which compressor?

[will-antirocks]

ive got about £300 to spend.

it will be used for various air tools (buzz guns, grinders, sanders etc) but mainly i need to be able to media blast and paint.

ideally i want to buy the compressor, hose, shot gun, paint gun and air blowery thin at once, recomendations please!!!

thanks

will

 

[whycanismellburning]

Hi Will
I have just picked up an oldskool compressor that was in a farm sale. I bid £250 starting and got it for £343 so not bad. You can but all the hose and stuff online quite cheeply. The worst thing if you are spraying is when you have to keep stopping to wait for the compressor to come back up to pressure so look for something that has a reasonable capacity (200lts/min). They say that belt drive is the best but i'm not aware of any other system.


Hope this helps!!

 

[shenion]

I just picked up a dead, non-belt drive compressor. This was direct-drive and also oiless. Well the connecting rods broke and all you are left with is a motor that the compressor is part of the housing. No way to fix. Was a shame to throw out a 6HP motor

I just wanted the tank anyway. I bolted my 5HP motor and compressor on it so now I have a nice 60-gal tank.

Belt drive is best as the motor and compressor can be replaced individually. Also allows for better cooling as it is not all-in-one. I have my eye on an 38CFM pump, 2-stage, 175PSI to upgrade my 15-year old pump .

The problem with cheaper compressors is they don't specify duty cycle. You should have a compressor rated for at least twice the CFM (or lts/min) you need. Otherwise the compressor will run near continuously and wear out.

Here CFM is rated at 90 and 40 PSI, not by displacement.

When I use mine with my sand blaster, it runs near continuously. Seems to handle it fine, but you can feel the heat coming off the pump. It is a Craftsman and has worked for over at least 15 years. I got it used, but I bet it was expensive new.

 

[piman]

Hello Will,

what exactly do you mean by media blast. This can be one of the hardest task for any compressor unless you are talking about a spot blast gun used for very localised areas?
If you want to use a blast pot, I doubt if your budget is a fraction of what is required for that application.

By the way what is a buzz gun?

Alec

 

[malcolm]

Well worth a read of threads on blasting in this section. Will save wasted money and disappointment.

Disappointments will come when you get the shot blasting gun from machine mart (needs well over 30cfm). You need a pressurised blasting setup for low cfm.

You'd want dry air too. bit of cooling, expansion and filtering jiggerypokery needed to prevent water clogging the blaster, and water making bubles in your paintwork.

For a compressor I bought a 13cfm 3.5hp one from Shiremore which seems pretty good.

 

[will-antirocks]

thanks guys!

buss guns - air wrench, like in a garage for wheel nuts

i will be shot blasting the underside of my car, its getting a full, no rust, resto ill also be doing small parts such as suspension bits and bobs

ill make (from wood,fibreglass and metal) a blasting cabinet or have a closed tent kinda thing round the car...

ill have a good thread read later

does anyone have any links to compressors/blast guns that are recomended??

ill probably buy new if possible for the security of a warrantee!

 

[inchpincher]

I got my compressor from air industrial equipment and my blasting pot from ebay, very pleased with both. Load of threads on here mate.

 

[Shug]

i will be shot blasting the underside of my car, its getting a full, no rust, resto ill also be doing small parts such as suspension bits and bobs

Thats what I did when I was blasting, using a 35cfm compressor that cost 1700 quid.
Not to say thats what you need, but it worked well for me