What compressors do you have in your home garages

[zzr1200]

I used to have a 200ltr tank 13cfm belt driven unit (had to sell it due to a house move), I now have the Aldi 13cfm 100ltr tank unit on a shelf in the garage.
I very seldom drain it, always leave pressure in it, its not as good as my old belt driven noise wise, but it works for my garage.

I even purchased another one to run off my 5Kva generator in a works van, for £140 with a 3 year guantee, they're a bargain.

 

[Wallace]

It's a superb compressor, it'll run a huge air hogging tool like a sander with ease, not tested it on a blasting cabinet. I was told by machine mart that they could no longer get hold of the SE16 due to the manafacturer no longer producing that parts for them that's why they use a new supplier with a V twin arrangement, the v twin is cast as well so it's the same build quality as the SE range.

I’m hoping the vee twin is an improvement and not a cost saving exercise, I have been tempted to do a measure up and replace my pump as it’s getting a bit tired.

I might have gone a bit over the top...

Motor looks a bit twee in comparison to the pump, is it a buil in progress?

 

[Chillitt]

I’m hoping the vee twin is an improvement and not a cost saving exercise, I have been tempted to do a measure up and replace my pump as it’s getting a bit tired.



Motor looks a bit twee in comparison to the pump, is it a buil in progress?

That pic is while it was still coming together. It's done now, but you are right, the motor isn't big enough. I'm keeping an eye open for a better one.

 

[Wallace]

That pic is while it was still coming together. It's done now, but you are right, the motor isn't big enough. I'm keeping an eye open for a better one.

Sizeable pump!

 

[fizzy]

I have a Clarke 50L 14cfm a bit like this

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-xep1550-portable-industrial-air-compres/

I wanted portability and it is quite handy to wheel out of the warehouse sometimes. It runs perfectly off a 13amp socket and I have even run it on a long extension lead - fully unwound of course.

It just about copes with a small sand blasting unit.

Nice and quiet as belt driven. I bought it as a return from machine mart but had never been used!

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I've had several compressors over the years and bigger the CFM the better.
Currently I have a ABAC with 150 ltr tank and that is perfect for my DIY needs.

 

[dab4318]

I have the SEV11 100 litre V-twin Clarke industrial. Paid £250 for it second hand beginning of last year. Its a great size to fit under my bench and I have sprayed a car with it no problem.

 

[fizzy]

Oh and 1 other thing - when blasting I find a 50L tank is no different to a 150 - once you have run down the reserve it runs constantly anyway!

 

[Dutch Welder]

Running a Kaeser 460D/50 Classic
50 litre tank, 460 litres per minute air intake (and yes it really does that, fills the tank to 8 bar from empty in under a minute)

 

[DennisCA]

Homebuilt setup from an old compressor from the 80s, the old 25l tank didn't feel safe after 30+ years, I got a new 96l tank that was in great condition, an old refrigerant tank rated for 26 bar (vs the 6-8 bar max I would use), added a drain valve on the bottom so I can empty it by opening a handle slightly:

 

[dannyp]

i'm running one of those clarke 2 motor 2 pumps things on a 200 ish ltr tank.

tank size is usefull so it's not cutting in and out all the time, and the 25 cfm or so is usefull when useing air. IMO it's about the size you want for DIY its just justfying it.
tho is's supriseing just how often the diesel screw compressor comes out even tho don'e really need it anymore. somewhen in the new year i'll see if the diesel screw will sell and pickup a 10 ish kw 3ph eletric compressor as seem to have genorators about now

 

[skotl]

a few of us on here have wolf dakota 14cfm 90l compressors, one issue with some has been the manifolds can crack, but I've not had that issue with mine....and here's my setup

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/...l-14cfm-3hp-compressor-and-dryer-setup.73079/

+1 for the dakota 90l compressor.

I'm fastidious about purging it with the drain valve every night - dunno if that's making it any more reliable

 

[Wallace]

I'm fastidious about purging it with the drain valve every night - dunno if that's making it any more reliable

Costing more in electric plus adding to wear and tear having to charge up again.

 

[dannyp]

i'm terrible at forgetting to drain mine, been meaning to fit the electric autodrain for a few years as well now, very often theres next to noe in them then i forget to check for ages
then when silly amounts of water start comeing out the dryer, then theres a river from the drain valve once it opend

 

[Paul G]

Why does everyone talk about compressors in litres? The size of the tank has no bearing on the output of the machine.

I own three cars. One with a ninety litre tank, one with a 60, and one with a 37. They all do 30mpg (ish).
Does the size of a cars fuel tank govern what car you buy? Don't think so.

Paul G

 

[angellonewolf]

Why does everyone talk about compressors in litres? The size of the tank has no bearing on the output of the machine.

I own three cars. One with a ninety litre tank, one with a 60, and one with a 37. They all do 30mpg (ish).
Does the size of a cars fuel tank govern what car you buy? Don't think so.

Paul G

no but it does help in what you can use it for to small a tank and you cant use air tools my compresser is about a 1 meter long and only just is useable for inpact tool i could make it better as the air hose is a bit small but as i only use it a few times a year cant spend 30/40 pound on new hose and fittings

but has got me out of trubble a few times only a 2 weeks ago i was replcing the struts on the backof my car there was no room to move the braker bar as it was low to the floor the inpact gun wizzed them off

 

[Chillitt]

Why does everyone talk about compressors in litres? The size of the tank has no bearing on the output of the machine.

I own three cars. One with a ninety litre tank, one with a 60, and one with a 37. They all do 30mpg (ish).
Does the size of a cars fuel tank govern what car you buy? Don't think so.

Paul G

True enough, but the size of the body will tell you which one you can fit a sofa in.

 

[optima21]

Why does everyone talk about compressors in litres? The size of the tank has no bearing on the output of the machine.

I own three cars. One with a ninety litre tank, one with a 60, and one with a 37. They all do 30mpg (ish).
Does the size of a cars fuel tank govern what car you buy? Don't think so.

Paul G

have to agree with you, my 90L tank in my compressor may take a minute to empty to get down to 90psi, but then if your compressor can supply enough air for the tools you're using you'll keep on loosing pressure until you stop using the tool. for a tool that's used in short bursts its not an issue, but for spray painting or media blasting, matching the air requirement of the tool to the compressor output is more important, then you don't need to worry about pressure loss. e.g. my compressor can supply enough air for a 6cfm lvlp spray gun to work continiously, but wouldn't be able to keep up with the demands of a 15cfm hvlp spray gun etc

 

[WorkshopChris]

The size of the tank has no bearing on the output of the machine.

In continuous operation yes the tank capacity has no bearing on the output but for intermittent use, it makes a big difference.
If I use the 15cfm 150ltr compressor with the pin gun it will maybe run up for a few minutes 4 times a day, in comparison, the 25ltr compressor is running maybe 50/60 times for the same amount of work.
With moderate use, a smaller compressor has a chance to cool down before running up again, in one workshop the compressor has 75 lrt capacity and will spray small components with no problem as it has a chance to catch up.
Painting the same parts on site with an identical pump but a portable 25 ltr tank, you have to wait between components for the compressor to build up the pressure.

 

[dannyp]

untill your running a big screw pump the tank is a nessasery evil, 4.4 kw of pumps ( 2.2 kw units) giveing a guestmated 26 cfm in combonation with 200 ltrs of tank is i find enough.

200 ltrs of tank means compressor isnt starting every 5 mins when i'm useing small amounts of air, and when running the bigger plasma i can do plenty of cutting before the compressor cuts in ( the supply dosent like running both together allong with everything else ) and it has the ablity to supply the 1" windy gun with +100 psi for long enough to thump a stubborn wheel nut off before the pressure drops to much. on the littel 50 ltr comp it emptys the tank of usefull pressure in seconds.

with the road compresor that can supply 130 cfm it dosent have a tank as dosent need one, it just pumps on demand tho when useing it on workshop i have a claw fitting on a NRV thts plumbed into the compessors tank ( as the piston compressor can go slightly hgher on pressure if its on and means the road compressor dosent vent down the tank if you turn it off ) when it on it only blows into that tank to make distrobution of air easy for on site stuff with it i use a littel 25 ltr tank from an old smal compressor, air feeds in through a 3/4 seporator, into the tank and every outlet from said tank is just used for diffrent outlets its more of a distrobution manifold