Shop air compressor setup

Now that I finally have a garage of my own its time to upgrade my air compressor. Looking for thoughts and advice on my general plan.

Currently my biggest air demand is just a blow gun. I use that a lot for cleaning anything & everything. Air filters, drum brakes, washing machine flow meters.. you name it. That said I will definitely be adding a sand blaster at some point. And Im a big fan of future proofing within reason.

Something in 60 gallon stand-up range is probably what I want. Something around 150 psi max pressure and a minimum of 10-11+ SCFM @90psi. Most of those seem to be into the 240V 3+ running HP range electrically speaking. So I would have to hard wire with a disconnect if I follow the good book (which isnt a problem I do have 240 in my garage).

Am I way off base here? Particular brands I should seek out or any I should avoid? Noise is a concern so Im leaning towards oil filled, I hear those are quieter with good performance.

 

@SR-71A

No thoughts on compressor...but was at Museum of the Air Force a few weeks ago....

 

Hey look at that! Very cool!

 

Touching the pointy end of 2000 mph

 

I’ve got a Quincy at home. Not cheap, but definitely top quality.

 

I'm in the middle of doing the same thing myself, with the same exact criteria.

If I can't Frankenstein a 30-50 gallon tank and 2 stage compressor, I'm looking at the 240v Ingersol Rand units at 11-15 CFM for a blaster. Not the cheapest but Ingersol uses common mounts and pulleys and I actually trust their nameplate ratings. VEVOR is a semi-trustworthy OEM that makes a similarish setup for a couple hundred less than the IR equivalents.

 

Ive considered that too.. Frankensteining my own off market place. Given I just bought a house money is.. tight to say the least haha and Ive been looking a lot on FB and CL

As far as brand goes it seems a lot of the big box store units all use the same exact compressor. At least based off the nameplate model numbers I see. And a tank is a tank as far as I can tell. If its rated for the pressure thats about it.

 

you have a budget in mind? you can easily spend a lot of money on fancy compressors

I picked up a 10 gallon ultra quiet california air tools compressor that I use a lot for cleaning and tires etc
it was not cheap, but at the time I was living in a townhouse with a small garage and then size and noise was a factor


if noise is a factor you can look into building something like an insulated closet around the compressor

10 gallons does a lot, but it is by far not enough and I am often limited at home with air tools

keep an eye out on your local craigslist, you will often find some great deals on quality shop equipment like compressors

 

The only gotcha I know about with tanks is the mounting plate - you'll want to make sure your plate will work with whatever setup you want to attach, e.g. a V compressor with a belt drive and motor, an integrated unit, whatever - and a big detail there is if your chosen compressor will mount and still clear wherever the input fitting on the tank is.

The HF V compressor seems like it will do the job if mated with an appropriate motor (compressor rated 240v 1phase 3HP available from the usual suspects for less than 200 bucks) - definitely an option to get a warrantied compressor setup with a used tank. Depending on whatever, you may also be in for some copper fittings and line and a little brazing.

CL often has great deals on older 3phase gear cause nobody has 3phase - you can get a 1phase to 3phase converter for 150-250 bucks, and slap it at your 240v 1phase outlet, but I recommend that you size it higher than the motor rating by 10-15%.

 

I got a Dewalt standup on sale from Tractor supply last year and it’s super quiet with plenty of air storage. I think it’s the ultra quiet version. You wanna grab a retractable hose reel for it too.

 

Id love to be under $500. I've been watching marketplace and CL pretty religiously for over a month now. Haven't seen much meeting all my criteria unfortunately. One of the downsides of living in a remote state.

Yes good point about the mounting plate. Luckily my welder is already wired in

I have seen a few 3ph units pop up, but at this point Id prefer to stay 1ph so the sake of simplicity.

 

Vfd's are dead simple to set up. I just got my Bridgeport running in 5 minutes with one. Just plug it in set up like 4 settings and its good to go.

https://www.automationdirect.com/ad..._frequency_drives_(vfd)/micro_vfds/gs11n-21p0

 

Slightly cheaper than a VFD is a simple phase converter, if you aren't trying to do speed control with the unit itself. The VFD function seems to add about 50-65% to the cost of the unit for comparable VFD/phase converter capacity.

 

How big is your garage? Bigger is better but this size compressor and a sand blaster is going to take up some decent space in a standard size garage.

I have a small pancake compressor mounted on a shelf with a retractable reel I use for dusting things. Sure i have to take breaks some times but i can’t justify the time and cost of what you are planning.

 

24x28. I plan to put it in the back corner nearest the elect panel. You make a good point, if I could find good specs on the pump itself Im not dead set on a 60 gallon tank. Could go smaller. I think the smallest Id go is in 30+ gallon range. I dont want the pump to cycle on / off too often

 

Something to consider if you don’t want the noise inside the garage is to mount the compressor outside. You would likely need to build a little lean-to roof over it to keep the rain off and then plumb an airline inside. It would also save you a little space inside.

 

Unfortunately thats not really a great option for me up here in Maine

 

I work with 60+ gallon IR's and Polar Air's everyday. All 3+ hp and 3ph. I wouldnt focus on brand. Id narrow down what you wanna do electrically then make a choice based on size and demand. As long as it isnt oiless, isnt outside in the elements and is drained regularly anything available will work for you i think based on the use case you mentioned.

We abuse them so much we dont even pay attention to brand anymore. Just a spec sheet and the available warranty/service .

 

Good to know. Kind of what I was thinking based on similar specs I see across different brands. Probably most consumer grade units are made in the same exact factory

 

Ah, yeah. Things are different down here in Texas.