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File description: Air Tools/compressor notes Your name: (optional) Richard Beels
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Vertical Tank. OILED compressor, oiless units wear out faster, can't
handle high duty cycle loads & are TOO DAMN LOUD (even with ear muffs, the
whole house will vibrate in an attached garage ad the only thing louder
than an oilless compressor is the wife :-). If you can't stick it outside
(switch to a synthetic after the break in and you can run it outside
without fear in 0 F temps, cover it so it doesn't get rained on; summer's
actually worse because of the heat and humidity in the air), stick it in
the corner still on the pallet or mount it with hockey pucks. Vent the
intake to the outside as this is the major source of the noise, you can
stick a muffler on this end as well to quiet it down for the neighbors
too. If you get a single stage, you'll want to build a little radiator
(1/2 copper pipe in a ladder configuration, silver solder the first few
joints as it gets HOT) to cool the air before it goes into the tank -
double stage units are MUCH better in this regard. Replace the cheapo
drain plug with a barbed adapter, hose screw some braided poly-hose on with
a blow gun at the other end so the water condenses in the poly hose, not
the tank and you can easily shoot the water out (use clear hose so you can
see the water). The tan IR units are probably the best deal out there, you
can get their 60 gallon, 135psi unit ("12" HP, pulls 20+amps) for $700 or
so (friend scored a floor display for $590 at a local farm supply place a
couple weeks ago). It delivers 15+ @ 135 (outruns the sandblaster running
at a 100% duty cycle) and is rated at 100% duty cycle with synthetic
oil). They have a "8" HP (pulls 15 amps) that gives up 10 cfm @ 135, it's
duty cycle is lower but it's not a bad deal for the mid-$500s.
A 2 stage will put out 15 cfm at 175 psi. IR's 5hp/60gal unit goes for
about a grand. If your capacity needs are huge and your budget isn't, you
can get a second tank and plumb it with first tank to upgrade the
compressed air volume you can store (you'll want a 'real" compressor to do
this as the motors and compressor heads are sized to fill the tank they're
stuck on) to increase your run times. HP ratings lie, look at the SCFM
rating (and there's variances in these as well - ask if you want the whole
story on this, it's really seedy :-). Do you have 220V in the
garage? Another trick is to wire a fan to blow on the compressor
head/home-built radiator when the motor is running to help shed some of the
BTUs out of the air. Don't use the el-cheapo 1/4", $10 at Home Depot air
hose, it's like a 2" exhaust system: restriction city.
For tools, get the IR 1/2" impact, 231 if you're cheap, 2131 for the
"ultimate". My 2131 has yet to meet a bolt it didn't turn. I prefer a
grinder with a long shaft rather than the stubby ones. Leave the grinder
shields on, I've had flying grinder disc chunks pierce the face
shield! Air hammer, 3/8 ratchet, 3/8 impact and grinder can go cheap,
they're all rated pretty much the same and don't have the demands the 1/2"
has - especially the tools that will just spin (grinder, drill, etc...).
Use a 3 foot whip cord on all your tools (get the nifty kind with a ball
joint at one end): you can hang them from a hook by the connector and it
makes use a lot easier if the connector isn't bumping into things. I also
prefer a rear exit for the air exhaust because I have a piece of bike
innertube, slightly shorter than the whip cord, hose screw-clamped on the
grip of the tool (really muffles the sound and you don't get the exhaust
blowing swarf and grinding dust everywhere).
Use black pipe for the distro system, copper work hardens and PVC does too
and turns into shrapnel. Use a flex hose between the tank and the balk
pipe to isolate vibrations. Have a filter/regulator at the tank but don't
have an in-line oiler, they're mostly junk and if you contaminate the lines
and then want to paint, you're out of luck (but then realize that oil mist
will migrate towards the compressor from the tool-end as well and oiled
compressor put a little bit of oil into the air anyways (that's what the
filter is for)). I use totally separate lines when painting. I used to
use in-line oilers on all the whip hoses but they drain themselves out so I
just shoot a squirt down the whip hose before using now (not ideal but it
works and you can hear the pitch change (even through the earmuffs, which
you will wear, right?!) when it needs another shot. Have the horizontal
pipe non-level so the moisture will have a downhill to flow to, don't put
the outlet at the bottom of the riser pipes, have a short section continue
down vertical (called a dripleg), in other words, T instead of elbow the
connector into the system, plug a ball valve on the bottom so you can purge
the accumulated moisture from the pipes. Oh yeah, ball valves are the only
valves you should use. I have a ball valve at the tank as well. If you
can afford the auto-reels, mount them high up so you're not always tripping
over air hose and you don't have to drag them or "flip" them over things in
the garage (like other cars); same for electricity. If you want to stick a
dryer in the line, put it at the output connection to allow the pipes to
condense as much moisture as possible as it'll do a better job, another
regulator as well is not overkill if you use tools with varying air
pressure needs (and if you paint a lot, dedicate one to the paint booth).
well, that's about all i can think of at 0200. These reccs are for serious
use, if you're more casual or the budget is limited, detune them as
required. :-) But realize that air tools are addictive. You'll use them
far more than you ever thought you would.
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