Compressors: new v secondhand

[Bren G]

What do you reckon?

Save up and spend more on a new item or take a punt on a secondhand one?

Lots for sale on ebay, some of them not much cheaper than a new unit.

Better to spend £200 on something with a guarantee or £70 secondhand with an unknown history?

There seem to be quite a few for sale that no longer work - a lot of them seem to be sip items.

Opinions ladies and gents?

 

[brightspark]

What do you reckon?

Save up and spend more on a new item or take a punt on a secondhand one?

Lots for sale on ebay, some of them not much cheaper than a new unit.

Better to spend £200 on something with a guarantee or £70 secondhand with an unknown history?

There seem to be quite a few for sale that no longer work - a lot of them seem to be sip items.

Opinions ladies and gents?

buy a new belt drive one .dont buy one that doesnt work unless its sh iit cheap and u know whats wrong with it. or get a second hand one but u want to see it running 1st

 

[Daz1968]

Look out for vat free days at machine mart, if you buy something cheap from them you will be added to list and they come through every couple of months. I saved over £70 on mine.

 

[shenion]

I bought my compressor second hand 10 years ago off Craigs List. It was already probably 12 years old.

Belt drive, 11CFM @ 90 PSI (120PSI cutoff), 20 gallon tank.

Works well. Only failure was belt broke.

Picked up a year-old 60-gallon direct drive, oiless off CL. Seems it broke the connecting rods. Not worth fixing but swapped my old pump/motor.
Now have 60gal, 5HP, probably 14CFM for a total of about $200.

The Cambel Hausfeld I bought back in 1991 or so is still running fine at my dads. 6CFM, 11-gallon, direct drive and loud.

I'll take the older stuff anyday. I still see rebuild kits for the pumps.

 

[ben8vgte]

There is a reason SIP is sold dead..

The way I see it, if it's a industrial type one and cheap enough it's worth a punt. Otherwise new is good!

Always go for a belt drive too.

 

[merckx]

Always go for a belt drive too.

Doesn't have to be a belt drive if you can put up with noiser direct drive compressors, I bought a used direct drive 14cfm 3hp one about 5 years ago and it works well.

For a belt driven compressor it's going to cost more or it's going to be older, I would buy one but for those reasons I haven't found one suitable so far.

 

[Chipper]

Belt drive usually make more max pressure/hold more air for same tank which can be useful. Also aren't they easier to repair?

I've got 2 new and two s/h. I bought one 3hp/150 new, and since then prices seemed to shoot up so the second 3hp/150 is s/h. it came from Shiremoor who'd checked it out, steamed out the receiver and serviced it.
Bought that in preference to the cheaper comps of similar price that can be had new from ebay and the like, often under different brands.