Stanley air compressor - Any good?

[lewis s]

I have seen the £150 Stanley oil free 25l air compressors on screwfix and was wondering if anybody has any experience with these? It would be my first compressor, and will be using it for small spray jobs, blowing up tyres and cleaning swarf with the air gun etc. Would this be suitable or should i really stump up for a 50l model?

If this is no good what would people recommend. My max budget would be £200

 

[FranV8]

I'd have a look on e-bay. There are some generic 3hp (direct drive) 50 litre ones that could be on your driveway for around £160 all in.

That's what I'll be getting once my tool budget recovers from the expense of my new TIG machine....

 

[FranV8]

|PS - yes it would be suitable for what you say, I've got a 1.5hp at the moment, but like most things, as soon as you start wanting more air tools, or to tackle bigger jobs, you'll quickly be in the realms of wishing you had something with a bit more oomph.

For clarity - capacity of the reciever (litres) gives more time between the pump running, and can cater a little for using higher air demand tools, but ultimately to keep up with continuous use it's the compressors free air delivery that's of importance, which is reasonably related to hp. You get a boost for belt drive machines though for the same hp - they run slower and are more efficient.

 

[lewis s]

Thansk for that

Are the brands not particuarly important then? Also will an oil lubricated compressor be fine for spraying then?

 

[FranV8]

Yes - but make sure you've also bought a good separator/water trap to fit between the receiver and the gun.

I wouldn't be overly concerned with brand personally, I can't help but notice that many of the branded ones seem to be the same as the generic ones anyway.

 

[lewis s]

Thanks

I have just ordered one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wolf-Sioux-50...&otn=5&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=8686247591469143560

2.5hp, 50l, and £165 to my door.

what woudl be a suitable water trap for this kind of compressor? Would any £15 trap from ebay fit?