quick question on air tools and compressors

I can get my dad's old compressor for free (the lucky bastard bought my old shop's compressor, which is all anybody will ever need - I'm totally jealous) but I'm not sure it's enough for my 'needs.' I can't recall the brand, but it's an older 60 gallon upright. It'll do 10.1 CFM @ 90 PSI, 125 PSI max. Will that be enough for most common shop tools? I'm thinking big impact guns and air ratchets, more than DAs and paint guns. I probably won't be painting much, so I'm willing to live with some inconvenience in waiting for the thing to catch up in those cases.

So, is it worth dragging to my house and installing, or should I let him throw it to the dogs on CL?

Should run an impact or air ratchet well.

You'll probably need some down time occasionally but I don't see why you couldn't get a full tire change done with that machine without working it hard.

A D/A or die grinder will work it hard.

Shawn

Sounds like the specs on my Campbell Hausfeld.

Like Shawn said above you'll most likely be fine.

What can I do to maximize its performance? I know he got it from a pawn shop, so God only knows what kind of 'maintenance' has been 'performed' on it, and I know he didn't do a thing in that arena.

The air intakes usually have filters, make sure that's clean. Drain frequently especially in humid weather(drain cock on bottom of tank). Make sure the oil for the pump is full. Better yet, just change it now. (Assuming it has a wet sump. Most that size usually do. As far as I'm concerned, "oilless" and "air compressor" should not be mentioned in the same sentence.) Use a filter/regulator at the workstation and a dessicant filter at the inlet to the tool. Lube the tool frequently, I used to tell techs air tool oil every day, B'laster air tool treatment every week.

alex wrote: What can I do to maximize its performance? I know he got it from a pawn shop, so God only knows what kind of 'maintenance' has been 'performed' on it, and I know he didn't do a thing in that arena.

Look for tools that are low CFM. The better quality built units seem to use less CFM.

The unit you have is fine for just about anything the home mechanic can toss at it.

Also the price you are getting it for kind of makes it a no brainier. It is like being offered a F40 for free and turning it down because you want a Koenigsegg CCX (with the rear wing of course).

^ What they all said.

A few companies make synthetic compressor oil. I used to be skeptical but after using it in a few very abused compressors at work I'm sold on it.

Compressor oil is just 30wt non-detergent oil. The good part about the synthetics is that they won't emulsify (is that the correct term?) water and damage the pump bearings down the road.

Air filters need changing and blowing out, a restricted air filter can cause excess heat, burnt gaskets, damaged valves and low output.

Solberg makes very good compressor filters, they're available from Grainger.

Shawn

First, good maintenance is your friend. My buddy had a hand-me down industrial compressor, 80 gal. horizontal, that would take forever to fill and was really slow to re-charge. He pulled the motor, replaced the piston rings and that thing was amazing afterwards. I think he got the compressor and tank for like $50 and the parts to re-ring and do some other maintenance on it were about $15.

If you want to minimize the down time to re-charge your tank you can just add a few "extra" 10 gallon air tanks inline...

I have a 60 gal. IR upright and when I'm not at the track, I have my 33 gal. Craftsman portable piped inline with a shut-off valve and a quick release disconnect and two more 10 gal. HF air tanks inline in each corner near the cieling of my garage as well. If I really need more capacity, I could add up to four more 10 gallon tanks in-line for another 40 gal.

That gives me a total of 113 gal. of air, plus what's in my pipes and hoses and the flexibility to go up to 153 gal.

If I'm really working things over, I'll turn the Craftsman oil-less compressor on too, but it's so freakin' noisy, I try to leave it off unless I'm at the track and REALLY need it!

I never thought to connect compressors and tanks. That's a damned clever idea.

And the thing is a Campbell Hausfeld. Hope that means I'll be able to get parts for it.

Yes, parts are readily available.

www.chpower.com

They have a service center locator that should put you in touch with the nearest dealer.

All the manuals are available there as well.

Shawn