Hey there everyone, i am looking to buy an air compressor, the tools i am looking at have a cfm of 4.5 so would a air compressor that is 4.5 cfm @ 90psi work? it is 2hp and 8 gallons. help pleaseeee, i wanna go get soon if it will work.
Hey there everyone, i am looking to buy an air compressor, the tools i am looking at have a cfm of 4.5 so would a air compressor that is 4.5 cfm @ 90psi work? it is 2hp and 8 gallons. help pleaseeee, i wanna go get soon if it will work.
What tools? A small compressor will work for impact wrenches, air wrenches, nailers, and the like. If you want to use a die grinder, then you might find yourself waiting for the compressor to catch up fairly often. Forget using a DA sander, sandblaster or similar.
sweet, I was gonna get a impact rachet and air wrench. :D thanks!
8 gallons is pretty small, 4.5 CFM is pretty low too. It'll run an impact, heck I've used my little Porter Cable pancake for an impact in a pinch, but you will constantly be waiting on the compressor to catch up and fill the tank with enough air to use the tools. I'd be searching for larger capacity air tank at a minimum, more CFM, and I'd stay away from any & all oilless compressors, been down that road, never again.
The air compressor says i need a bunch of accessories, dont i just need the compressor hose and tool? also the impact wrench suggests a 1/2" hose, would it be bad to use a 3/8's ?
20 gallon, 200 psi tank, 3.7 scfm. These are on sale from time to time at Lowes. Most home compressors are 150psi and 10 - 15 gallon tanks, so this is kinda the best home unit you can get before you cross over to pro units. It has never let me down, even with sanders and grinders, but I am not doing all-day body work either.
Compressor air flow is rated using a duty cycle. A 4.5CFM compressor will be too small to run 4.5CFM tools continuously.
Also, It is worth throwing in you should buy the largest compressor you can afford. I cant tell you how many friends have bought small(ish) compressors that fit their needs only to upgrade to a 60 gallon or more later on...
Just food for thought
What pressure is the tool 4.5 CFM rated at?
Edward Grey wrote: You should buy a compressor that has the CFM (cubic feet per minute) capacity to drive the air tools you want to use.The brief rundown of compressors tells you the capacity you need for various tools which is very important.
This isn't quite true. You'll find a couple things when you shop for a compressor. One is that the CFM rating is at some duty cycle. This means that if it's rated for 4.5CFM, and it's duty cycle is 70, then it can keep up with a 4.5cfm air tool that is operated 70% of the time, not 100%. So if your tool is an impact wrench, then that should be fine. But if it's a sandblaster, you will find that it will not keep up.
The second thing is that cheaper air compressors, like those found in big box stores do not actually put out the airflow they claim they do. They also many times use smaller motors and overdrive the pumps to be able to put a higher power rating on them than they really should. These compressors wear out faster than if they were run at the appropriate speed.
After working in a test lab that tested compressors, I quickly came to the conclusion that this is one item that its best to buy the highest quality unit you can afford. I bought a Quincy compressor about 12 years ago. I fully expect that it will go to one of my sons when I die. It was expensive, but its also a much better value than buying multiple cheap compressors.
Get something with a oiled pump, preferably belt drive, much quieter.
My vote, get the biggest you can afford, buy used if needed to get a good one. I used a little 2hp for years because that was what I could afford, but there is nothing worse than waiting for a compressor to build up pressure. Any kind of media blasting was pure misery and a fast tire change would leave it gasping.
I picked up a 1971 Quincy for $400 and put another $500 in it with a new 5hp motor and some gaskets and valve parts. It is by far the best compressor I have ever used. A fast tire change won't even make it cycle and it will make air faster then my sandblaster will use it. It ran in a Western Auto tire center from 1971 until they went out of business in the 80s, but with a little maintenance, it will outlast me and probably my kids. Linky to the build thread.
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