Would like suggestions for an air compressor to clean saws.

[rustyb]

My 25 year old Cambel Hausfeld (sp?) is on its last breath so I'm in the market for a new one.

I'm just looking for something which can inflate tires & be used to blow the dust & chips out of my saws, tools and carvings.

Quiet is good but not a huge concern as I can't imagine one being noiser than the malfunctioning one I have now. My budget is thin ......up to $125 max.

I was eyeballing a little Husky compressor at Home Depot for $99 and looked at what appeared to be an identical Craftsman in Sears for $89.

Will a $99 compressor work for my needs, a couple hours per month, for 10 years? Any other thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[pbtree]

It sounds like a smaller unit will suffice for what you are doing. Although on the other hand bigger is not such a bad thing either.

How large is the tank on the units you are lookign at?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

What's wrong with the old compressor? Is the motor still working? You know that an air compressor is nothing more than a motor without a spark plug? If you're loosing compression it might be cheaper to have new pistons/rings put in.

I know a guy who took a lawnmower engine and made up a compressor that he used to paint his car. Turned out pretty nice considering how much his setup cost. Almost nothing becaues he had plenty of parts laying around.

If noise is a concern now you'll probably find that the pancake/oiless compressors are even louder. Knock together a booth with some insulation to quiet things down.

 

[woodshop]

Rusty most of the cheapo compressors like you mentioned, even with brand names on them are same Chinese units you get at Harbor Freight or some of the other Chinese tool outlets online. I have one of their pancake units, use it in the woodshop for all kinds of jobs, as well as cleaning chainsaws etc. Its 5 years old, use maybe 3 hours a week ave... yes loud but works great and for less than hundred bucks its replaceable. Be careful of the very small ones, they don't have much cfm, and thus if you want to run a bigger nail gun or sprayer, you won't have enough punch.

Dave

 

[rustyb]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Tom,

The old compressor barely builds enough presure to inflate a bike tire & won't stop running. It seems to blow as much air out as it takes in and it's noisy. To shut off, it has to be unplugged. Then, a couple weeks ago, I noticed a large puddle of oil under it. Haven't tried it since.

I believe it was a good compressor but over the yrs on my familys farm, it was worked on in a .......shall we say not so great manner. It wasn't maintained either. On top of that, the thing saw much abuse and was probably ran without an air filter more often than with.

I haven't tore into to it to know the extent of the damage but just assumed it would cost more to repair than to buy a new $100 model.

Pbtree,

The one $100 unit I'm looking at is a sale priced 125 PSI Craftsman w/ 3 gallon tank. I've never been a big fan of Craftsman products but if it fits my needs, I don't mind. It can be seen here:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/sear...lts&gobutton.x=15&gobutton.y=15&gobutton=find

Woodshop,

Boy, having the capacity to run a nail gun or sprayer would sure be nice but I don't see myself ever having a need for that. And my budget confirms it;-). Thanks for the info.

Keep the info coming in please.

Thanks again,
rusty

 

[Locoweed]

Check the valves. They are easy to clean and you can often get replacements if cleaning doesn't fix it.

 

[bottlefed89]

I put a viair on my truck, has 100% duty cycle, work great. I don't have a very big tank now, but I'll go to atleast 15 gal in the future. You can't see any of it on the truck, and now I have air for tires, tool, cleaning saws, etc. And I have it where I need it, not only at my shop.

 

[geofore]

www.harborfrieght.com has a 4HP, 120psi, 8 gallon air compressor for $119.99. Item 90385-1RFH or just a compressor pump, belt drive, for 69.99 Item 09592-2RFH. They have others for more money. But this should get you started on shopping around.

 

[rustyb]

Geofore,

That sounds like a great deal. However, I can't find Harborfrieght. When I click on the link, it takes me to linkster.com & I don't see it there either. I also tried typing it in with no luck. any ideas?

Also, I'm going to tear into mine soon to determine what's wrong. Hopefully it is only the valves. Knowing how this thing has been abused though, I'm not very optimistic.

Thanks.

**UPDATE**: Geofore,
I finally found the site. Almost seems too good to be true. I wonder what the quality is?
Thanks.