question about air compressors

[xsspeed]

hey guys, just a quick question about air compressors

is a 24l tank with 2hp motor (still does around 116 psi) much worse than a 50l with 3hp, they both do the same pressure.

im guessing youll get more flow from the bigger unit, but if i had the smaller one could i still run air tools from it or would it not have enough flow?

seems most air tools consume around 6cfm at 90psi, any idea if the smaller unit would make this?

[rollaholic]

it depends how long you want to use the tool for, and for what purpose. the bigger unit obviously stores more air and replenishes it faster.

if you want to use it to run a rattle gun for example, the smaller one will be ok for short bursts, but if you wanted to run a paint gun then running out of air pressure halfway through is pretty undesirable.

[andyztouring]

You are much better off getting a larger tank with a reasonable CFM ie 12CFM,with a small tank you will be running out of air and waiting for the compressor to catch up.

[Dell'Orto]

The small one will do it, but it'll be working alot harder to maintain the pressure/flow, and will burn out pretty quick.
Bigger is better when it comes to compressors

[Jdawg]

2 hp is about 9cfm and should be enough for a part time mechanic. Working on your own car the only air tools that will run out of puff would be air grinder , spray gun and plasma cutter, but you can manage your usage on those tools. It is not like the compressor is going to be running constantly all day like a workshop but you may want to find a 2hp with a bigger tank, ie 40liter.

[fangsport]

hp has jack to do with it
cfm/psi is the figure you need to work on.
a big reciever is handy, but makes the hard to lug around.
there are several threads on the subject

[GDII]

I have a 2.5hp 50ltr compresser. Rattle gun is fine. Painting not so good as it runs out too fast. I can paint a car door just before it runs out of pressure. I also use it for a staple/brad gun. That works fine. Good for pumping up tires too. Its just heavy to move around.

[andyztouring]

My compressor is a 15CFM 50 litre tank,I have resprayed cars with no problem and using a rather large spray gun.

[GDII]

I don't remember the CFM rating on my compresser. I was using a filler primer and was quite thick. Maybe thats why.

[mr_monkey]

I have heard of people linking together two small (cheap) compressors with a T fitting to provide lots of CFM/hp/capacity for relatively SFA cost. Might be worth thinking about if you buy a cheapie and realise its not good enough.

[xsspeed]

there are several threads on the subject

only found one that you also gave info one but i thought id ask anyway, (sorry to be a pain) cos i wanted to know what the cfm for this one would be.

how long are we talking before the compressor will catch up. long enough to f*** up a paint job?

[Bling]

I have heard of people linking together two small (cheap) compressors with a T fitting to provide lots of CFM/hp/capacity for relatively SFA cost. Might be worth thinking about if you buy a cheapie and realise its not good enough.

yeah Elmo had this setup, originally bought a bigger one, but it couldn't keep up, so took it back and got 2 smaller ones and added an extra wee tank into the mix and it went heaps better

[Jdawg]

hp has jack to do with it ....

I was merely stating most cheapie 2 hp compressors on the market are around 9cfm.