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Prepare to be scared...
I told myself I would use my existing compressor until it died. I'm halfway through the wings and it hasn't died yet. I got it at Big Lots for $79.99, it's a 6Gal oil lubricated compressor, and I plumbed in my portable 10Gal tank ($39.99) with about 10 bucks in hardware. That gives me 16Gal for $130...I wouldn't paint a plane with it, but the drill, die grinder, and rivet gun run great and it's pretty quiet. If you already have a small compressor like I did, don't be afraid to get to work.
-Anonymous (afraid to admit that I am compressor challenged!!) |
The Craftsman PROFESSIONAL 25 Gal horizontal OIL LUBE is the only way to go if your looking at craftsman. I used one for quite awhile and loved it. I wish sears would get their act together an make that oil pump on one of their 33gal tanks, that would ROCK! I don't have 220v in the hanger I build in, so that isn't an option. You might want to consider that once you move to the airport you might not have 220V.
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1. Look at the cfm rating of the tools you will use & size the compressor for that. The die grinder is a real air hog, so unless you plan to paint your plane yourself, it may be the one to size your compressor for.
2. Noise! As several have said, noise is an issue. And the bigger the compressor, the louder, but there are differences from brand to brand. One of our chapter members has a real quiet one, about 30 gal.; I'll ask him what make/model & cfm rating it is & get back. If you end up with a noisey one & want to insulate it, check the heat in your cabinet; see Dan Checkoway's site to see how he handled heat. I have a 5 hp Eagle (made in Canada) & it delivers 12 cfm at 90 psi. Good unit, but it is loud. |
I talked with my friend with the quiet compressor. It's a Craftsman Professional, 6 hp, 150 psi, 25 gal. tank. May not be as quiet as I remembered, but it's quiet compared to mine.
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Both the oil lube and oil free craftsman professonal are very quiet, and are rated quite well on the CFM for their size and HP. What i'm not sure about is their duty cycle rating. I know the expensive ones like Ingersol Rand are rated at 100% duty life, which means they are rated to run 60 minutes out of every hour.
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I bought the auto-drain valve from harbor freight. Don't do it. IT IS JUNK. The plastic hose is only rated at 100#. IT WILL blow at exactly 100#, I KNOW. I replaced it with al. tubing. Then, the valve gave out and started continuously blowing down my compressor. Stop work on the RV, remove all of the drain valve stuff, put it back the way it was, experiment over with.
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I like my oiless
I got a Sears 33 gallon horizontal oiless...Fully expecting it to die part way thru the project and to replace it under warranty. (it was the so called 5.5 HP on 115volts...Do the math and there is no way it runs at 5.5 HP on a 20 amp circuit).
To my surprise its been superb, and I did all the spraying with it afterwards. Never gave me a hint of trouble...still works great. Of course the big benefit of the oil free is you can use it to drive your own homemade breathing air system and be sure of no oil in your paint (or your lungs) which is critical. The thing is noisy but my location on 5 acres allowed me to put it in a back room with a door open to the outside. Frank N484H.....flying 2.8 hours...hey these things are pretty fast...:) |
Harbor Freight Auto Drain Valve
Alton is right! The plastic tubing provided with the Harbor Freight Automatic Drain Valve fails at 100 psi. I replaced mine with copper tubing (and new fittings). The copper tubing and fittings are probably worth more than what I paid for my valve. However, the valve I installed has worked well for over two years. If you get any contaminant to the innards of the valve, like dirt, grit, etc., the valve won't seal. I'm not sure I would buy another H-F unit, but it does keep the water drained from my tank. YMMV.
Don P.S. Another contaminant which is often overlooked is Teflon pipe tape. You should NOT use Teflon tape on piping or fittings which are connected in a pneumatic system with any kind of valves installed. (Isn't that all of them?) Use pipe dope or liquid pipe thread sealant instead. |
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