Should I buy an air compressor? If so, what do I need to avoid? What are some important factors to consider?
I don't do any work on my car, other than very basic maintenance. I do some welding and general repairs around my house.
What are some good uses for air compressors which people might not know about? What are some must-have attachments.
No. Electric tools have come a long way. Plug in or battery is the way to go.
For your needs it's just more shit you'll have to maintain and anyone around you will hate you even more for using it.
Ummm… my compressor runs on electricity.
>What are some good uses for air compressors which people might not know about?
They're pretty good at blowing compressed air out of a nozzle. I used mine to clean myself after doing a bunch of yardwork today.
>Inflate your tires
>Cleaning: car detailing, computer dusting, other random stuff that gets dirty
>Inflate your urethra
>Reseat a bike tire
>Winterize sprinklers
You can also shove the tube up your ass and inflate yourself like those furry drawings.
Use yourself as a flotation device if there's a flood
Frick your on to something anon
Pretty much this. A little 6gal-8gal-10/12gal with ~4.0CFM 120V compressor is nice to have around for all that shit. That will run nail guns and some small sprayers too. But for most of the air tools you think of for automotive type stuff, you need a big 240V compressor and you’re much better off going cordless.
I inflate my car tires with a bike pump I keep in the trunk. You can seat beads with one too if it sits snug on the rim.
Frick this. It takes sooooooo looooong to inflate a car tire with a bike pump. Tried it once and drove to the gas station to fill it up as soon as I got to like 10psi and was off the rim.
I got used to it. I've pumped them up from flat several times too, but for just topping up a few PSI I find it easier than hauling out a compressor. It's definitely faster than those tiny little rechargeable things.
You should get down on an 18V compressor with whatever power tool line you have. If you don’t have any 18V tools, you should get Ryobi.
That little thing surpassed my expectations. I have had little 12V inflators that plug into the lighter socket and they’re super slow, but the Ridgid 18V is like 5x as fast. Set the PSI and it will fill an SUV tire in a couple of minutes. It honestly seems like it moves more air than my cheap Briggs & Stratton Walmart 3gal compressor.
And then if all your 18V batteries are dead, the Ridgid has an optional 12V plug to run off the lighter socket as well. I imagine it’s down on power compared to the 18V packs, but it’s a nice touch.
I use mine all the time with my bottle jack
It seems like a tool with very limited utility if you're not into car detailing/panelbeating etc. But then I keep wondering if I'm missing something and they actually have like a billion uses. The only major jobs I think I'd currently use it for would be cleaning out air filters (e.g. vacuum, air conditioning) and inflating tyres (maybe twice a year).
There are numerous pneumatic tools you can get.
I had to get an air compressor cause I wanted a mist cooler and toolchanger for a mill. It's a gamechanger in terms of convenience. There's a reason clean dry air is a standard facility in industry. Besides air tools, which are often cheaper, smaller, and sometimes more powerful than electrics, I use it for thorough dusting, spray painting, cooling, and drying. Also, your projects can now include ez reciprocating motion from air pistons and such. My only regret now is not installing heavier gauge wire on my 240V circuit.
I just scored two industrial compressors (an easy way to get more HP than running a 10HP three phase compressor) and plumbed my building with the red pneumatic hose and Chicago couplings. I step down appropriately with a variety of fittings.
Receiver tanks are Very Nice too and most people don't know about them.
I feel like, if you have to go out of your way to find justification, you don't need an air compressor. I get some pretty good mileage out of mine, but I get up to a lot of things in my garage shop.
80% of the time it's used for blowing dirt off of stuff. Doesn't sound like much, but, honestly, I find myself doing it so often that I'd still be thinking hard about a small compressor just for cleaning even if I didn't have anything else to do with it.
But I do also use it for powering air nozzles on my mill/CNC router, sandblasting once in a blue moon, and a decent collection of air tools that see use with some frequency. Several types of pneumatic nailers, a die grinder and pencil grinder, belt file, impact wrench, a pair of spray guns, probably a few others I'm forgetting. My hydraulic press also has an air-over-hydraulic cylinder on it, too. There's plenty you can do with a decently-sized air compressor, but you'll have to decide if you'll likely do enough of it to justify the initial investment.
I bought a nail/staple gun attachment recently, it's great and cost almost nothing.
>basic uses
air gun nozzle to blow/clean things(important)
easy air inflation of car, motorcycle, or other large tires
nailgun usage
air stapler for whaterver(insulation, seat reupholstery)
>more advanced+want more volume+stronger compressor
air tools like die grinders, angle grinders, cut off tool, air drill, needler, air hammer
>extreme use
jack hammer, painting, sanding, etc.
Remember air tools tend to be more durable, and don't vibrate like corded tools while not needing batteries like cordless.
A small compressor is all you want to start with. If you have the room and plan on using it a lot a shop stand up compressor can be found cheap on the used market, be safe about the tank.
If I am doing lots of work on a piece, an air tool is preferred.
i've been hearing people say air tools are getting real cheap second hand because shops are all upgrading to cordless battery tools.
can't stand the compressor noise myself.
>can't stand the compressor noise myself.
I just put mine in the shed attached to the garage. It's loud as frick if you're next to it, but you can barely hear it through the wall. Could hassle building a small air compressor hut if you were buying a big one.
I have a long air hose and mines an old roller type so I can be far away.
I run ear plugs+muffs for the tool noise anyways, so the sound is a minor thing.
I have a small rol-air that is super quiet too, great for basic tire inflation/clean-up and shit like that.
> I have a long air hose
I read that as “I have long nose hair”
And was expecting information about how you use your air compressor to manage that.
>what do I need to avoid? What are some important factors to consider?
do you have to post that moron meme in every frickin thread when someone asks about products? OP aked if he SHOULD BUY a compressor he didnt ask you to compare brands for him, you unbelievable shitstain
>Should I buy an air compressor? If so, what do I need to avoid? What are some important factors to consider?
I dont see any request to provide links or shop for OP. go cry somewhere else
OP is requesting people shop for him you dense git.
No more buying these up. I can spunk right onto my keyboard after visiting /s/ without regard. Cleanup is a breeze.
My dad just bought me an air compressor for beating him and my brother in a pushup challenge 🙂
Real men buy each other and themselves power tools all the time without an excuse to grunt, pump and sweat together.
No True Scotsman, you pathetic homosexual.
We didn't do it together, Jan 1st the challenge was to simply do 100 pushups a day until you're the last one still doing them. Didnt even know there was a "prize" but he heard me saying I wanted a compressor so he bought me one. Dont try to shit on my family because your dad sucks
A small one is good for blowguns (insanely handy) and airing tires. Pneumatic vacuums are handy sometimes. I keep a small Makita in the house for dusting.
Air bag vehicle jacks are awesome. I make a large one from a Class 8 trailer air bag that I use when positioning shipping containers, but now they're widely sold. I much prefer an air bag to my heavy floor jack and will acquire more in various sizes. Put a ball valve on the bag inlet to retain pressure and of course always use stands or cribbing.
I use an air compressor to paint with an airbrush
just avoid oil free. the're loud and they pumps don't last very long if you use the for very long periods of time.
Oil free are mostly consumables, but the annoying part is most oiled tanks are like 125-135psi max, and the oil-free are going to 200psi+ on consumer models. If you only have a 10gal tanks, there’s a lot more 90psi air in there if you have a 225psi 10gal oil-less compressor compared to a 125psi oiled 10gal.
If I wanted to do it properly, I would get an oiled belt-driven big compressor that will last 20+ years and then get a little oil-free 200psi 5-10gal portable guy because those are basically $200 consumables that you may get 5 years out of with moderate use.
Yes you should buy one, mostly for compressed air but can also use impact wrenches, air chisels, can inflate car tires.
Size matters. It's tempting to get bigger volume, but if you don't have use for that volume, then it will take unnecessary long to pressure it when you need to use it for basic stuff like inflate bike tires.
Yeah it's nice having a big, and a small one. I am planning on using an extra tank to get more volume for my larger compressor, since it's a wheelbarrow type with only 10 gallons of air.
Yes. The air compressor is an essential tool. Just simply being able to clean something by blowing it out with compressed air is worth having one. It is the easiest way to clear out debris. Add onto that tire inflation and pneumatic tools like nail guns and that's just icing on the cake.
I have always had a 30 gallon and i wouldent go any smaller. I use it to inflate tires and undercoat vehicles with oil int he winter to keep the from rusting out. I occasionally run air hammers and die grinders but not often. For impacts i use Milwaukee M18 stuff.