Trevor Boicey wrote:
snip
>
> What would I kick myself over if I bought either of these
> units? At this time, I am mostly looking at painting but would
> get the compressor in advance so I could run an air chisel
> and who knows what else I might get into.
Trevor,
I think that if you bought any air compressor you will be pleased with the
purchase and not
likely to "kick yourself" in any case. However, you will learn that all air
compressors
have their limits (some higher than others though). And I think that you are
right in that
once you have a compressor, you will find other tools to add.
I have a twenty-some year old compressor from Sears, listed as a 1 hp, but the
motor plate
says 17.8 maps at 120 volts/ 9.8 amps at 220 volts. Very similiar to the
current (5.0 -
6.5 hp) offerings. Talk about hp inflation ! Listed at about 6 SCFM at 90
psi, which is
lower than the current offerings.
If you want it for painting, figure out the air consumption requirements for
your use. My
experience (with my compressor) is:
Sears spray gun which came with the compressor: works fine HOWEVER the gun is
not very good
for high quality paint applications (ie: poor for auto painting). Has worked
well for
house painting, painting doors, etc with latex paint (as a pressure gun)
Quality spray guns tend to use LOTS of air. I bought a Binks gun many years
ago and
ordered the smallest air cap available. I love this gun for thin paints (auto
lacquer).
My compressor is marginally able to keep up with it. Works fine if painting a
few square
feet at one time, more than that and the compressor is runnng near full time.
These type
of guns require 10 to 20 SCFM. I successfully painted a few cars with this
setup.
Straight line sander: good.
Random, palm sander: marginal - poor; runs out of air after about 30 seconds of
sanding.
It is a pain to wait for the compressor to "catch up".
Air chisels (hand held), impact wrenchs: works great. These tools don't require
lots of air
and it is the nature of the use of these tools that they are not used
continuously.
Die grinder/bolt cutter: marginal for lots of continuous use. Still a very
useful tool.
Sand blaster: poor. Requires lots of air. I am able to make good use of this
tool for
small brackets, other small pieces. Anything bigger can be quite frustrating.
Textured ceiling ("popcorn") sprayer: marginal
Blow gun: suprisingly useful.
It I were to do it again I would spring for a bigger compressor, but as you
point out, the
bigger they are, the less portable they are.
Hope this helps.
-Roger
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