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air compressor?

digity

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Looking for an my xmas present. Wht's the difference between oil lubed vs. not? Is one better than the other. Is one quieter than the other? Looking at a used 26 gallon craftsman with impact n wrench still under warrenty for 230. Claims its 1 month old and has all papers.
 
lots of info in THE TOOL SHED section on air compressors .

if you wana run and never realy look back oil lubed is 100% best and quieter than those blow up noise dry non lubed units.

and skip the craftsman stuff if you realy wana good unit.
 
the bigger craftsman ones have a safety recall right now too. I have a 33 gallon craftsman, Its LOUD as h3II but has worked great for me for about 7 years now. I dont do a LOT of stuff with it all the time though. its worked flawlessly for my occasional painting / impact jobs and airbrush duty

the recall is on certain units and there is a fix kit that you can get for it from them for free. even as old as it is their sending me one as we speak.
 
yeah, I ran an oiless 60 gal upright for about 12 yrs.. they certainly work, painted many a car with that thing...

when i got the new Quincy, I wanted to take the old one out back and shoot it for all that psycho screaming I had to listen to for years! :haha:


actually, I threw out the compressor and use the 60 gal tank at work for painting boats now...
 
I have the Home Depot brand (it's actually a Campbell Hausfeld) 60 gallon upright and it has worked flawlessly for me over the past 7 years that i've owned it. DO NOT but an oilless compressor they are JUNK and LOUD.
 
I ran my 5hp Craftsman 60 gal for about 10-12 years, but had connecting rod problems, and they do scream like a banshee as Paul says. It did what I asked it to, but only single stage, and oiless, it has its limits when you need some big air.

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262091
 
Run away from oil less if you can. If your going to use it a lot 60 gallons is the way to go. I had a craftsman oil less for years and my ears are still ringing. My neighbor has an oil less and I always know when he's using it, his house is 100 ft away.
 
yeah, I ran an oiless 60 gal upright for about 12 yrs.. they certainly work, painted many a car with that thing...

when i got the new Quincy, I wanted to take the old one out back and shoot it for all that psycho screaming I had to listen to for years! :haha:


actually, I threw out the compressor and use the 60 gal tank at work for painting boats now...

Always bragging about that danged Quincy....:haha:
 
I concur with whats said, it seems I kill oilless in about 3 years, but I always had smaller ones and needed bigger ones.

Buy the absolute biggest you can afford.

Slower rpms usually relays to longer life.
 
"Best" compressors are the rotary screw type,that resemble a 6-71 blower..megabuck pricing on them unfortunately...they put out more CFM and are quiet as a compressor can get though,compared to any piston type pump...friend scored 2 of them from a closed up car dealership,had 10 HP electric motors on them...I was amazed how quiet they were when we turned them on before removing them from the building to see that they still worked OK...they built up pressure very quickly compared to a piston pump...and you could carry on a normal conversation standing right next to them while they were running too......................................................................................................If I were looking for a good compressor,I'd go with an older one with a two stage pump,a 60 gallon or bigger tank,that has a CFM rating of 15+ CFM,if you plan on using air tools and things like sandblasters that require a ton of air..old Quincy,Cambell-Hausfeild,Kellog and DeVillbiss are good brands to look for...some new compressors are built "good",but none seem to last like the older ones do under heavy use...
 
the one I bought at Home Depot has served me well...it will run most air tools well...except the cheap HF die grinder...that thing sucks cfm....but I agree...buy the biggest you can afford...
 
You will notice on the non-lubed units that they put plastic shrouding over the motor and pump to hide how small they really are. Then they post a fake (i.e. measured in a meaningless way) HP rating to make you think it can do work. When it breaks you may have to replace the whole pump and motor together, as they are usually integrated (I had one break the main frame that holds both together).

On an oil-lubed unit you get a real electric motor, that you can replace with another standard frame motor, should the need arise - probably give you options for 110/220VAC, too. You get a pump that can also be replaced and possibly serviced. Best of all, you don't get hearing damage.

You can get 50hp from a Yugo motor screaming at the redline or from a BBC idling. Which one is going to hold up longer?
 
So Jason just comes in here and makes a post looking for info then never comes back. :rolleyes:
 
My bad guys, Fedex driver buried at work with a commute. Only online on weekends. Thanks to the brotherhood for all the feedback. :bow:
 

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