which compressor should I buy?

[gusbratz]

I am in need of a new air compressor. Which one of these do you guys think is better. the tractor supply one boasts a better flow, but Im not sure??
https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.a...71&catname=air
or
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tools/a...-motor-3434729

[oprod]

compressor

You want one with a cast iron not aluminum pump. the bigger the cfm on the pump the happeir you will be.

[MoparFreak69]

My compressor is aluminum with cast iron cylinders and it performs quite well. I do not do any industrial type of work, however I doubt that the OP is in that boat simply because of the products he is looking at. The surplus center compressor only gives you 1 CFM rating, which is usually given at 90PSI on compressors. The tractor supply gives you 2, the 90PSI rating is actually below the Surplus Center's rating. I would say go for the cheaper of the 2 since they both look to be Chinese and will probably have about the same life expectancy (which can be quite a long time with only occasional garage type use). The cast iron really doesnt have any advantages in my book. It will be heavier and cost more to ship, if it cracks its harder to weld than aluminum, and it doesnt shed heat as well as aluminum.

Just my opinion on the matter anyway. Hope it helps.

[Charles Talbert]

You will need to look closely at your needs; the task you would like to perform. Airing up tires, using a simple blow gun, modest use of an impact wrench, they may get by. If you intend to use a paint gun, forget it, neither of these units will even come close to furnishing the needed volume of air required to keep a paint gun functioning at a normal pace. Things like even a small blast cabinet or open blaster gulp huge volumes of air and require quite a large pump and tank to keep up. Once you know the requirements for the tools you need to operate, only then can you make an intelligent choice for a new pump. It's hard to offer advice beyond that unless you provided further information.

[Bonedog]

Long term the cast iron cylinder will last longer but only if you're using them on a consistent basis. Iron will form rust ( as any old Dodge owner knows) if no movement occurs over a extended period. Do you use it at least once a week? If so I'd take the cast iron, it's a long term work horse and has good CFM.

[MoparFreak69]

Both of these compressors feature cast iron cylinders, one just happens to use cast iron for everything and the other has a body made of aluminum.
As for either of these compressors not being able to handle a paint gun? I call bs on that. I have a little tiny 2 gallon craftsman oil-less compressor rated at like 3 CFM at 40 psi that will handle my paint gun just fine. It is a HVLP gun that I use at about 35psi. Its rated for right at 3 CFM draw at wide open (which nobody ever uses because you want a nice fan effect for good coverage). I used it just Friday to spray an old mahagony boat with some fairly thick varnish (very slow progress) and it kept up for over the hour of spraying I did. When painting a rig you will usually never operate a gun for that time period. A fairly good sized air tank will almost be sufficient to paint a small car.

[MoparNorm]

You guys might want to read the threads about American Made tools and make the decision on that basis. Even a 20 year old American Made compressor from eBay is better than a new import...
The best compressor I have had in the last 20 years was a 4HP, 12 CFM DeVilbis, made in the USA and under $225.

[gusbratz]

I agree. that is why I am staying away from northern hyd. and harbor freight. the surplus center one is made by a company called ROL-AIR. http://www.rolair.net/about/index.html
they seem to be made in USA.

[MoparFreak69]

Oh I agree, buying an American made tool is the smartest choice. The biggest problem is finding one nowadays. Even on the "American" tool trucks you will find tons and tons of imported stuff. My Cornwell tools air hammer is made in Taiwan. My Snap On angle die grinder is made in China. My Matco (Made by IR) 1/2" impact gun is "Assembled in the US with foreign and domestic parts". About your only option is to go used or high end. The prices for used stuff is about rediculous and high end isnt even a consideration for things like a compressor to me. Sometimes you have no choice but to accept where the industry has headed and buy what you can afford.

[Desoto61]

I don't think you'll find any still made in the USA. They might be made in a USA companies factory overseas but that's about the best you're going to do.

Even the Eaton compressor I have uses a foreign made compressor, and they like to advertise the fact they use American components when possible and are assembled in Ohio.

[Charles Talbert]

Both of these compressors feature cast iron cylinders, one just happens to use cast iron for everything and the other has a body made of aluminum.
As for either of these compressors not being able to handle a paint gun? I call bs on that. I have a little tiny 2 gallon craftsman oil-less compressor rated at like 3 CFM at 40 psi that will handle my paint gun just fine. It is a HVLP gun that I use at about 35psi. Its rated for right at 3 CFM draw at wide open (which nobody ever uses because you want a nice fan effect for good coverage). I used it just Friday to spray an old mahagony boat with some fairly thick varnish (very slow progress) and it kept up for over the hour of spraying I did. When painting a rig you will usually never operate a gun for that time period. A fairly good sized air tank will almost be sufficient to paint a small car.

No issue with you calling bs; it depends on the rig you are using distance from the compressor and several other issues. Many factors will affect performance at the gun, I have learned figures on paper are one thing, consistant performance at the gun is quite another. What I'm saying is the individual need best be looked at closely with a good buffer considered. Buying a compressor that is capable only of just over the expected need will not be a wise purchase. Only the end user doing homework prior to making a purchase will result in a wise purchase that is up to the job.

[gusbratz]

like most things in my life this is not a real engineerd thing. I currently have a 100# propane tank with an old quincey vacume pump from a milking parlor driven by a 3 phase motor I got for free. the little pressure switch is too small to carry that much amperage so i use it to pull in the contacts on a 60 amp controller from the old sump pumps a work. it is quite a conlgameration. I like to make stuff out of whatever I can get for free. It is kinda my hobby. the current junk setup I can relly do whatever i need to do except run my 1" impact for long. I may just hold out on the compressor and wait till I come across a reefer unit in the junk with a big compressor on it.

[Charles Talbert]

like most things in my life this is not a real engineerd thing. I currently have a 100# propane tank with an old quincey vacume pump from a milking parlor driven by a 3 phase motor I got for free. the little pressure switch is too small to carry that much amperage so i use it to pull in the contacts on a 60 amp controller from the old sump pumps a work. it is quite a conlgameration. I like to make stuff out of whatever I can get for free. It is kinda my hobby. the current junk setup I can relly do whatever i need to do except run my 1" impact for long. I may just hold out on the compressor and wait till I come across a reefer unit in the junk with a big compressor on it.

I understand, I guess all who have commented in this thread have been out of the league so to speak.

I made my first compressor at 15 years of age from the unit out of an old refrigerator; it was belt driven, one of the units before refrigerators had sealed compressors. Coupled it to the old 30 gallon water storage tank that used to stand behind the wood cook stove in the kitchen that heated our water before we had an electric water heater. Those were the days.

[Gsmith]

I'm not into making things like that myself, but do think it's cool just taking parts and putting them together and making something functional!

[gusbratz]

I love all my old homemade junk when it is working and I think "man i didn't pay hardley anything for this". On the other hand when I get into one of those streaks of bad luck where everything is falling apart and I have to do like hours of work on my junk to get it going so I can get it working to do what I set out to do in the first place i hate it all. I have days when I think about loading everything I own into my dump truck and takeing it down for steel scrap. But Then I think what would I do with all my time. LOL