Alrighty everyone. I’m trying to look into compressors for a number of purposes in my shop, and I’m feeling like my confusion is just a bit overinflated. I need to clear the air, and get pumped full of knowledge on the topic, so I’m not buying some overblown product that’s too much for my needs, while at the same time, doesn’t leave me feeling flat.
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If the puns were too much for you, here’s the real talk: I have 3 major needs for a shop: cleaning, cutting, and finishing. I’d like an air compressor that will let me blow dust off tools and parts, can be used as an air blast for the cnc, and can provide air for long enough to use spray poly or stain for wood projects. (Or paint for that matter).
What products should I be looking at, and what should I stay away from?
Bonus points for keeping the noise down, either with an enclosure or a quieter model. Thanks!
I have a california airtools compressor and its very quiet. I like it a lot. I got a small one and its enough for all my needs but runs out of air fairly quickly. I use it for some spraying and its ok, but I don’t spray a lot and for paint I use an airless sprayer. I no longer use any air tools, so the smaller compressor is fine. If you expect to use air tools for anything you will need a much bigger tank.
Another thing I did was put most of my shop through smart plugs (kasa) so I can turn on the compressor (and workbench, and cnc …) in the morning without physically going around flipping switches.
I have a larger 220v air compressor that I have had for years. I used to use it for sanding but don’t anymore. It mostly is for blowing off stuff and brad nailers (and tires and kid toys).
There is a slow leak somewhere in the connections and it turns on periodically to make up for that leak. Invariably that happens when I am standing near it and it makes me jump out of my skin.
If you live in a humid area make sure you put moisture filters on it. Otherwise you will spray water on your project.
Air compressors are ok for painting cars, but not really great for woodworking projects unless you get an HVLP conversion gun. Getting a cheap HVLP system from Rockler is pretty good for that stuff.
EDIT: no bonus points for me, mine is super loud.
Quiet and Air Compressor just don’t go together.
A screw type is about as quiet as you can get but noisey and expensive.
A diaphragm type is quieter than a piston, but still very loud.
Mine main compressor is a two-stage twin piston type and about as noisey as they get. I have it in the garage with a copper line running to the house and into the basement with a moisture trap and regulator.
If you don’t need a lot of flow or pressure you could maybe get away using an aquarium air pump. I have a 55-watt aquarium pump for my laser. It is not too loud and seems adequate for the laser task, but I don’t think it would be much good for other uses.
As for placing a compressor in an enclosure There will be a lot of heat build-up and may not work out for very long.
I can definitely say California Air Tools compressors are quiet. I picked up the California Air Tools CAT-1PS and its crazy quiet. (its also quite small) but so far, it seems to work quite well for my Nomad 3. I haven’t had it running for any long periods of time, but I don’t need much PSI to get chips out of the way from the brief testing I’ve done.
My only use for this compressor is air-blast on the CNC and for running trim & brad nailers when doing interior work inside my house, so it fits that purpose perfectly. For your needs this exact model might not work.
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However, for how quiet this thing is, I wouldnt hesitate to bide my time and drop the coin required if i needed something bigger elsewhere.
I use the Kobalt 26 gallon compressor from Lowes.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-QUIET-TECH-26-Gallon-Single-Stage-Portable-Electric-Vertical-Air-Compressor/
I use it for blowing sawdust around, running my sprayer for paint/finishes, filling tires, soda blasting and even blow out my irrigation for the winter. It’s a bit more quit than my smaller compressors. I would say it’s on par with the noise from my dust collection. I pull it around all over the property so the mobility is nice as well. At just under $400 I’ve been quite happy with it.
I was able to spray all 4 gates with oil finish with only 3-4 run cycles on the compressor. There was quite a bit of spraying with all the wonky angles/nooks & crannies.
I learned a new trick… replying to multiple comments in one post!
I had heard of this… It’s starting to sound like I need a “medium” size tank, or at least not a tiny pancake compressor. I think I could use the aquarium pump for the air blast, but I would still want one for blowing dust off and a spray gun.
Think it lives up to the “56db” hype it advertises? I hadn’t heard of this brand until a few videos into my research on compressors… I’ll definitely look into them.
I had seen this one, and was initially drawn to it’s capabilities for the price. @CullenS also mentioned moisture filters. The kobalt says it has a regulator built-in… I can’t find if it does moisture filtering, or if that would need to be another accessory. Found this one just now… Looks like it might do the job.
Thanks for all the input everyone!
One thing you can check is the compressor specification of the compressor(s) you are considering (SCFM) which is given (on the compressor usually) as two different values at different PSI (so xx SCFM @ yy PSI & zz SCFM @ ww PSI). Compare this to whatever tools you plan to use (a spray gun is probably the one that will require the higher amount of SCFM based on your use case) and make sure you have some “headroom”. Also the larger tank, the less it’ll cycle (and while a 80gal tank would be nice, they start getting pricy). I think I have a 25 or 35gal upright tank HUSKY from HomeDepot. it has a built in regulator & two QD outlets (120v) with two wheels (semi-portable).
Capacity plays a huge part when using air. I will assume that blast air to the bit will not take much capacity, the compressor will keep up, even a small one. If I am running air tools and blowing off surfaces the capacity will allow me to work longer. BUT a small compressor will have a hard time keeping up. A booster tank will help, when you exhaust the volume in the tank the compressor needs to refill. This could take time for a small compressor. Medium sized units are generally LOUD. I have the space, so I went with a 5hp 60 gallon tank.
So in my feeble eyes, size for your planned needs. Yes a boost tank from Walmart, Home Depot, or Harbor freight works. It is just a certified tank to hold air pressure.
I use a 110v 30 gallon Kobalt 2hp compressor it’s been solid running the MQL mist system on my HDM but might struggle once it has to feed the ATC dust seal and the mist time will tell.
If you get an oil compressor grab one of those vibration triggered hour meters so you can stay up on the oil changes. It beats playing the guessing game and will help you get the most service life. Also keep the air filter clean.
You can also add a capacitor if you notice the lights dimming substantially when the motor starts. Installing one will help the motor last longer as it won’t struggle with current drop. The need for this will depend on the homes power layout as some homes have plenty of current headroom some don’t.
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