Thinking of buying a compressor to enable me to paint a few bits of the bus me self, do my own waxoiling and no doubt other things once I have one. what do i need to look for? and any recommends? Baz
The one with the biggest air tank you can afford Small ones are ok for painting small parts and waxoyling etc but painting any large area or running air tools needs a large tank capacity
I've been thinking of buying one myself. I have read that you want to get one of a decent size. Cheap tiny compressors will often have an uneven airflow, causing the spray to pulse in an uneven spurty way. That's all I know so far.
this is concidered a big one its what i use and its brill but a bit noisy http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=clark+compressor&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1T4DSGI_en-GBGB357GB357&biw=1280&bih=857&tbm=isch&tbnid=YvYWLX3rfyp3GM:&imgrefurl=http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-320443/clarke-se25c-200-3-phase---400v-air-compressor.html&docid=VBRDMcumbXiw-M&w=250&h=250&ei=77mOTtboPOie0QXh-Kkv&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1037&vpy=329&dur=245&hovh=200&hovw=200&tx=147&ty=131&page=1&tbnh=152&tbnw=151&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0
Don't get hung up on tank size. Once it's lost pressure enough to kick back in, a smaller one will build up pressure again more quickly. Go for cfm and HP rather than tank size. I have 2x 50L direct drive 3.5HP. An air fed mask will eat up all the power from one and I paint from the other. Hooked together and I have a 7HP 100L compressor. This is much better than the 150L 3hp Clarke I had before. I have a mate who paints and does it with a 25L compressor no problem. He doesn't use air fed mask though.
in my opinion you want a 3 hp 14cfm minimum with seperate pump and motor (not direct drive they run warmer) you will need to wire it to a 20amp supply not a 13amp plug due to startup current!!! 100litre tank upwards is good, if your at home and got neigbours the bigger the tank the longer you can draw air before the compressor kicks back in saving on noise. if you buy a 50litre like zed says you can add on a larger seperate reciever at a later date but dont buy smaller than 14cfm. im in the process of adding on a seperate reciever to mine at the min 120litre main tank and a 100litre remote O0
Dont say that zed mines a clarke Then again i rarely use it as its too much hassle dragging it out and setting it up It only comes out if i really need to use the air cut of tool or finger sander although it will have to venture out soon As brushed on underseal looks awfull when compared to sprayed on
I bought a cheapish sealey from ebay, the same sort of deal as this one, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEALEY-COMPRESSOR-50ltr-Direct-Drive-3hp-SAC05030-/310348609809?pt=UK_Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item484237f911 I've yet to use it for spraying but I've got a couple of bumpers to do in the very near future. the only down side to a direct drive is its noisy, if i were to go looking for one now i think I'd try and get a belt drive, maybe an ex dentist's one to try and keep the noise down.
thats clarke for you! saying that mines a clarke pump and that been spot on for a few years now but i do run it on miller classic aircooled oil ;D ;D ;D
I only mention belt drive and an old dentist compressor as i saw/heard one running in a garage, and i wouldn't say it was quiet but it was alot quieter than my direct drive.
I've got a sip 2hp mabye 2.5 hp not sure and a cheap 2hp of a mate and all I do is hook them together and it Sprays fine primed most of my beetle like that . But there bloody noisy . I have used an old belt driven one and it was great just weight a tone
I dont know if this is area depandant, but Lidl have got this in at the moment. http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_24850.htm
I think it boils down to compressors being good at things nothing else can do. Painting, air-fed masks, pumping up tyres, argueably rattle guns, cooling welds, and blowing dust about. Anything else can be done more conveniently with an electric tool, which probably also uses less power than the compressor tool and will annoy your neighbours slightly less. IMHO
