Air compressor for hangar

Hi,

I am thinking about getting a small air compressor for my hangar, any
suggestions what to look for (dry vs wet pump, gal. capacity, CFM
rating, etc.). I expect light, occasional use - tire & strut
inflation, some drilling, fiberglass grinding, small-scale painting
(fairing repair, etc.) and limited use of maybe 2X rivet gun. I am
specifically wondering if any of the smaller "Husky" compressors sold
by Home Crappo would do the job, don't want to spend big $$$ or get
something big I can't easily take home once in a while.

Thanks !

Martin

In article ,
Martin Kosina wrote:
I expect light, occasional use - tire & strut
inflation, some drilling, fiberglass grinding, small-scale painting
(fairing repair, etc.) and limited use of maybe 2X rivet gun.

Anything that spins takes an immense quantity of air. I have a small
(5 gal) twin tank portable compressor and when I want to empty it I hook
up the grinder. I only have a grinder because the air tool is far smaller
than my electric grinders. If you want to run a bunch of general tools
you'll need high capacity and (probably) 220V to keep up. If you just
want to do air-specific stuff (tires, spraying, grease gun, etc) then
any small contractor compressor will work.

BTW for cheap compressors you've got to try Harbor Freight. If you get
one without a regulator make sure you spring for the Campbell Hausfeld
one.

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

Ditto the previous response... Grinders and drills take a lot of air...
I have a small sears unit which is good for tires and light stuff,
but that's about it...

John Price
CFII/AGI/IGI
http://home.att.net/~jm.price


"Martin Kosina" wrote in message
m...
Hi,

I am thinking about getting a small air compressor for my hangar, any
suggestions what to look for (dry vs wet pump, gal. capacity, CFM
rating, etc.). I expect light, occasional use - tire & strut
inflation, some drilling, fiberglass grinding, small-scale painting
(fairing repair, etc.) and limited use of maybe 2X rivet gun. I am
specifically wondering if any of the smaller "Husky" compressors sold
by Home Crappo would do the job, don't want to spend big $$$ or get
something big I can't easily take home once in a while.

Thanks !

Martin

When you say pumping up struts, if you mean the nose strut on a Cessna
the compressor won't do it. You need a special tool as there is a hell
of a lot more pressure in that strut than 150 psi.

Martin Kosina wrote:
Hi,

I am thinking about getting a small air compressor for my hangar, any
suggestions what to look for (dry vs wet pump, gal. capacity, CFM
rating, etc.). I expect light, occasional use - tire & strut
inflation, some drilling, fiberglass grinding, small-scale painting
(fairing repair, etc.) and limited use of maybe 2X rivet gun. I am
specifically wondering if any of the smaller "Husky" compressors sold
by Home Crappo would do the job, don't want to spend big $$$ or get
something big I can't easily take home once in a while.

Thanks !

Martin

"Newps" wrote in message
news:87yib.554946$cF.233157@rwcrnsc53...
When you say pumping up struts, if you mean the nose strut on a Cessna
the compressor won't do it. You need a special tool as there is a hell
of a lot more pressure in that strut than 150 psi.

Not when you hold the tail down. With the strut fully extended, the
pressure goes down to less than 100psi. I have put air in my front strut
numerous times that way, though I much prefer to use a high pressure
nitrogen tank.

Still, in a crunch, simply have some one hold the tail down while you put
regular air in the strut.

GB

Compressor capacity is like computer memory. Software (or in your case -
air tools) magically expand to consume all that is available. Whatever
you buy, you always seem to need more down the road.

If you only have a limited amount of power (115v), it takes a long time
to fill up the tank. If the tank is large (60 gallons), you can wait a
while and fill it up and then work for a while until you draw down the
tank and have to wait for the compressor to catch up again. Portable
tanks (20 gallons or less) would require a large compressor head to keep
up with large capacity air tools (sanders, production paint sprayers)
because there is so little volume of air that can be stored in a small
tank. However, small tanks tend to have small heads. Large tanks tend to
have large heads. The "contractor" models are usually tuned to one
purpose - air nailers. They don't run other tools well. Most are also
noisy as hell.

An all around compromise is the "5 horsepower" 30 gallon (sometimes
listed as 32 gallon) upright units under the Coleman, Craftsman and
other names sold at some warehouse clubs and Sears. They are about $225
- $260. I put "5 horsepower" in quotes because these units are 115v. The
max HP from 15A of 115 is around 1.5HP. So, these units are 5 horsepower
"equivalent". They have a different compressor head design that
supposedly pushes more volume of air. In reality, a true 5 horse, twin
cylinder, multi-belt commercial compressor would dance circles around
these units.

But they are a good compromise of size, volume, and price. They have
wheels and can be toted around in the back of an SUV or pickup. Take 2
folks to onload and offload though. You could work one air tool pretty
much nonstop. Paint one side of a van without stopping. Paint a small
car with some pacing. I have one and it seems to keep up with me,
however, I have not tried to tackle a big job (paint a car).

By the way, if you want to fill a strut, you need HIGH PRESSURE (like
220 lbs min) and very low volume. These large compressors put out 125lbs
max. Oddly enough, you can fill struts with the cheapo little plastic
12v units at the auto parts store if you unload (extend) the strut
COMPLETELY. For my Cherokee 140, that means a 36" length of 3/4" pipe
propping up a wing at the jack point. Takes about 200lbs. to fill the
(completely extended) strut to eventually hold up the plane to its
recommended 4.5 inches. The car it is plugged into must be running with
the alternator working or else they bog down and quit just shy of
getting the job done. Let the wing drop while you do this operation and
you get a face/body/plane full of 5606 fluid (guess how I know).

Good Luck,
Mike

Martin Kosina wrote:
Hi,

I am thinking about getting a small air compressor for my hangar, any
suggestions what to look for (dry vs wet pump, gal. capacity, CFM
rating, etc.). I expect light, occasional use - tire & strut
inflation, some drilling, fiberglass grinding, small-scale painting
(fairing repair, etc.) and limited use of maybe 2X rivet gun. I am
specifically wondering if any of the smaller "Husky" compressors sold
by Home Crappo would do the job, don't want to spend big $$$ or get
something big I can't easily take home once in a while.

Thanks !

Martin


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Aside from what was already mentioned.. check out harbor freight. they have
a pretty decent deal on a 20-gallon unit.. ah yes, it's NOT oilless.. as
what I heard.. you don't want an oilless unit (too loud)....


"Martin Kosina" wrote in message
m...
Hi,

I am thinking about getting a small air compressor for my hangar, any
suggestions what to look for (dry vs wet pump, gal. capacity, CFM
rating, etc.). I expect light, occasional use - tire & strut
inflation, some drilling, fiberglass grinding, small-scale painting
(fairing repair, etc.) and limited use of maybe 2X rivet gun. I am
specifically wondering if any of the smaller "Husky" compressors sold
by Home Crappo would do the job, don't want to spend big $$$ or get
something big I can't easily take home once in a while.

Thanks !

Martin

Newps wrote in message news:87yib.554946$cF.233157@rwcrnsc53...
When you say pumping up struts, if you mean the nose strut on a Cessna
the compressor won't do it. You need a special tool as there is a hell
of a lot more pressure in that strut than 150 psi.

Only 40 psi on my 177B, that's with no weight on the nosewheel, which
is the way you are supposed to inflate it (tail tied down). Even with
weight *on*, its still only about 120psi, even my cheapo 12V portable
inflates that.

Martin

(Martin Kosina) wrote in message om...
Hi,

I am thinking about getting a small air compressor for my hangar, any
suggestions what to look for (dry vs wet pump, gal. capacity, CFM
rating, etc.). I expect light, occasional use - tire & strut
inflation, some drilling, fiberglass grinding, small-scale painting
(fairing repair, etc.) and limited use of maybe 2X rivet gun. I am
specifically wondering if any of the smaller "Husky" compressors sold
by Home Crappo would do the job, don't want to spend big $$$ or get
something big I can't easily take home once in a while.

Thanks !

Martin

I put a compressor (sears 3hp, 30gal) in my basement closet and the
pressure wasn't constant enough at the gun to do consistant work after
the long-haul hose run, so I put one of those portable pony tanks
under the bench with a T adapter to provide a pressure buffer/supply
closer to my work when riveting. It keeps the compressor noise down by
leaving it in the closet, but provides a good supply pressure at the
rivet gun. I also use this set-up when I use an extender hose out the
back door to the garage in the summer when I need the airgun for rare
car maintenance. No need to haul the compressor up out of the basement
to the garage now.

Forget the "horsepower" of an air compressor. It is a worthless measurement
of compressor output and Sears and others outright misrepresent the output
of their compressors using this number. All that matters is CFM and PSI
requirements for the tools you want to run, and also tank capacity.

Find out what the air requirements are for your most air hungry tool, under
continous use, and buy a compressor with a LARGER air pumping capacity than
that tool will require.

It's is simple as that. Really. And do not get an oil free compressor. They
are noisy and wear out much faster than oil lubricated compressors. Just
check the oil every now and then.

With only a 120V outlet at the hangar, you might be limited on the tools you
can run. Sanders, grinders, HVLP guns need a little more juice than most
reasonably priced 120V compressors can offer.


"Eric Ulmer" wrote in message
om...
(Martin Kosina) wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I am thinking about getting a small air compressor for my hangar, any
suggestions what to look for (dry vs wet pump, gal. capacity, CFM
rating, etc.). I expect light, occasional use - tire & strut
inflation, some drilling, fiberglass grinding, small-scale painting
(fairing repair, etc.) and limited use of maybe 2X rivet gun. I am
specifically wondering if any of the smaller "Husky" compressors sold
by Home Crappo would do the job, don't want to spend big $$$ or get
something big I can't easily take home once in a while.

Thanks !

Martin

I put a compressor (sears 3hp, 30gal) in my basement closet and the
pressure wasn't constant enough at the gun to do consistant work after
the long-haul hose run, so I put one of those portable pony tanks
under the bench with a T adapter to provide a pressure buffer/supply
closer to my work when riveting. It keeps the compressor noise down by
leaving it in the closet, but provides a good supply pressure at the
rivet gun. I also use this set-up when I use an extender hose out the
back door to the garage in the summer when I need the airgun for rare
car maintenance. No need to haul the compressor up out of the basement
to the garage now.