Hi,

I'm thinking of buying a an air compressor for random home/diy work. I'm just not sure what would be the smallest I could go with but still had the power to drive for example a proper impact wrench for a little while at least (think removing brake callipers for example). Would possibly use it for spray painting too. I don't have a garage so portability is a must. Would something like this do the job?:

Air Compressor 1.5Hp 24 litre Oil Free BT-AC 200/24 OF - Machine Mart

Cheers

 

My impact wrench requires an average 6 CFM at 90 pounds of air so the machine you specified should just do the job. My 2.5 HP compressor puts out 6.5 CFM at 90 pounds. However, I have a 25 gal tank which gives me more work time between compressor cycles. It works well on lug nuts.

My guess is that your 1.5 HP machine will do the job but you will be less than satisfied on the heavy duty jobs. I would consider a rig with a larger capacity air tank because your pressure will drop below the required 90 pounds too often too long.

 

Thanks for the input! I'm now looking at compressors with 13.2 us gallon (50 liter) tanks as they're not that much more expensive. Slightly worried about the sheer size of it though. Will go and see some on the weekend.

Cheers,

 

jagtheripper, the other stat I would want to know about a compressor is the duty cycle time. A lot of the smaller compressors are only able to run say 50% of the time. For an impact gun, this isn't too big of an issue as you are only charging up the tank, spinning off a few nuts/bolts and then the compressor can run to refill the tank. If you are looking at using a paint gun, that is going to require volume of air (or, read as is going to require the compressor to run longer and more often). Please keep in mind that I am talking about something like you would use to paint a car. If you are looking at an airbrush, then this isn't an issue.

You are in a little bit of a pickle as the compressor that you need for the air gun is not very portable and the portable ones are not really capable of handling a spray gun. Personally, I would tell you to get the biggest tank that you think you can store and then go from there. The higher air flow rate will be nice too, but that is almost an automatic thing when you are looking at the bigger tanks.

 

For intermittent air tool use almost any compressor will work if the tank is large enough to maintain flow and pressure for a minute or so. Good quality air tools consume less air, well oiled tools consume less air. None will work worth a damn on a wimpy hose that restricts flow, use 3/8" rubber hose for tools. The coiled plastic cheapos are fine for filling tires.
An oiled single cyl. with a ten gallon tank is sufficient for occasional use, a 2 cyl twenty gal. can be had for little more if space permits.
Body tools consume prodigious amounts of air. If you intend using them start off with a bigger compressor.