Buying a New Air Compressor

[warthog5]

I've just spent a considerable amount of time reserching a new compressor for my shop. I've been thinking about this for 1 1/2yrs, but I just started my reserch.

Here's some things that I found if your thinking about buying one.

1st Bigger is better. It's better because your not limited down the road when you want to buy say a blast cabinet. They consume a LOT of air.

Had you bought the smaller compressor and then deside on a blast cabinet. 2 things will happen. 1st you will be waiting around a long time for the air to catch up and blasting a short time. This makes the project take forever of blasting a part. Or you will be buying another compressor that is a bigger size. "Money Wasted"!

My original compressor is a Black Max Sanborn. I got it from Sam's Club for around $400. It's a 60gal tank and single stage. Max preasure is 135PSI.

It has given me good service for 12yrs, but it's real tired now. Having accumilated lot's of air tools over the years, I use it a lot.

let's start with looking at the CFM of a compressor. Or better yet the advertised CFM. Now everyone should know what CFM is, but do you know what ACFM is? Then there is SCFM as a rating. After scratching my head and reading for another 6 to 8hrs I found this.

** This is Actual Cubic Feet per Minute air flow at 100 psi. Be aware some manufacturers list SCFM or

"Free Air" CFM at pressure, which is not a true representation of actual air flow at pressure.

Now the only compressor's I found that listed this was a Belair compressor.

So what they are saying is at the very extreme you MAY get XYZ CFM.

But if it is listed as ACFM. It has been tested and is a true output.

Case in point of the compressor I picked. Belair model #218V.

CFM is 18.59 ACFM @ 100PSI = 15.33 ACFM @ 175PSI = 13.75

So you can see a pretty fair persentage drop there.

Now the Box store compressor's are listed as CFM or SCFM. This leads you to belive that they will put those volume's out and it's just not so. No one has a way to even test the CFM output at home. It run's your air tool or it doesn't.

Now I found another thing wrong with HP ratings. Everyone has seen the HP rating stickers put on tool's. Like my Craftsman Shop Vac. 6.5HP. NO WAY.

I found a class action Law suite aginst the companies that are mostly sold at the box store's. Campbell Hausfeld builds compressor's and label's them with diffrent names. The suite is over the HP ratings on these compressor's. The bottom line on this suite is the consumer lost!

They got $50 and the lawer's won. No telling how much they got.

http://www.aircompressorsettlement.com/notice.pdf

I actuall ordered a Ingersoll-Rand as I alway's held them in high quality. I then did more reserch and cancelled the order.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44675

Look at the price of the Ingersoll-Rand. $849.99

Now look at this compressor for $899.00

http://www.menintools.com/compressor/ba218v.html

Here is the spec sheet from Belair.

http://www.industrial-air-compressors.com/specsheet.html

It's a no Brainer

[Arnie Eaton]

I've got a 30 gal., 6 HP. Works all my tools and then some. I only wish that I had gotten a vert. one instead of a horz. one. The vert. takes up much less room.

[Craig]

I have a cheap little Campbell Hausfeld I bought off a guy for next to nothing. It airs the MH tires and almost runs the impact tools but that's about it. I didn't even get the $50 bucks from the law suit. This Belair looks like a good deal and free shipping too! You can have that drop shipped to Shalimar for check out prior to installation. Just to make sure everything is OK I could give it a 2 year reliability test. No charge...