sberry]

Set it up, put filter on, hook hoses, run things a bit with hose hung up till you start air lines. Things often end up different from the original conception.

 

[TheClaw]

Set it up, put filter on, hook hoses, run things a bit with hose hung up till you start air lines. Things often end up different from the original conception.

Great suggestion. I stuck in the corner and mounted a basic HF hose reel next to it and used it for years before running any lines.


Jeff

 

[mrpizza]

I have that same husky and I have far exceeded the duty cycle on it many times, still keeps chuggin.

 

[J Persons]

I have a 60 gallon Campbell Hausfield that I got at Harbor Freight for around $550.00, this was probably about 20 years ago. The motor says 5HP, but I think that was start up HP, and it's more like 3.5 HP. The CFM rating is pretty low compared to some of the higher end compressors, but It's good enough to run a sandblast cabinet, and all my air tools. It even painted a motorcycle trailer frame, and never failed to keep up. The only maintenance it has required is periodic oil changes and a drive belt replacement about 4 or 5 years ago.

 

[Nick DL]

Check to see if you can find a bigger compressor that is a refurbished unit. I bought my Campbell Hausfeld that way many years ago. Just a suggestion.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[markag]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm planning on temporarily running with air hose off the side of the compressor until I get my air lines setup anyway. I'm thinking of putting a shut off valve at the tank, then filter, then regulator with quick connect to a hose reel. My only concern is if I do hook up to a siphon feed sand blast system... will I have too much water in the lines? I would probably get an in line air/water filter to install at the tool end of the line for any paint and blasting I would do.

I'm thinking about running this for blasting until I can get a basic blast cabinet setup going. http://www.eastwood.com/blast-out-of-a-bucket-abrasive-gun.html Who knows. I may end up building a cabinet at some point and just running that setup in it.

 

[DCarr]

Its as loud as an oil less, adding a muffler or 2 cures that problem. Otherwise its a good compressor. I do light sand blasting with mine. Here's a pic of what I did.

 

[fxr rider]

Its as loud as an oil less, adding a muffler or 2 cures that problem. Otherwise its a good compressor. I do light sand blasting with mine. Here's a pic of what I did.

Or if your close to an outside wall plumb the muffler out side no noise in shop

 

[markag]

What do you guys think of making a makeshift aftercooler for the air before it goes in the tank? I've seen stuff out there of people using AC condensors plumbed inbetween the pump and the tank.

DCarr... what did you do for that muffler setup? I don't think I would run the intake outside, but the muffler idea looks good. Overall, I'm not too concerned about noise, but less noise is always better then more noise.

 

[mo2872]

Nice.....muffler idea is brilliant!

 

[markag]

Went to Lowes and Menards over the weekend to see if either place had deals on compressors... no luck.

While I was at lowes I looked at black iron as well as copper pipe. I was surprised that the 1/2" M copper pipe was only about $0.40 more then 1/2 black iron pipe for the a 10' section. I was thinking copper would be more expensive, but at that little of a price difference. I may just go with copper when it comes time to run my air lines. Then I don't have to deal with threading pipe for odd sizes and no rust in the lines.

 

[04fivefour]

Yes.. thats a belt driven Nerf Gun in the background. Never undersetimate the value of a good Nerf war! ; )

a belt fed nerf gun?!?! sorry to get off topic but where was that when i was a kid?

 

[bigbluerigak]

Steel Rusts... Copper shines up nice.

View media item 3423
View media item 3424
And after 4 years of use I can say it works good. There is always water in the first few drains, but the last two never has a drop. There are more drains down the run and they are always dry.

 

[markag]

I like that setup. How long are those sections in the cooling run?

 

[BMWFatherFigure]

Love that copper pipe work. Looks like old school ships engine room. BTW OP I would always put an outlet through the wall to outside too.

 

[markag]

What type of hose should you use between the compressor and fixted piping? It almost looks like hydraulic hose or something in that picture.

 

[J Persons]

What type of hose should you use between the compressor and fixted piping? It almost looks like hydraulic hose or something in that picture.

TP Tools sells a high dollar steel braided hose for this connection. Tractor Supply has a hydraulic hose for about $25.00 or so. It does the same thing for 1/3 the price.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

IIWY...I'd definitely either go used and get a 2 stage compressor OR make your hookup flexible so you can swap easily to a 2 stage compressor later.

I'm using an old 2 stage craftsman unit that I actually got for free. It replaced one that was somewhat similar to the one you are looking at new, which I was able to sell for about 1/3 what I had in it.

At least give CL a try. You might even try posting a "want" ad on CL in the tools section. It's free!

Phil

 

[akdiesel]

Steel Rusts... Copper shines up nice.

And after 4 years of use I can say it works good. There is always water in the first few drains, but the last two never has a drop. There are more drains down the run and they are always dry.

Yes it does but if you have rusting pipes then your system needs to be reworked. There should not be any liquid in the distribution line. Just because you have some liquid in the first two drops does not mean the traveling air to the tool being used does not collect small particles.
But I will add that your set up is nicely done and great use of wasted wall space.

 

[bigbluerigak]

Out of the tank it goes to a on/off valve, an ARCO 3/4 filter. Then a 90 bend. Then to a water trap.

The big silver object is a Chicago Coupler, I got it at the local Parker store for $15.

out of that it goes to a 2' piece of GoodYear air hose and then off to the copper monster.

The copper runs are 6' in length, so about 45' total of cooling before it hits the regulator mounted on the wall.

I would imagine there is still some water getting through, but I am not painting cars. I never claimed this would replace a professional drier unit. When i turn the valves and see water spray out, hey it was water that was not in my tools.

 

[Falcon67]

Some of my air layout starts on page 16, post #312
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100482&page=16

I have one of the CH 3.5 HP 60 gallon units. Done all kinds of things with it including paint, no problems with it. I built yet another version of a water trap and it seems to work fine here. Caveat - "high humidity" here is like 45%. "drippin' wet" starts around 60%. Two Sundays ago it was 8% - you get the picture. YMMV on water trap requirement based on your location.

 

[PoorOwner]

I say set it up correctly from day 1.
I recommend you follow the TP Tool diagram.

I have some pics and part numbers I used in my post below

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11682

You only need a big compressor for things that continuously draws air.. (sander, die grinder, sand blaster). Get a HF blast cabinet.. even with the cabinet it is messy.. Mostly I run a angle die grinder and 3M pads for rust removal. (which isn't too continous). Porting a turbo takes alot of air. Powder coat does not use much air, just need to make sure your air is dry.

for a 110V solution I am looking at the 26 gal HF.. with good lines condensing the water out, I think can do most car jobs (impact tools) without problems.

 

[tonym]

I did the tptools way with 3/4 black pipe....works very good

bigbluerigak Nice setup...

 

[markag]

Found this little guy on craigslist today. Don't know if the seller will be able to come down on price at all. It is out of my budget at asking price, but he may be willing to come down. He is moving to Florida, and it sounds like he doesn't want to move it with him.

http://peoria.craigslist.org/tls/3861132987.html

Quincy 5 Hp, 80 Gallon Compressor 17.2 CFM @ 175 PSI, 17.7 CFM @ 100 PSI.

The Kobalt 60 Gallon 3.7 HP is still my fall back if this compressor falls through, but this would be much more capable then the Kobalt.

Anything I should look for when buying a used compressor? I will want to makes sure the tank is still in good shape.

 

[J Persons]

That Quincy is one hell of deal, assuming it has had periodic maintenance.

Check the oil and see if it has been changed. Open the drain and see if any rusty water comes out. Water without rust is OK. Listen to it pump up, listen for any unusual noises and see if it pumps up to the rated value. Why is he selling?

 

[markag]

He says it is 10 years old. Don't know on the maintenance. He says it still runs great. I know the equivalent quincy brand new is $2K.

 

[CNGsaves]

Work the price down on that 80 gal Quincy, rather than buying a storebought Kobalt. That Quincy is likely last compressor you'll ever need.

Shoot for $350 to $400 as your target price on Quincy. If seller won't come down, then have him "sweeten the pot" with some other air equipment that he doesn't need anymore (ie air ratchet, air impact, air grinder, etc). Good luck.

Lots of excellent GJ threads on airline systems - - - stay with either black pipe steel or copper.

 

[Garage Dog]

markag,

The difference between those two compressors is considerable, not just a little.

What would you rather do - pay 100% retail for a box store compressor or pay 25% of retail for a commercial unit that is just broken in? 10 years of home use for a Quincy is nothing!

Even if you get a discount at lowes, you still have to pay sales tax.

$499 vs. $550 I would find a way to buy the Quincy if it is in working order.

Go scrounge all the cash you have and make him an offer before someone else does, the worst he can say is no.

If he won't negotiate the price, ask him if he needs any labor or help moving, etc.

Good deals go fast