Air Compressor Talk

Get an Oil Type Compressor

I used to have a Craftsman oil less design, it was a 5 hp 30 gal. It was noisy and the compressor kicked on a lot. I had it a long time, and it served my home uses well until I killed it using it for a small blasting cabinet. I replaced it with a 230 volt 60 gal Cambell Hausfeld 2 cyl oil type I got at Harbor Freight for $400. It is a lot faster to get pressure, even though the tank is twice as big as the old Craftsman. It is rated at 7 horsepower, but anyone who knows anything about electric motors knows that the compressor industry has been lying for years. It is more like 3/4 or 1 HP. (see post about the class action litigation. I had one mailed to me about a possible settlement) I think if you spend a little more for an oil type it is well worth it. The cast iron compressor will last forever with minimal maintenance.

Tim65GT said:

I used to have a Craftsman oil less design, it was a 5 hp 30 gal. It was noisy and the compressor kicked on a lot. I had it a long time, and it served my home uses well until I killed it using it for a small blasting cabinet. I replaced it with a 230 volt 60 gal Cambell Hausfeld 2 cyl oil type I got at Harbor Freight for $400. It is a lot faster to get pressure, even though the tank is twice as big as the old Craftsman. It is rated at 7 horsepower, but anyone who knows anything about electric motors knows that the compressor industry has been lying for years. It is more like 3/4 or 1 HP. (see post about the class action litigation. I had one mailed to me about a possible settlement) I think if you spend a little more for an oil type it is well worth it. The cast iron compressor will last forever with minimal maintenance.

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Yeah, that's the other thing, cast iron over aluminum, great point. Here's a DeVilbiss L5020 at Harbor Freight that's about as cheap a oil bath compressor as I've found, plus it's a name brand.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35371

1320stang said:

Yeah, that's the other thing, cast iron over aluminum, great point. Here's a DeVilbiss L5020 at Harbor Freight that's about as cheap a oil bath compressor as I've found, plus it's a name brand.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35371

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Homier Tool has a 60 gal. 6.5 HP upright for $299, but I've never heard of the brand.

http://www.homier.com/default.asp?page=categories.asp?dept=1

And I'd stay away from the Speedway or Central Pneumatic compressors.

I got a 21 gal Central Pneumatic from Harbor Freight..it was cheap but it serves my purposes. Impact wrench, rachet, air hose etc. and don't have any heavy duty requirements. Not the best but it beats changing tires by hand.

69 302/351c said:

I got a 21 gal Central Pneumatic from Harbor Freight..it was cheap but it serves my purposes. Impact wrench, rachet, air hose etc. and don't have any heavy duty requirements. Not the best but it beats changing tires by hand.

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I got a little 2 gallon Central Pneumatic from the Homier Tool Show. You know, its more the kind you run nail guns with than sanders and spray guns, no volume. It is a oil bath compressor, looks like the same one they put on all their tanks. The case had a crack in it and it leaked all the oil out, they had it set aside for $40 (regularly $85 I think), I offered $20 and got it and took it home. Pulled the cover off and cleaned out the oil and die grinded the crack out and filled it with JB Weld. Took care of the leak, took it to a house where I was building a shed, got a HEAVY duty 100' extension cord, damn thing wouldn't pull it and I didn't own 150' of air hose. House owner caught a oil free Campbell Hausfeld on sale at Wal Mart for $135 with tools and hose. It worked on the 100' cord just fine. I only bought this compressor so the kids could air up bicycle tires and basketballs and the occasional vehicle tire, or to run my nail gun. I figured at $20, it'd be a cheap get-by until I bought my big 60-80 gallon upright.

I have the craftsman that you linked to (less the tools)

It runs impacts and air ratchets fine. Runs an air drill with no major problems, you just have to stop occasionally, not a problem unless you plan to drill lots of big holes in heavy stuff. It also runs a detail gun fine.

I think it is fine for home use. You won't believe how much easier stuff like you are talking about will be. Sure if you have 220 in the garage and money to burn get a bigger one, but unless you are planning on painting whole cars or running an air buffer constantly, the one you picked should be adequate.

For the "average" guy working on his Mustang or other odd jobs, the Harbor Freight compressors are excellant values. As a matter fact, for that same guy, most of Harbor Freight's air, power, and hand tools are more than adequate. They have the same warranty as Craftsman (lifetime) for 1/4 the price, or less. There is no reason to pay Craftsman prices for tools you only drag out on the occasional weekend... IMHO.

Most of my tools are Mac or Snap-On, and some Craftsman, but I have a bunch of Harbor Freight stuff for the things I don't need often, or just once.

SCFM vs CFM?

Timmy said:

This is what I have:
Craftsman 30 gal. 150 max psi air compressor, 6 hp, vertical tank with kit

SCFM delivery at 40 psi 8.6 SCFM
SCFM delivery at 90 psi 6.4 SCFM
Accessory Kit included air hammer, air hose w/chuck, ratchet, 3/8 in. wrench impact wrench.

It runs most anything you need however, as stated above, sanders, drills, grinders, paint sprayers and cut-off tools use tons of air. That means you have to stop and let the tank fill back up. That’s not to say you can’t use them. I use my 5 in one cut-off tool all the time. It just take longer to get the job done with a 30 gal tank.

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I know that I’m resurrecting this old thread, but I found the discussion really interesting.. I’m doing my own research on compressors now & I don’t understand the difference between CFM and SCFM. How are they related? I have seen compressors rated at SCFM and paint sprayers rated at CFM. Can someone fill me in? Thanks!

SCFM stands for Standard Cubic Feet per Minute. There is also ACFM or Actual Cubic Feet per Minute. In our case, these numbers will be very close. SCFM is an industry standard based on a fixed barometric pressure, relative humidity, ambient air temperature, etc. ACFM takes into consideration the fact that you will almost never operate in the standard conditions. I don't imagine you would be off even a tenth of a CFM in any condition unless you're at the south pole in the dead of winter or in Death Valley in the dead of summer. I know some say Jersey is Hell, but I doubt it'll have an effect on your compressor.