The Rover-Landers of BC

Hoping someone can advise on what type of air compressor I should be looking at?

I would like to use it in my home shop for impact tools, nail guns but also for eventually painting the rover.

Any advise as to oil or not, CFM rating etc....

Thanks for your words of wisdom in advance.

Hey Dave,
Compressors are one place where you more or less get what you pay for. Largest volume tank you can reasonable accomodate, cast iron compressor unit with oil sump and separate belt driven electric motor, these are all elements of a good servicable compressor. CFM requirements are generally governed by the tool but certainly paint spraying needs lots of volume. Avoid integrated compressor/electric motor combos and portable units if you want a good stationary shop unit for air tools and painting.

Bill

well said Bill oil for sure, seperate electric motor and pump, and 20 gal min and up for those uses and its so true about tools that you get what you pay for.

I suggest you consider a couple of factors, the CFM that you will likely need to power your equipment and the amount of electricity available to run the compressor. This should help you decide how much compressor you need and what you can power (hopefully there won't be much gap between need and power).

I had two in my shop at one point, an 8hp upright Devilbiss with a 80 gallon tank. It would run all day powering my sandblaster and power tools but it needed 220 power and was too big to move anywhere (anything much bigger usually needs 3 phase power which can cost mucho dollero to install in a shop). It was a good compressor and was very reliable. My second unit was a 5HP Devilibiss but is was on wheels and was 110v. It was an oiless direct drive unit and provided good service, it was quite light for the amount of air it could produce and didn't need special electrical power though it likely would not have the life span of an oil-type unit. I used it exclusively for painting as there was no worry about oil contamination from the compressor (a problem that can be encountered with oil-filled compressors and as such can require additional filtering). I found the lighter unit useful for field-work and took it with me to job sites. The oil-less unit was too light duty for a professional shop but for a hobbist garage I think it is a good option to consider (you can sometimes get more CFM for less money than a traditional cast oil-filled unit). Best prices for compressors I found were from Costco. For what it costs a good inline air dryer is a good investment (benefits both air tools and painting gear). Also consider sound dampening or hearing protection (some compressors are very loud) and if you have a suitable location to bolt-down a large capacity unit or if you need to go with a smaller portable.

Hope this info helps, Rob

Regards, Rob

Thanks to all for the great advice. I'm thinking it would be a really useful addition to my shop and am hoping Santa is good to me this year... :lol:

Last question...I there a good place in town to go and see both oil and non units side by side for comparison? I was at Costco and they had a unit there with all the tools as well...which made me kind of nervous as I know that quality fixings couldn't be included in the price..so either cheap tools or overall not a good choice.

Dave

Try KMS in Coquitlam and the wife can go to IKEA across the road

have fun shopping
Bernie
PS
Stay away from anything that says POWER FIST on it

Are you taking about Princess Auto?

I agree with Bernie, KMS Tools in Coquitlam (or Abbotsford, Kelowna, Kamloops) is a good place to start shopping as they usually have a dozen varieties sitting there on the floor and can give you the pros and cons of each. The Coquitlam KMS is just west of the big IKEA store.

Also, what Rob said about 3-phase power... be aware of this especially when looking at used compressors. I've seen a lot of sweet deals on used compressors the last while with what appeared to extremely low prices, however most of the ones I've seen were 3 phase, something that will cost you dearly at home — or you can perhaps get the motor replaced. I'm glad I was standing next to an electrician at the last auction I was at cuz he knew and I had no idea.

Dave

Excellent additional info from Rob, I should have also added those observations about power supply. A decent compressor motor will pretty much need a dedicated circuit with adequate breaker if your limited to 110v. KMS is an excellent source for information as well as purchase, the guys in the air tool section are very knowledgeble. Rob makes some good points about oil/air filtering when painting and he's obviously speaking from experience.