1 big or 4 tiny

[thinfourth]

I am considering getting a new air compressor

I have a budget of up to £500

Now i am looking at a belt driven large 240v compressor which would be perfect

But

I can buy 4 of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rhyas-24L...905284?hash=item5b172ddbc4:g:VWQAAOSwNSxU-b95

Cheap and nasty in the extreme but when one goes wrong i can chuck it in the dustbin and get another

I can also set up the pressure switches to give me lead and lag on them so 4 of these will give the same supply as the one decent machine

Whatever solution it will be going outside so noise isn't a huge deal

I already have a big air tank as my current compressor is a cheap and nasty skip rescue so i have used a large gas bottle as an air tank.


So what are folks thoughts

 

[the snooper]

Go with the belt drive is my advice they are much better

 

[thinfourth]

I don't doubt the belt drive is better

Just i need a really good reason not go for the bunch of angry wasps solution

As the bunch of wasp solution has the advantage of i can unplug one and take it somewhere


A 100Kg belt drive machine i loose this option

 

[123hotchef]

nice to be able to take one off site I have 2 for the same reason

 

[rtbcomp]

The noise would be horrendous with four of those buzzing away.

 

[123hotchef]

The noise would be horrendous with four of those buzzing away.

he did say

 

[lundtang]

Depends on the how long time in a row you want lots of air. The 4 cheapies will not last long as they will overheat if they are running an hour in a row whereas an old industrial belt drive will chuck happily along for extended periods.
Having said this I was tempted going the same route until I found a 10Hp direct drive atlas copco.
/andreas

 

[knighty]

could get a hydrovane on ebay for £500 ?

leave your old air tank connected too, the more storage capacity the better :-)

 

[brightspark]

so buy 2 reasonable belt driven ones and the crap direct drive for portable and u have the best of both worlds

 

[brokenbiker]

so buy 2 reasonable belt driven ones and the crap direct drive for portable and u have the best of both worlds

i was gonna suggest this...get a decent belt drive to stay in the shed/workshop and a cheapo crap one for throwing in the car/van and taking places

 

[Wallace]

Buy one of these on a vat free day and one of the chit ones every two months for the next 15 years.

 

[Freddy0309]

Buy one of these on a vat free day and one of the chit ones every two months for the next 15 years.

I've just got a vat free voucher if you want it

 

[Wallace]

My SE16C 150 was £300 on a Vat free day, £429 now!

 

[Johnseat]

Go one ebay and buy a decent ABAC compressor second hand, they go for ok money second hand.
Have a look at the sold items section.

 

[Bill Edwards]

I wouldn't even contemplate a few cheap direct drive compressors running together for a worthwhile air supply.
Noisy, ages spent messing around tweaking shutoff pressures to stagger the starts, one compressor at least will do more of the work. Then there's overheating and the short life they seem to have. Plus loads of hassle and fittings joining them all together, more leak points to contend with.
All in all I'd say no, get the best belt drive you can afford and a cheap direct drive for being portable, if you have enough justification for one.

 

[thinfourth]

I wouldn't even contemplate a few cheap direct drive compressors running together for a worthwhile air supply.
Noisy, ages spent messing around tweaking shutoff pressures to stagger the starts, one compressor at least will do more of the work. Then there's overheating and the short life they seem to have. Plus loads of hassle and fittings joining them all together, more leak points to contend with.
All in all I'd say no, get the best belt drive you can afford and a cheap direct drive for being portable, if you have enough justification for one.

Setting them up would not take too long

I would take them into work and use the druck (expensive portable pressure calibrator)

I know they tend of overheat but

I live in scotland, nothing has ever overheated in scotland
The current skip refuge is a cheap and it hasn't fully exploded in a lie of cogs and springs yet

Also it is hobby workshop with maybe an hour a week flat out with the rest of the time they are off

I can't see connecting them being too difficult as i will just get a few 13amp plugs and a series of quick couplers. The hardest part will be getting the victim out of the box

 

[brightspark]

there lies your problem, 1 hour flat out will cook a direct drive compressor . my mate borrowed his mates new compressor to do a bit of blasting and cooked it after half an hour . fortunately machine mart replaced it under guarantee but they asked what he was using it for and he lied and said spraying a car

 

[dannyp]

the cheep nasty direct drive compressors will produce rather a lot less air per kw/hr than a better belt drive unit