Air Compressor opinions

Eaton Compressor & Fabrication Inc.

Look these guys over. I have one of their units that runs my paint shop. AWESOME product. I have only had 2 small problems since I got it and they were right on top of it both times when I called. Had me back up and running in less than 20 mins. Its hard to find someone anymore that will REALLY go the extra mile to help keep you going. If I got another one it would be one of theirs again! You may want to look at this one, would be more than you would probley ever need. 5 HP, 2-Stage, 60-Gallon Horizontal Air Compressor - eBay (item 140254181937 end time Aug-07-08 06:30:56 PDT)
Mine is their 10hp, 120 gallon tank dual head set up. Will go from 0 to 150lbs in 4 minutes and its not loud at all. Plus it uses bearings etc in the head so it is totally rebuildable if you ever need to. No I don't work for them hahahha. Its just been a great unit for me.
 
Brought a Champion and put it outside in a little shed I put together with leftovers from garage build..Same as one here at shop with almost 5 years with No repairs..Will need a small concrete pad for install..
 
I was looking into an air compressor and was told to stay far away from the oil less models............???????????????????????????? :confused:
 
The oil-less ones will serve it's purpose, but they don't last as long and they make more noise. It all depends upon how you use it. If you use it to pump up the kids bike tires, blow the cobwebs from the corners of your garage and run an impact and air ratchet once a month, the oil-less would probably be fine.

If you use it daily with sanders, grinders, body files and a sand blaster, spend the extra bucks and buy a Quincy, Eaton or an IR industrial model. They may cost twice as much as an oil-less one, but will last 4 times longer under heavy use.

It is kinda like gas grills....you can buy one $1000 grill and it will last 20 years or you can buy 6 $200 grills that will last 3 years each.

It's your choice.
 
Be careful on horsepower ratings as well. A lot of manufacturers of consumer grade use Peak HP ratings which are useless for air compressors. Look at the continuous HP or the CFM. Also it's not the size of the tank it's the CFM Output of the compressor that makes the difference. Look at the air tools you have or plan to buy and buy a compressor at least big enough to run those.

Sand blasters are the worst air hogs followed by die grinders and air drills.

If you don't size the compressor for the demand then it will die a quick death. And a bigger tank will only contribute to that death by making it run longer to charge the bigger tank.

My current compressor is a PUMA 7.5 HP 27 CFM bigger and it has to be run on 3 phase. When you get into industrial compressors of that size then most are the same.
 
Good point aminga. Another sign of a long lasting compressor is the motor speed. Most cheaper compressors have electric motors that turn at 3400 rpm. Better ones use 1728 rpm motors that only spin the compressor around 700 rpm. Slower compressor speed= longer lasting.
 
Dabigguy said:
Good point aminga. Another sign of a long lasting compressor is the motor speed. Most cheaper compressors have electric motors that turn at 3400 rpm. Better ones use 1728 rpm motors that only spin the compressor around 700 rpm. Slower compressor speed= longer lasting.
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2 stage compressors are better than single stage because the run slower and quieter. The thing I liked about the PUMA is it's a 3 cylinder 2 primary and 1 secondary pistons. It runs slow and quiet.

I had a craftsman oilless. I reringed it 3 times in 3 years. Air tools simply ran it to death. But it was free so what did it matter

A good reference for compressors is the garage tools section of hotrodders.com. But do your homework and look at the real CFM output and you can usually pick a good one. When comparing CFM also make sure that you are comparing apples and apples. 25 CFM at 80 PSI is not the same as 25 CFM at 120 PSI.
 
engersoll rand

hi just purchased new compressor model #ss5l5 need to know what amp it is so i can hook it up
 
look on the motor if its NOT a oil less model. There is a plate that has the specs on it including amp draw. Some of the oil less ones you can see to or should be in your paperwork on it.
 
While on the subject. How often do you guys empty the tank to drain any water?
 
I have that ingersoll SS3L3 and love it. Had it for years with no problems and it's easy to pipe the intake through the wall to make it quiet. 3hp that outperforms most (Husky,Craftsman,ect) 5hp. You won't be disappointed. That's not a bad price with free shipping to!
 
tom j said:
While on the subject. How often do you guys empty the tank to drain any water?
Click to expand...

Probably not enough! I leave the bled screw on mine cracked so it bleed constant now but I intend to pipe in a ball valve to make it easy. Just open valve purge and close. Should be done every time you use it. Autopurges are nice if you can afford one.
 
That's a damn good price on the Ingersol. i was looking at it and the SL5* model. last year.

If you're doing to spend more than a few hundred, get the highest CFM you can afford. Then, you should never have to replace it. Can be used for anything.. sandblasting.. etc...

You do get what you pay for.

I believe that there's a Devilbliss at some Sams Clubs.. also very comparable.
 
i had the devillbiss, after 2 paint jobs it made a horrible noise until i got rid of it.
it was replaced with a 8.5cfm craftsmen oil-free unit. at first i thought it wouldn't last long. that was 9 years ago. plus i just rebuilt the compressor side, that costs 41.00 for the re-build kit at sears. i wasn't thinking about it at the time, but it's nice to be able to get parts for stuff like that at a good price and them be readily available.
 
I had an A-1 compressor. direct drive 3 cylinder .very quiet and very expensive to fix. ended up with a black max by sandborn 5 horse 60 gallon it works great even with the blast cabinet.My next one will be Atlas Copco.We have 2 70hp ones running the shop and they never quit.A little pricey
 
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