air compressor

What sort of $$$s did you spend on an air compressor. I was told about a chinese brand called cara, but I can't seem to track them down. At this point, I'm looking towards more along the lines of not painting... I do plan on priming the interior parts... would having two tanks hooked up serve the purpose in terms of being enough to do the quick jobs? I hear the biggest part would be painting say, the internals of the skins. I can pick up some tanks for cheap as chips

At this point I hope to spend about 5-600

Watch Craigslist. Good (older) compressors show up locally all the time. I scored a two stage 100 gallon compressor from a garage mechanic who was retiring. Less than $300, as i recall.

The big old units are quiet (going chug-a-chug-a-chug) and can produce endless amounts of air.

Home Depot 20Gal Comp.

This is the Compressor I got after reading about it here on another builders thread. I am very happy with it since it is very quiet and does everything I need it to do in my building process.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...Gal+Air+Compressor&storeId=10051#.ULdqu44oZlI

10_year_plan said:

What sort of $$$s did you spend on an air compressor. I was told about a chinese brand called cara, but I can't seem to track them down. At this point, I'm looking towards more along the lines of not painting... I do plan on priming the interior parts... would having two tanks hooked up serve the purpose in terms of being enough to do the quick jobs? I hear the biggest part would be painting say, the internals of the skins. I can pick up some tanks for cheap as chips

At this point I hope to spend about 5-600

Click to expand...

This compressor is available under several brands and will fit your budget:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Air-Compressors-Tools-Accessories-Air-Compressors/h_d1/N-5yc1vZc27p/R-203187350/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

Mine came from Home Depot and I've been very pleased with it. I've painted two airplanes, three cars and a truck with it.

Harbor Freight

I got a Harbor Freight jobber because I couldn't find a decent "old good" one on Craigslist. Also, I only had 110 in my shop and would have needed another panel to install 220, which is required by the big boys. DO NOT get an oil-less compressor. They are loud and do not last well. I had a CH compressor like the one suggested above prior to getting the 29 gallon one I currently have. Basically, it was crazy loud, kicked on all the time because it had only 20 gal capacity, and I sold it as soon as I could, to fund the purchase of another one. I would love to have a better one than I currently have, but it has served me well thus far.
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-horsepower-29-gallon-150-psi-psi-cast-iron-vertical-air-compressor-68127.html
P.S. plumb the drain valve outside to lower noise when draining, and drain every night if possible...

I am almost embarrassed to admit it...

I never bought a compressor for the plane build...continued to use my 6Gal 1.5HP "Big Lots" compressor I originally bought 7 years ago for $59.99. It runs quite a bit when I am using the die grinder, but for drilling and riveting, it works fine. You don't need to spend a big chunk of money for a compressor unless your looking to paint with it (imo).

In all honesty, I would like to have a 15-20Gal just so to reduce the run time on my existing compressor, but have decided to just use this little one until it dies.

CFM @ 90 PSI and Volume???

Guys, from my research I am figuring I need at a minimum a 6.0 CFM @ 90 PSI compressor, and as large a capacity as affordable so the unit will not cycle every 5 mins. But to get something at 6.0 CFM, it means getting a stationary vertical compressor, then I get into having 240 power available and constructing an air piping system and or a Hose Reel(s). I found a portable unit at home depot today that was a 30 gal, 5.0 CFM unit with a two out regulated supply, but do not know if this will be satisfactory. I'm building a -14, so I'll probably be using a rivet gun often, and some minor spray gun. I'm going to out source the final paint work. I don't want to over buy, but as the compressor is going to be located in my workspace, I don't want it running all the time either.

Can anyone give me some input?
Thanks in advance!

Ken, before I moved into my big shop, I used a compressor just like the one you described. It is a Craftsman 6hp 25 gallon roll-around jobby. It does everything necessary. Before I had it, it even painted a couple of cars. I still have it as backup, as a loaner, and for site work. While I enjoy having a big shop compressor "with all the fixins" it's not needed for building an airplane.

Thanks Glen!
I think I would like the big one too, but I think I'm going to try to get by with the smaller one initially. It should be fine for using a rivet gun. As I still have to buy tools, I need to be smart with my cash.....

I had three compressors during my build.

I started out with this one in my garage

Home Depot 60gal

When I moved the project to the airport, which 240v wasn't available, I purchased a 30 gal unit from Harbor Freight. It worked ok, but blew a gasket after a year. I didn't know that was the problem when it happened, so I purchased another 30 gal unit from Home Depot to replace it. Neither are current products, so I couldn't post links.

About six months later, HF pulled the unit off the market to due to mass gasket failures to out of warranty unit. The Internet came through with a gentleman that found the problem and published a fix. For about $5 of materials and thirty minutes of work, the unit was restored back to life.


Having the 60 gal tank was great. But with that said, the 30 gal tank is feasible for most builds. Yes, it does tend to run when using a grinder, oribtal sander, or paint gun. But mine does seem to stay up with the demand, since it will shut off quickly once I stop the device I'm using. Since you don't paint, sand, or grind often, I find it acceptable. For riveting and squeezing, there is plenty of down time between cycles.

bob

Makita

The Makita MAC700 is perfect for running all air tools used in RV construction. (A 240v 2-stage is overkill - squeezers, rivet guns, and drills don't use much air.)

The MAC is very compact, so it doesnt clutter the shop, and it's perfect for taking to the hangar for compression checks at annual.

It's so quiet you'll smile with satisfaction every time it kicks on. My shop is in my basement, and the MAC can run all day without disturbing my wife on the main floor. It's very high quality, so it'll last forever.

The only downside is that it's simply too small for finishing work.

M

kjowen said:

Guys, from my research I am figuring I need at a minimum a 6.0 CFM @ 90 PSI compressor, and as large a capacity as affordable so the unit will not cycle every 5 mins. But to get something at 6.0 CFM, it means getting a stationary vertical compressor, then I get into having 240 power available and constructing an air piping system and or a Hose Reel(s). I found a portable unit at home depot today that was a 30 gal, 5.0 CFM unit with a two out regulated supply, but do not know if this will be satisfactory. I'm building a -14, so I'll probably be using a rivet gun often, and some minor spray gun. I'm going to out source the final paint work. I don't want to over buy, but as the compressor is going to be located in my workspace, I don't want it running all the time either.

Can anyone give me some input?
Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

Are you referring to this model?
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...keyword=compressor&storeId=10051#.ULzITpKvUsY

If so, that's the one I have in my garage. I don't have 240 available and don't own the home, so running new service is pretty much out. I looked at a fairly comparable compressor from Harbor Freight, but the reviews I read indicated that it was quite loud for a oiled compressor. (and while cheap HF tools do have their uses, I'm hesitant for something more complex like a compressor) In the end, I decided it was worth the extra money to get the HD compressor.

The portability is nice; it allowed me some flexibility of positioning. I have it beside a couple kayaks, and if it wasn't portable, it'd be nearly impossible to get the kayaks out, but now I can just roll the compressor out of the way if needed.

It's worked well for me so far, but I'm still on the tail kit, so take that for what it's worth. The only time I get it to cycle regularly while I'm working is if I'm doing a whole bunch of match drilling. It's also pretty quiet, and doesn't bother me if it cycles while I'm working. (except that it does drown out the music, but I can live with that )

thanks Bob

I run this one 97% of the time and it's been just fine. Belt driven, oil fed, cast iron twin cylinder, 5.5cfm @90psi, 115v, 20 gallon. Cheap used on craigslist.



For the other 3% when I'm painting or heavy diegrinding, I run this in the backyard (different circuit plus it's noisy) with an air hose and "T" into my airline. Very cheap used on craigslist. Would love a big 240V but this setup has worked fine even for HVLP painting and everything else I've needed and it was cheap and will be easy to take to the hanger.

Phil,
that is exactly what I am looking at at HD, it's on sale for a little less here in Atlanta right now, so I thought it a good bargain as opposed to the 60 gal at $500 + options.
I do have a 15 Gal roll around now, like the one in Larry's post, that I have used for light work around the shop, so I may keep what I have and see how it works, then if necessary, I'll move up to the 30 gal portable (knowing my luck, the price will go back up just before I decide)....