Off topic ...

[jgra1]

my AG packed up recently Mike.. didnt even occur to me to get an air one..

I have a small compressor, which has a larger seperate air resevoir which Jim kindly modified for me (was a gas bottle)
I think I only paid about £50 for the comp. second hand..

[CitroJim]

No good asking me either as mine was originally bought from Noah after he painted the ark using it. Truth is mine is basically a Pikey's paint spraying machine (they used to have a thriving little side-line of painting Dutch Barns in the West Country...) originally driven by a small petrol engine. Some time in the dim and distant past the engine was removed and replaced with a meaty electric motor that dims the workshop lights when it cuts in

I'd be lost without my supply of compressed air. In fact I'd say it was a workshop essential. Air tools are generally better than anything that runs on electrickery...

Main thing is to get one with a nice big air receiver (tank - the bigger the better) and able to supply well in excess of the CFM* requirement of your hungriest tool...

* Cubic Feet per Minute constantly. It has no relation to the size of the receiver and depends on the grunt of the compressor itself. Most that are good are twin-cylinder (often a vee-twin ) ones.

Go for a piston compressor and not a diaphragm job. These are often described as oil-free. A piston one will have a sump and needs to have an oil change occasionally. Diaphragm ones don't live long in a busy workshop. Piston ones, with care, just go on and on...

[myglaren]

Keep a look out at Aldi.
They have recently had some compressors and air tools available. I wouldn't know if they are any good but some of the autoshite(TM) members seem to think that they are acceptable at the price.

[addo]

You'll find more blokes admitting to premature ejaculation than that they've bought an expensive enough - but rubbish - tool. So take the fanbase enthusiasm for any bargain product with a grain of salt.

Cast iron compressors are quieter, also many of the heavier duty ones can be set to constant run as they have a large flywheel for inertial mass. The motor turns almost silently and the compressor cuts in or out (compression is what makes the noise). It avoids the big, repeated, start-up loads on a single phase system.

A small air powered cutoff wheel is a good accessory; save the four and nine inch grinders for where they shine. Also an air powered reciprocating saw is good kit.

Keep separate your tool air hoses and any for spray work, to avoid oil contamination of the spraying hose insides (assuming you run a final filter after the main trap and line reg).

[CitroJim]

You'll find more blokes admitting to premature ejaculation than that they've bought an expensive enough - but rubbish - tool. So take the fanbase enthusiasm for any bargain product with a grain of salt.

An interesting take Adam..

My experience is that cheap tools, whatever the source, might do the job and perhaps even well but for not very long... This is the case with some Aldi stuff I've had. I have a pillar drill that came from them, it does the job quite well but is hardly a precision instrument nor particularly robust. Fine for light and occasional use. I'm sure I could kill it in very short time if I really started using it.

I once bought a 12V impact wrench from Aldi. Worked terrifically for about ten very tight nuts and then died - burned out...

My press, when subject to loads at it's maximum rating bends...

As always, it's best to buy the best you can afford.

[citronut]

Keep separate your tool air hoses and any for spray work, to avoid oil contamination of the spraying hose insides (assuming you run a final filter after the main trap and line reg).

also if your going to use this compressor for spray painting make sure you dont let any stray silicon ( aerosol, car wax and the likes ) get into the air intake,

You'll find more blokes admitting to premature ejaculation than that they've bought an expensive enough - but rubbish - tool. So take the fanbase enthusiasm for any bargain product with a grain of salt.

I once bought a 12V impact wrench from Aldi. Worked terrifically for about ten very tight nuts and then died - burned out...

so it suffered with premature Reject ulation

[addo]

Were I building myself an everyday house from scratch, I'd have compressed air plumbed underground, to emerge at the front gatepost on a little riser. Like outdoors power sockets, really handy...

[addo]

The compressor's "work" is done using the power stored when the squashed air becomes unsquashed. This occurs as it passes through the air tool of choice.

Cheap compressors rate air delivery unsquashed - an irrelevant figure as the air cannot do any work. However the numbers sound big and that's what impresses people. CFM @ 90PSI is a better reckoner. It's a lot less on smaller, cheaper units than is required for operation of many air tools.

Trade quality air tools will state the delivery pressure and CFM required; treat this as the necessary benchmark when shopping around.

[citronut]

Where does capacity come into the equation? How much is enough and more importantly for me to understand is .. why? What is the connection between litre capacity and output? Looking at a small ABAC bot only 50L??

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2

the bigger the capacity the less the pump will cut in and out in use with the average air hand tool,

id say 50lt's is adequate for a DIY'er and i wouldnt go below this

regards malcolm