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What's a nice, small compressor to get for tires and basic impact gun work?

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Originally posted by: T2urtle
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Oh I see that the wrench above requires 5 cfm of air and the compressors I noted don't even pull 1. Time to see what craigslist has and man-up for a large used one.
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QFT the number 1 criteria is how much air you can flow and what the tool needs.

I went with a Sears oil-less 26 gallon. It's was closer to $200 on sale with the same tools to get you started. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00916760000P

I also got a free 3/8" 50' hose / reel which is really good, free.

A two stage is WAY better but also about double the cost.

The one I picked is also decent for noise. A lot of oil-less are loud as hell. This one wasn't so bad.
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what kind of deal made it 200$, the lowest i've ever see in ads were about $250.

that compressor has my name on it. i've been itching to try it out. are there any negatives to this compressor?
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Yeah that's a good price. I see that Lowes has a Kobalt 26 G oil-less with hose and a 6 tool kit for $299. The impact wrench isn't a super heavy duty. For $199 they have a 17 G with 25' 3/8" hose and blower and a few attachments, which isn't bad if a person threw on a stronger impact wrench from elsewhere. Still, that craftsman is a great price.
 
the kobalt and the craftsman might be from the same makers... they generally do that. but i do like the hassle free warranty sears normally gives me. they take returns most of the time no questions asked.
 
Originally posted by: T2urtle
the kobalt and the craftsman might be from the same makers... they generally do that. but i do like the hassle free warranty sears normally gives me. they take returns most of the time no questions asked.
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I know some Craftsman compressors are made by Devilbiss.

Mine is, and the pumps are notorious for going bad. Mine didn't even run a hour before it died.
I've seen an identical compressor to mine somewhere....Home Depot, I think. It was red, I believe, but otherwise the exact same unit. Not sure about Kobalt, though...aren't they Lowe's?
 
Originally posted by: T2urtle

what kind of deal made it 200$, the lowest i've ever see in ads were about $250.

that compressor has my name on it. i've been itching to try it out. are there any negatives to this compressor?
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It was Craftsman Clubed and I think I had a coupon for sears compressors. I was buying my pressure washer at the time and I couldn't pass up the deal. I don't think it was $200 though, it was a lot closer to $200 though then the price now. May have been around $250. The free $50 hose reel made it an even better deal though.

The disadvantages are it's not going to run air-hungry tools like sanders and blasters...but even spending double I probably wouldn't be able to either.

In the last Craftsman club flyer they had their top table saw for $800...it's a very good saw for that price. Couldn't do it though 🙂
 
i just picked it up for 280$. i know its been clubed a couple of times, aleast i think so.

i just picked it up to give it a try. honestly i really do like this a lot. i did front brakes today and rotated the tires, compressor only kicked on twice. Its really quiet. I'm debating on if i should keep it and get the 3 year warranty or return it and wait for it to go on sale, I dont plan on working on cars over the winter time. If someone recalls the average sale/club price on this it would be great.

i figure its $300. generall speaking i know 10% off all compressors sales seem to happen monthly. so 270$, if i can ebay those tools for 25$ that should bring be down to $250
 
Originally posted by: T2urtle
i just picked it up for 280$. i know its been clubed a couple of times, aleast i think so.

i just picked it up to give it a try. honestly i really do like this a lot. i did front brakes today and rotated the tires, compressor only kicked on twice. Its really quiet. I'm debating on if i should keep it and get the 3 year warranty or return it and wait for it to go on sale, I dont plan on working on cars over the winter time. If someone recalls the average sale/club price on this it would be great.

i figure its $300. generall speaking i know 10% off all compressors sales seem to happen monthly. so 270$, if i can ebay those tools for 25$ that should bring be down to $250
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Don't return it now just so you can buy it on sale later...that kind of shit fucks up prices for everyone, esp over a freaking lousy $10.

 
its not over 10$.. i relly dont care about the $10.. but if i paid $280 and if it goes for $250 every 2 months i'll gladly return it because that $30 is pretty much the 3 year warranty. it was an impulse buy i had today.
 
T2turtle you got the craftsman?

There are no good compressors used locally and my friend's 13gallon that's 8 years old just isn't tickling my fancy right now. I'm thinking of going to harborfreight but honestly I'm leaning to te 26 gallon kobalt with the 6 tools. I do know I may have to upgrade its wrench for another $50, though, but the alternative is the 17G and a very nice wrench on top of it, which would cost the same, but no extra tools (not that I'll ever use an air hammer or die grinder).
 
Originally posted by: T2urtle
its not over 10$.. i relly dont care about the $10.. but if i paid $280 and if it goes for $250 every 2 months i'll gladly return it because that $30 is pretty much the 3 year warranty. it was an impulse buy i had today.
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still don't return it to re buy it...this just makes pricing higher.

You had read this thread prior to buying, the rest of us consumers aren't out here to finance others milking the system.

If it's that important talk to the manager and let them know you were told you should have waited for a sale on these. They can probably to it for the $30 off to avoid a return they will lose much more on.
 
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Oh I see that the wrench above requires 5 cfm of air and the compressors I noted don't even pull 1. Time to see what craigslist has and man-up for a large used one.
Click to expand...

Don't always rely on what the compressor and tool states in terms of usage and supply also. I bought a 8 gallon compressor rated at 8.5CFM and my impact uses 5.5CFM so in theory, the compressor could run the impact continuously. This was not the case, it would remove about 2 lug nuts and I had to wait for the tank to fill, 2 more, etc...

My only recommendation is to get a good one the first time. I got an 80 gallon (which is overkill) but I got a deal on it. Impacts can use a LOT of air when removing stubborn fasteners. Go for volume!
 
Would a small spray gun--really small, like for models--work well with these? I can tell te oiless don't last as long as oiled but people say the oiled get oil on your projects--no problem if working on a car, but definitely a problem getting it onto a model or mixed in with water based paint. I suppose that oiled 15 gallon brute from walmart is still attractive...
 
I briefly looked at electric impacts but it appears that a couple hundred bucks is needed to get one with some good torque and it still won't match a solid air tool.
 
For models these kinds of compressors are overkill. I don't think oiled units throw oil into the lines...there are oilers you attach to the lines that do keep tools lubed. If you have a line that's ever been attached to an oiler you cannot use it for any kind of painting reliably.

A small spray gun hardly uses any air at all.

Electric impacts don't compare usually to their air brothers. However a good electric would probably out perform a crappy pneumatic.

Personally a good 18" to 24" breaker bar should work for 90% of anyone's needs...if it doesn't adding a 36" piece of pipe to it (or longer) will work wonders and provide the feedback of knowing whether the bolt is moving or will snap.

Absolutely never use an impact to start a fastener...I know it may sound obvious, but many don't realize this and end up fuxoring a component.

My neighbor is a body guy, he has a freaking bad ass compressor in it's own little room attached to his garage which he has plumbed for various air needs. He laughed a bit about my Sears compressor but at the same time has his own cheap pancake for doing finish nailing inside places. If I end up using my compressor more I may upgrade. Right now it's pretty much going to speed my fascia replacement, tire inflating, and blowing off things in the workshop.
 
I went to harbor freight tonight and bought this. It was quite a bit smaller than I had intended, but when I got there the thing just seemed to be calling my name. The website lists it at $190 but the store had it at $175, down at $129 since it was on sale. When I got to the register there was 15% off, so it was about $110, which also brought its protection plan price down, so in the end I have three year replacement on it for $130. Its tank is small but I was attracted by the oil lubrication (noise and power) and it puts out quite a bit of air, so though the tank isn't huge the compressor seems pretty good. I can bring it back for a beefier one if this doesn't satisfy.

I got the $59 425 ft lb impact wrench. I had the earthquake in my cart but it was $100. I got a $10 (!) 9 (or is it 11) piece impact socket set and a $15 torque wrench. Some of the tools in there are criminally cheap. Went with a 3/8" hose.

Anyway all this said, are there any bolts I should not use this on and hand undo? I wonder are there case in which a bolt is likely to just snap or break with an impact wrench and a hand tool gently torqued up to slipping point wouldn't have busted it?
 
There is not real answer on what not to use an impact one other than if the fastener is 5/8" or under I'd really not try it. With a hand tool you can generally tell pretty quickly if it's not budging and to apply heat, pb buster, etc...impact it usually comes off the right way or the wrong way 🙂

Usually with lug nuts it's hard to mess up if you are using it to remove them...you can hand start them and then spin them down with the impact, but I'd personally hand torque each. The best wheel shops do it this way only as well. An impacted lug can dig right into a non-steel wheel pretty easy.
 
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Usually with lug nuts it's hard to mess up if you are using it to remove them...you can hand start them and then spin them down with the impact, but I'd personally hand torque each. The best wheel shops do it this way only as well. An impacted lug can dig right into a non-steel wheel pretty easy.
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I broken a tool and at least one wheel stud taking off lugs that I can only presume were tightened with an impact wrench at a shop :|. I would like some torque sticks but they were pretty pricey.

 
I got this setup tonight. It undid a test lug on my car far easier than I'd thought it would.

At 115 psi, when it cuts off, it gradually loses pressure, I'd say in three minutes it was down to 112 or so. I assume this is normal. I heard no leaking in the quick-connect from the tank that I put on, but one on the end of one of my hoses leaks very gently, though I doubt to an extent it would actually impact use at all.

This particular thing cranks up fast! I was expecting long fill times but I think it went from 0-115 PSI in under two minutes. It's quite loud but I have nothing to compare it to besides a $20 tire-compressor which I'd say is almost as loud as this.
 
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