Sorry about the silly question but I've very little knowledge about these and I'm hoping you can help. I'm thinking of buying a 240v compressor but not sure which one. (I would like to use it for soda/sand blasting and painting.) Would I need a oil free compressor for painting?
Does not need to be oil free to paint tbh buy the biggest you can afford. Ive got a clake 2hp jobbie with 50 litre recever and that just about copes with spraying but still needs to refill every few mins
It's litres/min you should concentrate on. Even a large tank with loose pressure fast when you use it and from that point on your effectively running on the pump, not the tank. I found it best to buy two cheap 50L compressors and link them together, that way I have 18l/min and 100l tank much cheaper than 1 compressor of similar spec. Also they're small to move about and if I just need 1 I can use just the one. And even better one for spray gun and one for air-fed mask.
I bought a 3hp Wolf compressor same as item 280929534897 on ebay. I also bought a small Devilbiss spray gun same as item 110722127921 . They work together very well. Spraying my van has come out a treat as its my first time . Take a look here http://vwt2bay.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=168858242 at my ( minor ) rebuild The compressor will run a rattle gun but not for long and you will need to remove the valve that adjust the air pressure or the rattle gun will not get full pressure. To shot blast you need serious amounts of air, almost like having the hose connected to nothing and it all escaping. The shultz guns for stone chipping etc work very well also but they don't need much air. Good luck choosing
Thanks for the info.. How do you link two compressors together? (Y shape connector on the air pipe or by joining them together at the cylinder?)
I've seen a wolf dakota 90lt 3hp 14cfm on ebay for £240.. Never heard of wolf so wasn't sure if they were any good?
I'm well pleased with mine. Ive sprayed the inside, outside, stone chipped, always use it to pump tyres up etc. It has done well. I don't know how long it would last as a commercial tool but not why I bought it. If I had a garage I would of bought a Clarke industrial or similar for £6 -700 Thats the one I bought
Linking - I just have Y-piece on one output with one linked to other and one to tool. If you do some serious air-use stuff like DA sanding etc both kick in. I bought Sealey Direct drive 3HP compressors like these for just over £200 each. Sealey ain't great, but they are reasonable and cheap. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEALEY-Compressor-50ltr-Direct-Drive-3hp-SAC05030-/380330641412?pt=UK_Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item588d790804 For me I wanted seperate air-fed and paint gun supplies so neither was compromised + increased compressor power for the type of air tools that get used continuously. Before that I had a large 200Ltre belt driven Clarke thing but it couldn't keep up with a DA and I fancied a new one (as I was going to breath through it).
Incidently if you use 1/4 bore hose, common for the smaller set up, try and avoid a long run between the air bottles and the air tool. A run of 10M can produce quite a pressure/volume reduction at the point of delivery. If its critical then a combined regulator/water trap at the delivery end is useful in indicating what you are actualy getting and the water trap picks up any condensation produced.
