~ Also, I am looking into buying an air compressor with an eye towards
~ painting my car. I am limited by the fact that I live in a rented
~ townhouse and the garage is only wired for 110 V. Many of the larger
~ comressors require 220V. Walmart has a 3.5hp 20 gal Cambell Hausfield
~ compressor for $250 which flows 8.1 cfm @ 40 psi & 6.1 cfm @ 90 psi.
~ Is this enough for painting and basic tools such as an impact wrench, air
~ ratchet, etc.? What about sandblasting? Sears has a 4 hp w/25 gal
~ tank for $300 that also runs on 110V. Are these good deals?
A resounding YES to the last one. Tim Takahashi of the Volvo mailing
list helped me set mine up (finally) on Saturday. As many SOLs may
remember, I bought a compressor in, oh, February or early March, and
asked for advice on setting it up. So last Saturday I disregarded
all your advice and did what seemed like the right thing for my
space, intended use, budget, and plans for this house.
For the record, I have that 4 hp/25-gal Craftsman. I further bought the
Campbell-Hausfeld fitting kit at the local hardware store, along with
two additional 25-foot hose sections and a 12-ga extra-heavy-duty 3-prong
extension cord. The Craftsman itself comes with 25 feet of hose and a
4-foot cord; they insist, BTW, on the 12-gauge extension if you're getting
one. The compressor comes with no tools or fittings other than an air
chuck to fill tires, which works great, BTW, but you'll have to get at
least one tool to do anything. I recommend the butterfly impact wrench;
it's compact enough to fit in an LBC, and though it doesn't have the
torque to break through really tight bolts, it's the tool of choice for
the first purchase, as far as I'm concerned.
As for how it works, well, Kim came out after we'd had it up and
running and were removing the suspension components from Tim's 240.
"How's it working?" she asked.
"This is the second-best thing for getting work done on cars," I told her.
"What's the best thing?"
"Money."
We used two different air tools, both of which I recommend for different
things. My 3/8" drive butterfly impact driver came in very handy in the
moderately tight spaces of the 240's wheel wells and suspension area,
but it doesn't have the torque necessary (even dialed up to 9 -- it has
an adjustable thumbwheel for torque settings) to take off really tightly-
torqued parts (shock bolts, for instance). So I borrowed a 1/2" drive
drill-shaped impact wrench from a neighbor, and that one made short work
of things like lug nuts and spring mountings.
One interesting point: we still ended up using my 4-pound hammer and my
3" pipe, so don't sell the hand tools.
Basically, this is the best $300 I've ever spent on cars, even if it's
now more like $450, and I need another couple of tools. Some tips:
- Don't skimp on the teflon thread sealant; leaks are a pain in the
neck. I used paste because I've never been able to make the tape
work, but YMMV.
- Put a quick-release female fitting on the tank itself so that you
can easily remove the air hose for storage, untwisting, etc. Also,
the female fitting on the tank will hold air when you remove the
hose.
- 75 feet of hose and 50 feet of extension cord work just great,
allowing you to get anywhere you want, and for those of us with
rented places, it provides ideal mobility for later moves (that
is, file the advice on complex tubing setups for later, but don't
put that setup into someone else's garage).
In short, get this. Working with air tools is like the difference
between walking and driving.
--Scott
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