stevenb

I'm looking for a cheap small air compressor that I can use to occasionally boost leak test my car... along with possibly working a air wratchet / impact... What would you guys recommend?

Right now I'm kinda looking at something like this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40400

igotnothin

the one above that in the pic....the 21 gallon...thats what im rocking it takes forever to fill cause of the small pump but it dose what i need it to........but when i am rocking the impack wrench while roatating the tires it never shuts off, but it dosnt loose pressure either.....but you cant runa grinder on it, it dies in 45 sec of grinding

fork

get bigger if you want to use air tools

suprachica79

My brother grabbed a 25 gallon at pepboys for like 180, its worth it

JonDouglas

That thing will run a good impact at capacity for a full 12.8 seconds. Seriously, if you can afford it, go bigger. Things such as die grinders, DAs, and cutt-off wheels really use the air.

quadnie

I've had a few air compressors in my time. Currently I own a 5hp (forget the gallons) machine that's actually taller than my car. I enjoy having a new compressor with a 4 or 5 year warranty and it's cool to have the sleeker design of the newer compressors with all the bells and whistles (of course the reel for the hundreds of feet of hose is offset, along with the air dryer/filter).

My single biggest regret is not buying something considerably bigger, something taller that I am. I envy the people who run 3 phase compressors who are always at 100% duty cycle on any reasonable PSI that they desire. For just about any average air tool operation my ---- will be near full duty cycle - but will be running full time and building heat for whatever misc car part that I like to throw on top of it (spoilers, side skirts, rims, stack of ecus). I can seriously make do with what I got since it has the ***** to push any tool I own, but bigger is better in this situation. I like to come home from a long day of salvage yard stripping and throw everything in the blast cabinet. It's disappointing that to me when I actually have to let go of the trigger to build up pressure when I'm in a fury of glass beading my parts n ----.

There are many flavors of compressors (referring to ones with tanks, not emergency units) out there starting at only $50. Single cylinders are useless since they are at like a 10% duty cycle when using only 50psi. Twin cylinder/pancake models are purely made for light duty construction (carpentry work) and are great for running a brad nailer being very portable and lightweight. Even if you have to fill up the tire on your moms minivan they come in handy. Forget about running a sand blaster, DA, lower grade slow air tools.

I think your best bet would be to find one of those 2HP units that are like 20 gallon and are horizontal. I've had one before and worked well for general purpose/light duty. I ran pneumatics off of it, all the way to a good sized impact. You just have to shy away from any paint/body style tools like a buffer.

Hope my input helps.

statenis33

thanks quadnie, ive been looking to upgrade from my pancake for a while and i think you just made up my mind.

quadnie

Bigger = Better.

The pancake (or slightly smaller) does its job for simple tasks like filling up tires, and leak down tests, I would recommend anybody who has a little money in tools to at least have this item in their arsenal. Where it hurts to operate one would be things like die grinders (buy a dremel instead), air ratchets (none of that luxury for you), and impacts (just find a large pipe). Back in 2002 all I had (that I could call my own) was a pancake and that's what I made do with, even as far as sand blasting ---- like brackets. Hindsight being 20/20 I regret not breaking out the wire brush and using aircraft removal spray/naval jelly on a lot of the items I was working with. Nowadays I'm spoiled with being able to bead blast and shot peen ----.

The horizontal setup is highly recommended over the small guys if price permits. If all you have is $50-100 then pancake or single/twin cylinder it up. If you can afford $150+ then start to look at larger horizontal ones with wheels and ---- (but a downside being they take up more floor space). After my pancake I had one of them for a while in my apartment living room that I used to lug out to the parking lot to do my repairs. No issues running light air wrenches or impacts and filling up the neighbors tires (as well as air gun/engine cleaner applications).

For my current garage setup I had to have an upright for space saving reasons as well as more tank volume/motor power. I have the bare minimum that you would expect for any semi pro personal garage or small 1-man shop. Expect a unit of the likes of mine to start at $300 and go up. As with any investment [that is worth more money than what cash I have immediately available to dispense] I had to purchase a failsafe plan in the form of a ***** out warranty. You can find quality upright units (and even some nice horizontal ones) locally/ebay/craiglist for marginally less dollars and there is nothing wrong with that. I like to play the warranty game because after all the years and when it's closing in on the shelf life warranty expiration of my selected item (be it TV, electronics, laptop, random car parts) I like to render the item fucked and collect a new one.

I just cannot stress it enough that bigger is better. This isn't like me buying a pimp 32" TV back in 1999 and having to replace it with a 30" widescreen 1080i TDTV in 2006 because technology has grown and my old ---- is only worth $50. This is a reliable tool that will serve you for many years to come. The technology of compressors has not made any leaps in the past several decades. May it be corkscrew style compressors or cylindrical ones, nothing is going to change. I think the only improvements that you may see is more compact compressor units and asinine creature comforts like tool storage. I fully grasped the realization of being cheap and hacking some old school ---- together myself but for headaches sake I just spent the cash, I'll save the hacking of old parts for the stash of generators that are awaiting my attention.

All that being said, the only thing holding me back from complete satisfaction is the urge to buy bigger (after warranty runs out and I scam Campbell Hausfeld for a new unit of course to trade/sell).

I think this should sum it all up for you potential buyers.

Sevenlover

OG!1!!!111!1!