Looking to buy air compressor

JustAnotherSaver

Not exactly motoring but I'm guessing some with motoring interest will have these for various vehicle related jobs & wasn't sure of a better forum for it. In Home DIY perhaps but anyway I'm here now.

Not one of those 12v hand held things but i'm still looking at the cheaper end of the scale with these air compressors. No specific number as far as a budget goes because i could say £xyz and that may not buy me anything worthwhile so wondering what I need to spend for the job.

Anyone reading this have one and can provide a recommendation (or even a recommendation on what to avoid)?

This wont be just used by myself so it'll be used for air powered tools working on the car. I'm also looking for a decent air blower as these days I'm cycling more and am trying to be able to do the maintenance on that myself and after a wash down a good air blower will get rid of the water much better than just towelling down.

AdrianC

Every now and then, the Aldidl twins come up with a 230v 25l compressor. For the money, it's really quite good - far better than you'll get elsewhere for the same. Apart from that, I'd start with Machine Mart.

If you need a bigger tank, then you can get hold of a dead compressor, and connect the tank from that.
Bigger horsepower from the compressor takes you past 1ph 230v 13A quickly, though.

TBH, though, if what you want is a rattlegun, then I'd be going battery these days, not air.

cattom

why do you want a compressor. all my guys now in the workshop use recharchable tools. its easier and don't have to have a\ir lines all over the floor. better  for health n safety and the enviroment too.

JustAnotherSaver

cattom said:

why do you want a compressor. all my guys now in the workshop use recharchable tools. its easier and don't have to have a\ir lines all over the floor. better  for health n safety and the enviroment too.

Rechargeable air blower tool?

I wasn't even aware there was such a thing to be honest. Would sure be easier. Just assumed you'd need something with a tank and power to generate the air to spit out at even a half worthwhile pressure.

onlyfoolsandparking

Don't have any experience with compressors but did buy a 'motorcycle air dryer' recently. Best bit of kit I've bought for bike in years, the air comes out with real force and it can be warm air too, fantastic for getting in all the nooks and cranny's where water collects and there's no chance of getting in with a micro fibre cloth. Doesn't actually dry the bike 100% but it gets damn close and saves loads of time.


There are lots available on Amazon, ebay etc and I paid around £80 for one (they look to be around £100 now for a decent one)  also a decent pet dryer will do just as good a job.

facade

Get a leaf blower/vacuum. These do a good job of blowing a 'bike dry, and obviously come in handy for picking up leaves in the Autumn. A cheap mains one is fine, as these get quite warm, and blow nice warm air.

JustAnotherSaver

Thanks @onlyfoolsandparking I'll take a look at that. I did a bit of Googling after the suggestion of a rechargeable blower. What I saw looked a bit weak so there must be better versions.

Online forums full of people worried over blasting the water in to the bearings. Not really sure how they picture someone using one of these blowers as surely you're not going to be directing it at point blank range right at the bearings, but for frame, chain, rear cassette with care etc it'll be fine.

Facade - saw some saying leaf blower actually so not a bad shout. Probably people who have trees around where they live though

onlyfoolsandparking

It was an absolute no no for me with the option of leaf blower, they are too big, rigid and most importantly don't have air intake filters which would mean instead of drying a bike it would more or less sandblast it. Actually I have got a leaf blower (big thing) and tried it NOT on bike but against fence and it looked like it spat quite a bit of dust out the end, unless someone can tell me different I'm thinking a leaf blower isn't suitable at all.

With the motorcycle/pet dryer you have a flexible hose and different sized nozzles for putting warm air exactly where you want it, this of course eliminates any potential wheel bearing water ingress. 

jimjames

I got an SGS compressor, been very happy with it and it does various jobs I'd not even thought about originally. Only downside is it can be quite noisy when it's running

droopsnoot

If you want to use air tools, buy the biggest compressor you can afford / have space for. I think single phase compressors top out around 3.5hp, but for any kind of air tools you need a decent size tank. I bought one with a 50L tank, and I wish I'd bought bigger. I bought mine for a particular job, but then Aldi started selling cheap air tools and it doesn't like some of them. I have a 75mm air polisher, and it doesn't have enough strength to operate that with a hard foam pad on it, only the softer ones, so I'm limited on how much I can do with it.

Also remember that it takes some time to build up pressure, so for a quick job you have to add that on before you can start. Cold weather can cause trouble too - mine is in a workshop, and over winter if I want to start it up I have to hold the hot air gun on it for a few minutes otherwise it will just blow the fuse. I've never worked out whether I'm thinning the oil or expanding the casing, but 4-5 minutes of heating it up means that it only gets used in the winter if it's really needed.

AdrianC

13A 230v is 3kW is about 4hp...