Recommendations for Air Compressor to Run Impact Wrenches, etc.
 

Looking for recommendations on a good quality, high output air compressor sufficient to run impact wrenches in my home garage. Prefer an electric pump for less noise/fumes.

Not going to do any automotive painting.

Just need something with enough guts to do suspension work, etc.

Suggestions?

TIA!

Don't buy this piece of garbage: https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools-compressors/air-compressors-tanks/21-gallon-25-hp-125-psi-cast-iron-vertical-air-compressor-61454.html
-Oil level is impossible to read.
-Doesn't start below freezing.
-Louder than the sun. Ear crushing.
-Fill cycle stops at whatever regulator is set to (90psi)
It's going to turn into a holding tank as soon as the motor fails.

I still have a 20yo 1-stage craftsman which has seen a lot of use.

I bought a Ingersoll-Rand at Tractor supply when I moved here and it works great.

Dave

60 gallon Ingersoll Rand will do nicely that's what I have . Two cylinder two stage will run anything. Great build quality and all parts are available if needed . I bought mine used.

Look at what your impact requires and get one that provides air in excess of those requirements. Make sure your hose is large enough also.

If you must... Ingersoll Rand. That is what we used as fleet mechanics and it was nearly flawless.

Make sure you really want to go this route though. It is pretty rare to hear an air tool in most modern Porsche shops these days. Nearly everyone is using cordless tools because they are quiet, powerful, light weight, and reliable. I have a drawer full of air tools that just never come out. Cordless tools are just so good and the air tools are so 1960s era, unless you work in a tire shop you rarely hear them. I can't imagine ever going back.

YMMV

I was going to suggest that but assumed he had the air tools. Then again, going cordless may not cost as much.

Great inputs guys. @Cajundaddy been thinking this route as well for expense, noise, and all the reasons you mention. Recommendations?

I am a Makita guy and have several different size tools depending on need. My small lightweight driver gets used 70% of the time, medium size gets used 20% of the time, and the big gun 10% of the time. With 2 batteries for each you never have to stop work. Angle grinders, impact drivers, saws, sanders, drills... everything you need. There are other quality brands but I have been with Makita cordless tools for 30 years now and they just keep getting better.

Once or twice a year I'll find something that is too much for my cordless impact but a 24" breaker bar and 6' helper make short work of nearly anything. I prefer to finish all critical bolts with a hand torque wrench so cordless are primarily for speed and convenience.

https://www.makitatools.com/

When my dad passed away, I brought his old air compressor home. It was very rare that I used the air compressor for anything on a car. The only thing that I can think of would be to remove the lug nuts, but then who wants to start the thing up and fill it just for that?

I did get a fair amount of use out of it though using it for finish nailers and staple guns and something else that escapes my mind right now. If however you use a compressor for nails, absolutely 100% of the time use safety goggles. I had a nail go into some baseboard moulding, follow the wood grain, curve around and come back out and smack me in the cheek about 1" from my eye. I think it was one of the first 3 nails out of the gun. From then on, no work without eye protection.

That's impressive. I guess when I move back into a house, I'll go that route. Cranking up a compressor and filling a tank to remove lug nuts is a huge pain, so it was pretty rare for me to do. Electric would be much better. I had a couple smaller cordless tools, including a Makita and some Milwaulkee and had great luck with them.

Ok, sold on the cordless tools now. So much more versatility in tools these days...and, had no idea they were as powerful as they are in currently available options.

This one got my vote
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1049342-bought-dewalt-battery-powered-1-2-impact.html

I've heard the Milwaukee 1/2 impact is a real beast. I can't imagine it being much stronger than the Dewalt I bought but my nephew said it out specs my Dewalt.

If you need high torque for frequent suspension work this thing is a beast. 1180 ft lbs of breakaway torque will match my old air impact driver and it is much more convenient to use. This rarely comes out of the drawer for me though because it is big and heavy.
https://www.amazon.com/Makita-XWT08Z-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless/dp/B01MXO5P40?th=1

My standard 1/2" 18v impact makes light work of lug bolts up to 150 ft lbs and weighs 1/2 as much. For most of my fasteners, the small 3/8 drive 12v is good for about 80 ft lbs and weighs 1/2 as much again. This is my favorite speed tool. I can use it all day without fatigue.

None. Go electric/battery on the impact wrench and drivers and never look back.

I have not picked up my air driven impact in years since getting a Dewalt 20v impact. It works better than any of my IR air impacts ever did.

My 80 gallon 220v compressor gets much less use but I am still glad I have it.

Buy a kit that has several tools and batteries.

I have a 200 psi DeWalt compressor that works well.

However, for impact wrench, My Millwalke 18v Battery works the best.

Tell me more about the DeWalt compressor. Is it 220V? Man, 200psi would be sweet. My pal has a smaller DeWalt that works fine. A portable one but bigger than the pancake type. Not sure of the PSI, though.

I have my little shop and use a Harbor Freight 110V 30 gallon tank. 140psi. If I have to DA paint off of a fender, I make sure to bring my lunch.

I have had it for six-seven years and it's has served me well. It was about $325. I changed the compressor oil once.

This one would be fine for OP's needs.

I'm old school and have not crossed over into battery powered yet except for little zip guns. Not saying I shouldn't.

Bob,
FWIW, it's not PSI that matters for the most part. It's CFM. I have a 500 gallon propane tank as a storage tank and a compressor and motor I bought from Eaton compressors years ago. I only run about 125 PSI. IIRC, my compressor took about 35 minutes to fill the 500 gallon storage tank from empty to 125 PSI. I can run an impact all day for the most part and my setup never kicks in but that's due to the HUGE storage tank. When it does kick in it normally takes about 10 minutes of run time to come up to pressure. Match your CFM to the CFM of the tool you're using or get close to it and you won't have to wait all day.

WRT the impact wrench...given it's small size how hard is it to control the torque? Mind you my wrists are kinda weak.

Cost/benefit. Three fenders a year does not warrant a super capacity CFM unit.

However, I am stripping down this "one-off" '65 International Harvester D1300 to the nub with 80 grit.

It's killing me.

It's not about tank capacity so much as what the compressor can put out. Once storage tank on my system depletes to the cut in pressure, the compressor will fill the tank and keep a DA sander running. I hate waiting on a tank to fill to continue sanding. The only thing that really mattered was my impact which was pressure sensitive for maximum reverse torque.

I could plumb my compressor setup to your tank and it would do the same thing only it would take less time to fill the tank once you stopped using air. I have about what a decent compressor/tank system costs in just my compressor and motor. My setup will last longer because it creates its CFM at a lower RPM so it runs cooler. I drove to Eaton and bought my setup about 12-15 years ago.

I have an Ingersoll-Rand that I got many years ago. It keeps up with my impact wrench just fine, and it is really handy to air up tires.

It is a bit noisy, but not horrible. The impact wrench itself is noisy and I wear hearing protection when using it.

I have looked at the battery powered ones, and may ask for one when my wife asks what Christmas or birthday present I want. I love my battery powered drill-driver. I use it often and the corded ones are in the back of the drawer and have not been used in years.

The one pain in the butt with cordless is battery life. It seems every time I have a big project and need my cordless hammer drill to do it's job, the batteries are dying and pitiful, and replacement batteries are often more expensive than the entire new unit. And there is no standard at all, so I end up with a different style of charger. I have three chargers now for the different tools.

It's a fairly small portable compressor - 25 or 28 gal, standup version, on wheels - it's about 3' tall.

It is my understanding that high psi is needed for tools that need torque. Larger tanks are needed for tools that need high volume of air or constant use (i.e., paint sprayers). I've never run out of air; I have mostly used it for nail guns and filling tires.

This one:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1582306347.jpg

As much as I love the new cordless impacts, they are just huge! . My right arm is starting to look like Popeye's after lugging around my new Milwaukee Fuel.
I still love my old faithful IR 2135 air impact . It is my go to for transmission, suspension, and motor work .
The cordless is great for wheels, and simple fasteners where you have a lot of room .
And , I will add, The Milwaukee lists something like 1400 ft lbs of torque, but just this week, my air impact , that is supposedly only 800 ft lbs. knocked out a bolt that the Milwaukee would not budge .

Just removed and reinstalled a final drive on a mini excavator... all with my dewalt battery powered impact. I'm not talking about clean bolts. This thing is a 2008 that showed no signs of having the sprocket removed from the final drive. I'm EXTREMELY impressed.

show me one cordless tool that can blow compressed air.........


signed:

80 gallon 2 stage 175 psi

I think most of us still have compressors for airing tires and blowing air, just not a bigazz I.R. for running air tools parked outdoors and piped in to reduce some of the racket. If you run a paint booth or media blast, you probably still need an industrial compressor. The OP's specific question was about running air tools and the modern cordless alternatives are really good these days. Far better for my current uses. After running a fleet service operation on air tools for 10 years, no way I will ever go back there.

Different strokes for different folks.

Done!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1582399061.jpg

Now show me an air tool that can run without compressor! I have two buildings that I store equipment in. If I wanted to work on a machine I would have to bring it over to the building that had the compressor or string an air line over to the other building from the building with the compressor. Now I just grab my battery powered impact and walk into the other building.

This.
I would add that you should look for a piston pump. There are some diaphragm pumps out there with good pressure specs but they typically lack CFM capacity.
Just asking - do you already have an air impact and an air compressor that isn't strong enough? If so, I recommend sticking with the AC you have and getting a battery powered impact. I have both and I haven't used the air gun since I bought the battery powered one.

This reminded me - DON'T GET A CHEAP COMPRESSOR!! This Harbor Freight POS could have killed me.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/945818-i-may-have-dodged-bullet-here.html

Would be perfect for OP. 200 vs 140psi when needed for short bursts would be handy to have.

"Big air" tools used often should have 15 CFM at their disposal. That's industrial sized and gets into money.

I like Cab's second tank idea for my needs.

Get a variety of impact wrenches. There are the "slow" wrenches in 3/8" drive for repetitive bolts. They won't rip out the threads of say aluminum blocks, for example.

Then there are 1/2" drive wrenches for everything from a 12mm to 19 mm impact socket application. I assume this is what you are planning. My Ingersoll Rand impact wrench is invaluable here, but I usually go for the Hazet socket and ratchet drive or box end wrenches. The impacts are used mostly for really stubborn stuff like rusty tractor or trailer bolts, in which case I usually go for the electric Makita 1" drive impact socket wrench.

Why electric drive 1"? Because this thing produces WAY more torque than an air driven impact wrench.

I also would recommend a oil bath compressor, not oil-less. No way would I run an oil less with an impact wrench. You'd burn it up in one afternoon.

Pal has an electric 1" for removing his GT3 Cup car center hubs. To install he has an almost five foot long torque wrench.

Someone said to me once, what do you need an air compressor for. Everyday Im in the garage I use compressed air for a multitude of things. Cleaning parts, works great for blowing the crap out of my pickup bed as well as the cab, it will do in a pinch rather than a vacuum job and much quicker. my garage floor is debris free. I have all the tools and use all of them, mostly the die grinder with a wire wheel. indispensable. I have a vertical tank wired for 220 and a 80 gallon tank. Had it for over twenty years. If it failed tomorrow I would replace it the same day.

Yes to all of that. A cast iron belt driven pump is the best bet no matter where it comes from. Much quieter. I have 2 older ones that are generic AFA being sold by Sears and everyone else except HF. The actual brand is a Campbell Housefield but even they sourced them from the same place that built and branded them for many retailers. Probably Taiwan at the time. Good units and last forever, so don't be afraid to pick one up used. Just check it over for basic maintenance. Parts like the regulator/switch are readily available are the typical flat ribbed drive belts.

Late 70's, Craftsman 220V, 30 gallon unit made by DeVilbiss. Owned for 30+ years. Left it with the new owners of the house I sold in 2010-ish.

It was righteous.

The best air compressors tend to be the high end ones that dentists use. Trust me, they are bad-ass, super quiet, and will run forever. They ALL use oil bath lubrication.

Might have to use an oil separator to paint, though.

I can explain my shop setup a little bit. The compressor is bolted to the floor, with a flexible hose leading to a pressure regulator and pre-filter on the wall that also is an air oil separator. There are in-wall and overhead hard lines, and a swivel with quick disconnect at the work bench. Drops have 90 degree ball valve "blow out" to remove accumulated condensation. Over the barn area, I have a hose reel, probably around 30' or so that can reach equipment. If painting, then I have a final filter and dryer just upstream of the painting rig. I haven't used it for automotive painting. I have a painting area for wood posts, slats, signs, etc (primer and outdoor latex paint and water bases sealer). It works ok, but for really stuck bolts, I have to use the "blue wrench" and biggie electric torque wrench and 1" breaker bar.