Learn me air compressors

In reply to bigdaddylee82:

Nice! I have visions of taking it apart in the parking lot and then loading the tank, pump and motor into my minivan. I also figured it'd be easier to get down into my basement that way as well.

In reply to Ian F:

That giant "missing link" looking fella in the pictures and I were able to manhandle it. I kept it attached to the pallet it came on, and it slid on concrete pretty easily.

It is top heavy though, about 250 lbs total, and most of that is up top. I moved it 3 times before we got to Ohio. During one ill-fated attempt to get it off of a trailer and onto a furniture dolly, the dolly rolled out from center, and the compressor toppled over loudly and violently onto the garage floor. Thankfully the brunt of the impact was on the corner of the pump/motor mounting plate. No damage other than some minor paint scratches. It took a licking and kept on ticking.

There's a youtube video of it running when I switched it to AMSOIL, if you search my user name there you'll find it.

• Lee

ross2004 wrote: No doubt that's a better compressor, but it's also $265 more expensive (if having it shipped). I have the 21 gal/2.5 HP unit and it's done everything I've asked of it: air chisel, impact wrench, air ratchet, paint sprayer, tires, sweat evaoporator. It's loud, but after a years use building a Lemons car I'd buy it again in a second.

Glad to read this, sounds like I made a decent decision in picking that one up.

In reply to bigdaddylee82:

Unfortunately, all of my friends are smaller/weaker than I am (all 5'10" & 175 lbs of me) so I'm usually working alone. I generally make do with an appliance hand truck and experienced lifting techniques.

I have a couple of general newbie Air compressor questions for everyone:

• Since it's in the 20's right now is there a certain weight of air compressor oil I should run?

And to add to that so far I've only seen compressor oil that's generically named "Oil Compressor Oil" without an actual SAE rating. Is it safe from a formula and viscosity stand point to use a car or lawn mower oil if it has a better winter SAE rating?

Is a secondary air regulator and a filter on the air line necessary if I'm just using this for air tools, etc and no painting?

Compressor oils are often ISO viscosity rated instead of SAE.

You want NON Detergent oil, i.e. NOT MOTOR OIL. I've never seen a compressor specific oil that used detergents.

The Kobalt I have been talking about specs a 30 weight oil. After going through initial break-in on the pump, following the directions I drained the oil that came in it and switched to AMSOIL Compressor Oil. I'm using AMSOIL ISO-100 which is a little closer to 40 weight SAE than 30. AMSOIL advertises it as 30/40 though, in Arkansas it's rarely ever cold enough when I'd be running the compressor that a viscosity difference that small will matter.

Here's some charts:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/viscosity-charts/

I'd at a minimum have an oil/water trap in line. You will get a lot of water in your tank and air lines, especially if you're in a humid climate. Don't forget to drain the water out of the tank on occasion. There are auto-drains of all sorts, but I made due with a manual 1/4" ball valve for about a decade before building an auto drain.

• Lee

bigdaddylee82 wrote: In reply to Ian F: It also fits in the back of a Jeep Wrangler with the rear seat removed. At the time I got mine you could still get the 10% off Lowe's coupon with the change of address packets from the Post Office. - Lee

Mine looks identical to that, got it from Menards for $350. Had it almost 3 years now. Best investment I ever made. IIRC, my max pressure is only 125or 135psi, but with the 60 gallon tank and the 11.4cfm rating it runs the cutoff wheel great. This is the one: http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/power-tools/cool-tool-and-great-gifts-sale/sanborn-60-gallon-vertical-stationary-air-compressor/p-1655323-c-12931.htm

We bought it at a black Friday sale 3 years ago.

In reply to Bobzilla: I also have the same compressor from Lowes. The first one I got had a pinhole in a weld where you hook up the plumbing. Called Lowes hot line and the store where I bought it came out picked it up and delivered another unit. This one is fine. Prior to replacing, Lowes did have the company who produced it which is Cambell Hausfield call me to see if it could be fixed. CH said it was new and should be replaced rather then fix it. I'm sure Cambell Hausfield makes this compressor for other stores. The Home Depot unit is the same with just a couple small differences. Although Lowes has a three year warrenty versus two from Home Depot.

Ian F wrote: In reply to bigdaddylee82: Nice! I have visions of taking it apart in the parking lot and then loading the tank, pump and motor into my minivan. I also figured it'd be easier to get down into my basement that way as well.

A word of warning. If you lay one of these puppies on its side while transporting, don't get all excited and plug it in as soon as you tip it up. Let it stand upright at least overnight before you start it. Otherwise the cylinders may be full of oil and might hydrolock your new pump.

bigdaddylee82 wrote: Compressor oils are often ISO viscosity rated instead of SAE. You want NON Detergent oil, i.e. NOT MOTOR OIL. I've never seen a compressor specific oil that used detergents. The Kobalt I have been talking about specs a 30 weight oil. After going through initial break-in on the pump, following the directions I drained the oil that came in it and switched to AMSOIL Compressor Oil. I'm using AMSOIL ISO-100 which is a little closer to 40 weight SAE than 30. AMSOIL advertises it as 30/40 though, in Arkansas it's rarely ever cold enough when I'd be running the compressor that a viscosity difference that small will matter. Here's some charts: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/viscosity-charts/ I'd at a minimum have an oil/water trap in line. You will get a lot of water in your tank and air lines, especially if you're in a humid climate. Don't forget to drain the water out of the tank on occasion. There are auto-drains of all sorts, but I made due with a manual 1/4" ball valve for about a decade before building an auto drain. - Lee

Thanks! I figured regular motor oil probably wouldn't be formulated properly for it so I have NOT used any on it or filled it yet for that matter. I think I'm going to use the compressor oil I bought from HF just to break it in, and I might see if I can find the lower SAE rated Amsoil and hope that that helps. It will probably not break 30 degrees here in the next 3 weeks and it will most likely got below zero overnight.

That reminds me... I need to change the oil in mine. It's really really dark.

Basil Exposition wrote: A word of warning. If you lay one of these puppies on its side while transporting, don't get all excited and plug it in as soon as you tip it up. Let it stand upright at least overnight before you start it. Otherwise the cylinders may be full of oil and might hydrolock your new pump.

My plan is to remove the pump from the tank so it stays upright at all times.

FWIW, I have a Home Depot compressor and it specifies Mobil 1 10-40.

I agonized over research & searching for a good used compressor and finally went with this:

http://www.alltiresupply.com/p-5026VP.html

I'm in a rental house so that was the main reason I had to go with a "portable", otherwise I would have been able to get much more compressor for the same money(I paid $600 shipped). but it's been flawless, it's mostly made in USA and runs very quiet.

I will be purchasing a compressor for my new shop.

I think I have decided on a two-stage compressor, however....

-- 18cfm @ 90psi single stage $1549CDN

-- 14cfm @ 175psi two stage $1799CDN

-- 25cfm @ 90psi two stage $2499CDN

What is the best bang for the buck?

I have a wack of air tools including body sanders, plus I also have a blasting cabinet that needs to be fed. I've been using an oil-less compressor that is noisier than an unmuffled rotary, and only keeps up with my spray gun because I lift at the end of each pass.

Tips??

In reply to SkinnyG:

Big, used, American made, industrial, slow running, multi-stage, multi-cylinder, bigger than you think you need.

The axiom "good/fast/cheap - you get to pick any two" applies. If you need a good one soon, it's expensive. If you can wait and search, there will be a very good used one, cheap.

Do they still work if I'm taking a canoe on my vacation?

Elvirafriddle said:Don’t feel stranded with a flat tire, keep the best portable air inflator from specialopscanoestool.

How does one sit on a special op stool?

Are you sure that's not what comes out of you when special ops go wrong?