The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Air compressor suggestions

Hi,
Was wondering what kind of recommendations you guys may have for an air compressor, for body work (sanding etc), painting, sand blasting etc.
Thanks,

Andy

You should get lots of feedback. DA sanders use a LOT of air. Most folks would recomment a 2 stage compressor. I have a large upright single stage that seems to work fine for MOST home use. You might want to look at what tools you will be running and add up the max CFM then look at compressors rated at or a bit higher then that number.

You also should think about what power you have. A lot of larger compressors run on 220 and some on 3 phase power. Mine runs on 220 single phase.

I believe Maryland is very humid so having a good regulator/filter and dryer would be a must.

Good luck.

That has been discussed a LOT. Do a site search for 'compressor' and you find hours of informative reading. Here is but one of many threads on compressors.

I have a twin cylinder single stage Quincy on a 60 gallon tank and it handles my sandblasting cabinet just fine. The compressor has a pressurized oiling system and unloaders that don't allow the compressor to start making air until it has oil pressure. It's been my work horse for over 25 years.

I made my air drier out of 3/4" copper pipe running it up and down the wall behind the compressor (3-up and 3-down) with a 12" dirt leg and valve at the bottom of each down leg. The discharge from the dirt legs are all tee together and exit the building side wall. When using the compressor I pop each dirt leg valve open for a few seconds to drain the water they have collected. It's amazing how much water they pull from the air.

If I had to do it again I'd use copper fin tube pipe from base board heat to make the drier as I believe it would do an even better job cooling the air and condensing the water out.

Mike B

When you say bodywork, is this a one person venture, more than one person working at a time, or otherwise? More than one DA or such tool working at once in the case of a multiple person shop will quickly consume air. The more your compressor runs to keep up, the more heated the air gets and the more vapor that gets in it, making water removal such as Mike described all the more important. The CFM capacity should match the projected work to minimize this effect and any premature wear on the compressor from overuse/overheating.

I also have a Quincy I really like, picked it up on ebay for real cheap. It's single stage on a 125 gallon tank, two identical compressors and 2 motors. I swapped one motor out for a 7.5Hp and used larger pulley, (checked the manual, it's OK) the other is a 2 Hp. It's set so the 2HP motor starts first on falling pressure and if it can't keep up the big one kicks in, both cut out at same pressure.

When looking for a Quincy compressor be aware that they now also have some cheaper ones without pressure lubrication or unloaders.

Here's a picture of mine.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2604060520080251109graBTh

The two unloader towers per unit indicates single stage. A two stage Qunincy 2 cyl compressor will have only one unloader tower.

Single stage is best used for about 100 PSI max, any more than that and two stage is preferred.

Grigg

Seriously look at these air compressors. and read the description field. It will be a quick education on what to look for at least.

http://www.eatoncompressor.com/catalog/item/504747/6474775.htm

Here's what I have. I'm not a full time bodyshop, just spare time hobby. I used this for body work, cabinet sandblasting, and painted my truck with it. Mine also has a built in dryer mounted on it but I paid way less than this is advertised for! Brand new about 3 1/2 yrs ago. Works great, never gets moisture in lines with the built in dryer.
http://www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com/ir/products/2475N75.asp?rt=2