Air Compressors Advice

[ddregehr]

Alright, this should be right everybody's alley since we are all long winded or full of hot air.

I'm in the market for an air compressor. I live 19 miles from the nearest town and one of our vehicles needs to sit outside. It is inevitable that when the weather changes that our tire pressure changes drastically in that vehicle. My wife has on 2 occasions in the past 2 years tried to get to town with a "low" tire only to call me a mile down the road to inform me that she has a flat. This has turned out that she has broken the bead on the tire and has driven it a half mile or so and the tire and rim are toast. To save on marriage counseling (or attempted murder charges) , I feel it is important to purchase an air compressor and teach her how to use it. I don't want it to take all day to fill a tire, but I'm not looking to open a business in tire repair. Any suggestions on what size (SCFM) I should be looking for and or brands that you recommend.

View this as professional marriage counseling!

[car_dude427]

I have a small 12v lashlight/aircompressor in the trunk of my Daily driver and for the 12bucks i paid for it its paid for itself several times over. It was iway out of town, came out of my hotel in the morning and the left rear tire was flat as a pancake. It took ten minutes to fill it from empty BUT it did the trick with ease. Its a pretty cheap insurance policy and i've used it to top up low tires time to time.

[iburke]

That is a ruff question. How much air do you want, how much money do you want to spend, 120v or 240v, Portable or stationary, and of course there is the color.

[ddregehr]

Originally Posted by iburke

That is a ruff question. How much air do you want, how much money do you want to spend, 120v or 240v, Portable or stationary, and of course there is the color.

OK. I don't need a 8000 gal. tank and a 40 horsepower motor (unless I get into my Tim Taylor mood). I was thinking 120v, portable and around $100 give or take. I don't want a DC with a flashlight, jumper cable, Swiss army type whatamacallit. I don't want to spend 5 mins when it is -5 degrees to outside to get my tires to the right PSI because the volume is so low. I have been looking at SCFM's around 2-3 at 40 psi and 90 psi with a total psi around 100 to 135. I've looked at Lowe's, Home Depot, Menards and Northern Tool. I don't want a machine that I'll regret because it is under-powered, but I don't need something that will shoot missiles from an air nailer. I'm thinking tires and kid's inflatables mainly. Maybe a finishing nailer in the future.

I'd love to paint it Crystal Red Metallic, but any color will do. My garage isn't color coordinated like the house furnishings. My tools are Craftsman or Snap-On, so red would match.

[Fly03Z06]

You may also consider, besides the color......if you have any future needs of air powered tools. After all christmas is just around the corner....

Early in our marriage, my wife discovered the advantages of owning 4 Pneumatic nail guns for roofing, framing, finish and brads. However, since then, her husband has also introduced her to a HVLP paint spray operation

Oh.....and a couple of our larger truck tires require 80 psi.

[iburke]

Here is a nice 15A craftsman.
At 40 psi: 3.7 SCFM. At 90 psi: 2.4 SCFM
38 lbs.

http://www.kmart.com/craftsman-3-gal...0000032739811P


one of many...

[C5 Dude]

Originally Posted by iburke

Here is a nice 15A craftsman.
At 40 psi: 3.7 SCFM. At 90 psi: 2.4 SCFM
38 lbs.

http://www.kmart.com/craftsman-3-gal...0000032739811P


one of many...

Thats the one I was going to recomend. Was just looking at it this past Saturday at Sears.

[XQIZT]

I got an upright Craftsman 26 gal. Fills quick and is ready to do tire work in short order. Just let plenty of hose so that it'll reach where-ever you need.

[raidmagic]

I have a small pancake compressor that I use for tires and such if I am getting more than 100' from my shop otherwise I use my big stand up one. You can pick these up reasonable ($100) from Home Depot


http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...365&ci_gpa=pla

[Junkman2008]

I usually just call up Ivan and stick the phone next to my tire while he's talking.

[ddregehr]

So I looked up that Craftsman that Ivan recommended at Kmart and it looks good at $113, but there are no Kmart's around here. I decided to look at SEARS since there is one 50 miles from where I live. Would you believe that SEARS is selling that same one for $89.99. That is a heck of a deal!!!! Looks like I'll be heading to SEARS tomorrow to pick me up one of those (since I don't have Ivan's number to call and have him fill my tire up like Junkman does ).

Thanks for your advice and recommendations. I've knew some stuff, but just wanted to get advice from "seasoned" (Junkman calls them crusty) individuals.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by ddregehr

... Looks like I'll be heading to SEARS tomorrow to pick me up one of those (since I don't have Ivan's number to call and have him fill my tire up like Junkman does ).

Thanks for your advice and recommendations. I've knew some stuff, but just wanted to get advice from "seasoned" (Junkman calls them crusty) individuals.

He's gonna beat my ass the next time I see him!

[grumpyvette]

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/....php?f=27&t=24

I think youll find this thread useful

[ddregehr]

After the advice and recommendations, I went to get the one at Sears to find out that they were out of stock. I decided to make the 50 mile trek anyway to see what I could find.

Sears had the one that Ivan suggested on clearance since it was the store floor model. It was originally $135 for a 1 hp 135 psi good for 3.8 scfm at 40psi marked down to $80. I decided that was a steal. I picked it up and when I got home I got it right to work. Not bad for a lil' shaver. Granted, it takes a mere 5 seconds before the pump needs to start again when using an air gun, but I think it will do the trick.

If I was going to use air tools like an impact wrench, I would most definitely go Grumpy's route, but this will work for my very basic application.

Now if I can just teach the wife to use it instead of going through $300 of tires and rims when a tire is low.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by ddregehr

... Now if I can just teach the wife to use it instead of going through $300 of tires and rims when a tire is low.

Not to mention the loss of gas mileage.