Time to find a new Air compressor!

[scrapart]

Ok so I have had a 6.5hp 60 gal oil-less craftsman that blew up and its been rebuilt twice and with everything else the cost keeps going up!

I figure it is time for a new air compressor and have looked at a few and I thought this http://www.tractorsupply.com/ingersoll-rand-5-hp-60-gal-single-stage-air-compressor-3301332 was a good Idea but after reading the reviews no thanks!

I found this and the reviews I have found witch is only about 6 they are all good besides the one that the guy had his stolen off his trailer http://www.sears.com/craftsman-prof...p-00916485000P?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5 .

What ever air compressor I get I plan on connecting my 60gal tank to it and plan on running lines across the ceiling. My main use for this air compressor is running my cnc plasma table, Nibblers, grinder, ratchet, and impact.

My main question does anyone know or have the craftsman Professional 80 Gallon High Flow Single Stage 3 Cylinder Air Compressor what is your opinion?

 

[bsaint]

What's your average cfm consumption esp considering you have a plasma table?

 

[scrapart]

What's your average cfm consumption esp considering you have a plasma table?

That is a good question because I have only had the plasma table for about two wks before the compressor blew up. I do know the little I got to use the table my old air compressor kicked on and off too much and that one was 14.5 cfm @ 90.

 

[bsaint]

20 cfm probably so a real 7.5 hp to be safe.

 

[bsaint]

I would recommend a screw also for a constant demand of a process like a plasma table.

 

[scrapart]

Screw? what other types is there? How does one know what kind of compressor they are looking at?

 

[Gary S]

The IR delivers more cfm than the Sears compressor. I'd go with the IR.

 

[kiatech]

Screw? what other types is there? How does one know what kind of compressor they are looking at?

pricetag

 

[bsaint]

there is scroll, vane, piston, screw, centrifugal, diaphragm.

 

[scrapart]

The IR delivers more cfm than the Sears compressor. I'd go with the IR.

Yea but the sears is an 80gal and the IR is 60gal and like I said before I going to hook the new a/c up to the old tank. O did you read the reviews on the IR they are nasty.,

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Screw compressor will be quite expensive. Depends on how much the OP is going to run his Plasma table. If not all day production, the best thing probably would be to get a true 7½ hp two stage 80 gal tank unit. It will produce about 23-24 CFM and will require a 50 amp circuit (I run mine on #6 wire and a 50 amp breaker) actual running draw is about 32 amps. Several companies make these, and they will run from $1700 up to $2400 or so.

Charles

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Get a lightly used rotary screw. Used compressors are at the right price point for you it sounds like.

With the demand of that table you need *real* air and those cheap consumer piston machines just aren't going to cut it. At the least you need something like a Quincy QR - it would take the punishment in constant run mode. And you NEED a compressor that has load/unload ability or you will short cycle the motor and/or blow the cheap starters they use these days.

7.5 - 15 HP rotary screw would be my choice - they just aren't easy to find used.

You WILL regret purchasing anything in the consumer realm. You need to go to a compressor supplier and tell them your needs - up front warning - the air you need will cost more than your plasma table. Such is the nature of air powered equipment - tools are cheap, air isn't.

GD

 

[RedFordTruck]

Home depot has 60 gal for $349...

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=166880

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Home depot has 60 gal for $349...

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=166880

oooh! Yeah that would totally last half a day on a plasma table. Great investment!

GD

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The real question is how marginal are the electrical capabilities of the shop/garage/building the compressor and plasma cutter are installed in. The OP may not be able to run both the plasma and a large compressor if he is limited on electrical, and may need to look at an upgrade.

Charles

 

[bsaint]

Lol.

 

[bsaint]

The real question is how marginal are the electrical capabilities of the shop/garage/building the compressor and plasma cutter are installed in. The OP may not be able to run both the plasma and a large compressor if he is limited on electrical, and may need to look at an upgrade.

Charles

To be honest then he should move to a bigger facility.

 

[RCStocker]

Yea but the sears is an 80gal and the IR is 60gal and like I said before I going to hook the new a/c up to the old tank. O did you read the reviews on the IR they are nasty.,

Forget the reviews. 99 percent of them are writen buy dumb *** people that have no clue what they are doing. IR makes great compressors. For the money they are hard to beat.

The problem is that Sears has not made a good compressor in 30 years.
The even carried IR's in thier stores for a while. They still might have them on line. I have not looked in years.

I have 9 compressors. 3 are Ingersal Rand's. They work very well. I have automatic drains installed on them. They blow out all the time to remove the moisture.

Yest I haeve 9 compressors. I have one in each garage. One in the tractor barn and shop and one in both of my shops. Then the others are for the job site and boat.

Craftsman played games with thie HP. There are 3 different ways to rate power.
As I have stated before you can only have a 2 hp motor run on 110. A 5 hp on 220. They do have 7.5 hp moters but they are playing games with the rating. and IR Does this as well as others. Look up hp and how hp is figured and rated.

There were many law suits filed against companies for play hp games. They lost. You would need 3 phase power to run a 6.5 hp. My friends at the University tested one of those moters. It had a week ratiing of 1.5 hp.

Speed air, Champion, IR and others are very good brands. The think with off brands is that you can not get the parts down the road.

Sears has its place but they are so over priced........

 

[GeneralDisorder]

You don't need much in the way of power to run the *right* equipment. I could easily run my QR-325 in pilot mode while running a plasma table in my garage - you just need a 200 amp residential service and the right drops for each machine. He says his plasma table uses 14.5 cfm. My 325 makes 18 and only draws about 25 amps doing it.

GD

 

[bsaint]

So use the stove breaker lol. 25 amp load and 30 amp breaker is too close.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

So use the stove breaker lol. 25 amp load and 30 amp breaker is too close.

Right - you would need a larger breaker. My point is simply that most residential 200 amp service would easily run both an adequate compressor and the plasma table. Given proper wiring and breakers.

GD

 

[scrapart]

I never said that my p/t use 14.5cfm. I said that my a/c was rated at 14.5 @ 90 my p/t is rated at 8bar. My 6.5hp craftsman is a 220V I have enough too power my table welder a/c and what not .

 

[bsaint]

8 bar is pressure and 14 cfm is flow. Its like saying one thing is this many volts and this other thing is this many amps

 

[bsaint]

Right - you would need a larger breaker. My point is simply that most residential 200 amp service would easily run both an adequate compressor and the plasma table. Given proper wiring and breakers.

GD

I get your point. I was just joking.

OP, get a Mattei.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Vane pump? I kinda dig on the scroll's myself.... being oil free and all. But they sure do like em from a cost standpoint!

A small used oil flooded screw running on ATF would be cost effective and should last him a lifetime if he maintains it.

I could have bought a small IR 10 HP screw from my old employer for $500 once upon a time and I wish I had now that I have a full auto shop to run. But alas the money wasn't there nor the need at the time. They are out there.....

GD

 

[rodm1]

Screw compressor will be quite expensive. Depends on how much the OP is going to run his Plasma table. If not all day production, the best thing probably would be to get a true 7½ hp two stage 80 gal tank unit. It will produce about 23-24 CFM and will require a 50 amp circuit (I run mine on #6 wire and a 50 amp breaker) actual running draw is about 32 amps. Several companies make these, and they will run from $1700 up to $2400 or so.

Charles

Add a unloader mabe a surge tank this should work good at a lower cost.

 

[Warrenator]

If sufficient electricity is going to be a problem, you might get a gas powered compressor so you can run the plasma table at the same time as the compressor. Might be a nice setup to have a smallish electric 3 HP air compressor for general shop use, then a biggie gas powered one to add air when you are using high CFM tools. I've seen used gas compressors in the $200-400 range.

We had a screw compressor at the last facility I was in charge of. Put out a lot of air but also a lot of racket, and it was fingers on the chalkboard sort of noise. That was 15 years ago, the new ones might not be so objectionable. I prefer the tapocketa tapocketa noise of a piston compressor. Definitely give any compressor a listen if possible before you buy it, I also just HATED the noise of my Husky airless compressor, gave it away. Gots a nice Sanborn now.

 

[bsaint]

Vane pump? I kinda dig on the scroll's myself.... being oil free and all. But they sure do like em from a cost standpoint!

A small used oil flooded screw running on ATF would be cost effective and should last him a lifetime if he maintains it.

I could have bought a small IR 10 HP screw from my old employer for $500 once upon a time and I wish I had now that I have a full auto shop to run. But alas the money wasn't there nor the need at the time. They are out there.....

GD

Was it a aluminum air end or the older iron?

I never liked mattei's since I only ever worked on 2 but since I've worked for an Italian CNC manufacturer for the past 5 years, Im partial to italians. Plus they look like they have come a long way. Have you ever heard that Rolair pumps are italian?

 

[bsaint]

If sufficient electricity is going to be a problem, you might get a gas powered compressor so you can run the plasma table at the same time as the compressor. Might be a nice setup to have a smallish electric 3 HP air compressor for general shop use, then a biggie gas powered one to add air when you are using high CFM tools. I've seen used gas compressors in the $200-400 range.

We had a screw compressor at the last facility I was in charge of. Put out a lot of air but also a lot of racket, and it was fingers on the chalkboard sort of noise. That was 15 years ago, the new ones might not be so objectionable. I prefer the tapocketa tapocketa noise of a piston compressor. Definitely give any compressor a listen if possible before you buy it, I also just HATED the noise of my Husky airless compressor, gave it away. Gots a nice Sanborn now.

I mostly hear the opposite from my old customers who hated the banging racket of a piston.

 

[Gary S]

Yea but the sears is an 80gal and the IR is 60gal and like I said before I going to hook the new a/c up to the old tank. O did you read the reviews on the IR they are nasty.,

But, tank size is worth nothing if the pump can't keep up with your job. It is like having a car with a 100 gallon gas tank and a 10hp engine under the hood. It can't do the work.

 

[scrapart]

I only have $1000 to spend on a compressor. I have a few tools that require 80 psi but its not like I can use them all at once ! The plasma table has a hypertherm 380 and The flow rate of the Hypertherm Powermax 380 plasma cutter is 270 scfh; 4.5 cfm (129 l/min) and the flow pressure is 60 psi. I never thought buying a air compressor would be such a hard choice!

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I only have $1000 to spend on a compressor. I have a few tools that require 80 psi but its not like I can use them all at once ! The plasma table has a hypertherm 380 and The flow rate of the Hypertherm Powermax 380 plasma cutter is 270 scfh; 4.5 cfm (129 l/min) and the flow pressure is 60 psi. I never thought buying a air compressor would be such a hard choice!

This is the info needed to make the decision.

This is a fairly minimal amount. Virtually any decent sized portable compressor is capable of producing this................................

As far as a good compressor goes, even as crappy as a IR is, I'd take it over the Sears compressor. There are lots of decent true 5 hp 60 gal and 80 gal tank compressors out there that will supply sufficient air. You do need to consider other things you may use this for in the future, such as a blast cabinet to clean up what ever you are cutting on the plasma, but in any case, you don't need a huge compressor..... now that we see the specs.

Charles

 

[GeneralDisorder]

If you must have a *new* compressor (frankly not the best idea for price/performance) look into a Quincy QT5 or QP5 - that should get you into the right amount of air and the right price bracket for a high quality machine.

A Quincy QR-325 is what you really want but a fully loaded HOA package will run in the $3800 neighborhood.... so used is the best bet here. I've seen really nice used QR packages ready to run in the $1500 range and a friend of mine builds really nice custom packages with all rebuilt components for about $1800 when he can find pumps, tanks, etc.

Craftsman compressors (all of them) are Chinese junk - perhaps not as bad as Harbor Freight but it's not a big leap between the two.

IR does make good compressors - that's just not one of em.

THE BIGGEST thing you need to look for in a compressor aside from air delivery is a constant run mode - you need pilot control for applications like media blasting or plasma cutting. Short cycling the machine is VERY hard on the motor and controls. If it's starting more than 8 to 10 times per hour then you are going to kill it quick - regardless of brand or quality. You just shouldn't run piston machines that way.

 

[scrapart]

Of what I read the pilot control sounds like a pressure regulator.? I m pretty new to the whole big air compressor thing well at less having one set up correctly.

 

[sparky7]

Forget the reviews. 99 percent of them are writen buy dumb *** people that have no clue what they are doing. IR makes great compressors. For the money they are hard to beat.

The problem is that Sears has not made a good compressor in 30 years.
The even carried IR's in thier stores for a while. They still might have them on line. I have not looked in years.

I have 9 compressors. 3 are Ingersal Rand's. They work very well. I have automatic drains installed on them. They blow out all the time to remove the moisture.

Yest I haeve 9 compressors. I have one in each garage. One in the tractor barn and shop and one in both of my shops. Then the others are for the job site and boat.

Craftsman played games with thie HP. There are 3 different ways to rate power.
As I have stated before you can only have a 2 hp motor run on 110. A 5 hp on 220. They do have 7.5 hp moters but they are playing games with the rating. and IR Does this as well as others. Look up hp and how hp is figured and rated.

There were many law suits filed against companies for play hp games. They lost. You would need 3 phase power to run a 6.5 hp. My friends at the University tested one of those moters. It had a week ratiing of 1.5 hp.

Speed air, Champion, IR and others are very good brands. The think with off brands is that you can not get the parts down the road.

Sears has its place but they are so over priced........

IR is garbage, my dummy boss bought the 80 gallon to run a small 3 man shop... toasted 2 motors in less than a year, and i would consider the usage to be similar to home use. Go take a look at the pump and motor, forgetting that they are made in mexico and india... they just look like ****, the castings on the pump are not clean at all and the motor is tiny for its rated amperage.

 

[scrapart]

So if I could afford too go big this here would be Ideal http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200510918_200510918

 

[123Go]

Quincy/IR.....Got money get Quincy...Damn fine units. Make sure you get cast iron pump and I prefer 2-3 cylinder or duel/tripple lung style pumps due to recovery time. Always keep them drained. Rust from moisture inside kills them quickly.

Now I bought a elect. portable one 5 yrs ago thats still doing great. Sorta shocked how well its performed. Its an Iron horse made by eagle compressors in Canada. Cast iron duel lung/90psi @5.2/hp {really a 2.5} but it does great. Its only a 20 gal but they make big ones. Runs impacts/air grinders/air ratchets/ect.. just fine. Suprised me. They have oiless ones but they are China and junk! Rattled apart in ten minutes.lol Big p.o.s...
Took it back traded for the one described...Quincy is best IMO. Dont buy anything until you see one in person. $$$ though.

 

[LG63]

How about two of these Husky running in parallel?

 

[scrapart]

How about two of these Husky running in parallel?

Yea that would not work

 

[bsaint]

IR's aren't all junk. People just fall for gimmicks because they don't get what a 2-pole 3450 6.5 hp motor really means. It means its a *************. Look in any real motor catalog (Leeson, Lincoln, Toshiba, Baldor, Weg, etc...) and tell me if you see a 6.5 hp motor.