Please help on compressor decision

jb1dsl · Sep 9, 2006

I will be purchasing a compressor asap and need a little help. I was thinking this one, http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...BV_EngineID=cccfaddikjmiglkcefecemldffidfmm.0 , but I also thought about this one at lowes, http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=236704-48540-K7045V&lpage=none . I will be chemically stripping my car panel by panel, so I will only be spraying one panel at a time instead of a whole car. I have limited space in my garage and I do not have a 240v hookup in there but I could get one. The first one is portable and the second is stationary. Let me know what you think, I need to get started. I have the car and area prepped to start. I painted a whole car one time with a 2hp 15gal compressor so I think i would be ok to get the one from sears since im doing each panel? There is alos a 200 dollar price difference. I will taking the car to a paint shop with a booth for teh final paint. please let me know!

67Dylan · Sep 9, 2006

I recmnd the one from Lowes. For your operation larger is better

I have a sears 25 gal compressor and it is OK for 'normal' operation. Once I started body work on my car the 25 gal caused me to stop operation so the compressor could catch up more often than I wanted. I borrowed a friends 45 gal and this thing is what I should've gotten. But I didn't even think I'd use it to grind/sand welds, body panels, old bondo, and use to paint a car.

Soaring1 · Sep 10, 2006

The bigger the better. Get the largest one you can afford.

CarlF250 · Sep 10, 2006

First of all, I would not recommend any oil free air compressor if you are going to be using it a lot. The only reason is because they tend to be very loud and annoying. That said, if the choice MUST be between the Craftsman and Kobalt that you posted, I would choose the Kobalt. However, if it was up to me (in the same price range) I would choose this Craftsman from Sears:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=00918419000&vertical=Sears&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

I don't know too much about Kobalt air compressors, I have never heard of them. Maybe because I have never been to Lowes. But Craftsman air comressors have always had a good reputation. Who knows, they are probably all made by the same company.

If money/space/voltage is not an issue I would buy a Sullair, Quincy, or Ingersoll Rand (in that order). We use these at work.

Anyway, Good Luck!

Tim65GT · Sep 10, 2006

Quote by carlf250:

First of all, I would not recommend any oil free air compressor if you are going to be using it a lot. The only reason is because they tend to be very loud and annoying.

I agree, also they do not last very long. They are ok for occasional use, but once you start doing automotive type work - especially body work - they wear out quick.

I replaced my old Craftsman oiless type with this Campbell Hausfeld from Harbor Freight for $400. It is a lot like the Craftsman mention above, but cheaper and has a cast iron compressor instead of aluminum. It will likely out last me.

danny clemens · Sep 10, 2006

I would go with the Kobalt. You'll probably still be waiting some for it to catch up if you use a DA sander very much. You can determine how much a compressor will put out by the scfm rating at 90 psi. A bigger tank is better but the compressor output is the main thing to look at.

Shakin66 · Sep 10, 2006

Look at he quality of the units but also just as important is the CFM rating. I own and Equipment rental co. and have some at the store that as little as 4CFM and then the tow behinds are 200CFM. If you are going to be doing any major sanding or cutting you will have to wait on the smaller units to recover.

jb1dsl · Sep 10, 2006

for 80 more dollars they have this one, http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=134819-48540-K7060HFV&lpage=none , it puts out 13.3 scfm at 90. the tank is also 15 more gallons

fasttback · Sep 10, 2006

Between the two, I would go with the Kobalt. The Sears oil-less are very noisy (neighbor has one). As others have mentioned, go with the biggest tank w/ CFS you can afford. My 25 gal 8.6 at 90 psi plays the catch up game with my HVLP gun (but does ok spraying smaller parts).

fasttback · Sep 10, 2006

fasttback said:
Between the two, I would go with the Kobalt. The Sears oil-less are very noisy (neighbor has one). As others have mentioned, go with the biggest tank w/ CFS you can afford. My 25 gal 8.6 at 90 psi plays the catch up game with my HVLP gun (but does ok spraying smaller parts).

I meant CFM, but all relative.

danny clemens · Sep 10, 2006

jb1dsl said:
for 80 more dollars they have this one, http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=134819-48540-K7060HFV&lpage=none , it puts out 13.3 scfm at 90. the tank is also 15 more gallons

Oh yeah. Bigger is better when you're talking about compressors. I bought a 2 stage Kobalt (over 17 scfm at 90 psi with an 80 gal. tank) and never have to wait for it to catch up even when using my blasting cabinet or DA. It does run quite a bit when using those two tools though

jb1dsl · Sep 10, 2006

I looked in my breaker box and I do not have two breaker slots open beside each other, can I put in two breakers on opposite side and use a leg off each breaker? What size breaker should I use?

67Dylan · Sep 10, 2006

jb1dsl said:
I looked in my breaker box and I do not have two breaker slots open beside each other, can I put in two breakers on opposite side and use a leg off each breaker? What size breaker should I use?

It depends on how much rated Amps you plan on using. I have one outlet mainly for my welder that is 5A more than the welder and one for just the compressor that is the same rating above the compressor rating. The other 2 outlets I use for powered hand tools is rated for 20A. Make sure you have the correct thickness wire to support the current rating and distance covered. The longer the distance the thicker gauge the wires needs to be to support a given amperage.

jb1dsl · Sep 10, 2006

what about the split breakers instead of a double breaker? Does anyone know a website that might could answer that question and give me good pointers on the install?

Jester67 · Sep 10, 2006

I have the big brother to the sears one it is 33 gal and it is VERY VERY LOUD oh did I say it is LOUD if I had it to do over i would not have gotten it. It would be ok for some uses but not for working on the car. I am trying to sale it now for half of what i paided for it and it is less than a year old

jb1dsl · Sep 10, 2006

any help on the breaker situation?

Jester67 · Sep 10, 2006

jb1dsl said:
I looked in my breaker box and I do not have two breaker slots open beside each other, can I put in two breakers on opposite side and use a leg off each breaker? What size breaker should I use?

no this will not work.

you will have to move one of the 120v breakers and add in the 240v

Jester67 · Sep 10, 2006

As for rating you will need to use the corret wire,breaker and outlet for the load rating I sized my 240v outlet for 50amp that should cover any need

jb1dsl · Sep 10, 2006

Thats what I thought. Thanks

dennis112 · Sep 10, 2006

Get the largest compressor you can afford. Better to have excessive capacity than not enought. Some tools, such as paint guns and grinders use lots of cfm's.

Having the breakers in separate banks can be a serious problem. If one of the breakers trips, there will still be some voltage applied to the compressor. This low voltage situation (110V) can damage the motor, should it be running. It can be especially bad when the mother first starts up and draws excessive current.

Best to make room for the correct 2 bank breaker. Most home compressors need a 30 amp circuit with at least 10 amp gauge wire.

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