C

CDBridgesRV7A

Active Member
I'm looking at buying the Porter Cable 6 Gal 0.8 HP Pancake Air Compressor. Max PSI is 150 psi. Is anyone using this? If so how has it been during your construction? Adequate?

Can anyone else recommend a good air compressor that is a great bang for the buck? Thanks

Cheers

Chris
 
Chris,

You could use that, but you won't like it. I started with a 15 gallon oil-less compressor and burned it out after a few hours. I would recommend an oil compressor with as large a tank as you can afford. The oil compressors are also A LOT quieter. You should also add a water separator to the outlet. I picked-up a used 20 gal. comp. for $80.
 
Cheap Compressors

That one will likely work fine. I'm using a 5 gallon Mastercraft one and it's nowhere near it's duty limit when riveting. Noisy, but I just put it outside and run a hose under the door to a regulator in the shop. It has lasted me well so far and shows no signs of quitting.
I'd recommend the Mastercraft 8 gallon one though. It's on sale right now at Canadian Tire and is a great price.

If you are worried about the noise, find a oil lubricated one. Makita and Dewalt make good compressors in the 4 to 5 gallon range and are much quieter, but more expensive. I've used the Makita 4.2 gallon compressor doing home reno work, and it will easily run a construction air nail gun all day long. Oil compressors will probably last twice as long, are half as loud, but are also twice the cost.
 
I have an old version of this with much bigger pumps.

IRduplex.jpg
 
If you are planning on using a drill motor get something bigger. I've got a 6 gallon Makita and it runs pretty much full time when I'm drilling, priming, and grinding. Riveting it runs quite a bit as well but not so bad. My squeezer seems to go forever without running the compressor. I got the Makita because I live in an apartment and I was looking for the best oiled compressor I could get and still run on 120v power with a decent CFM. In retrospect I wish I'd just gotten the 30 gallon upright from home depot.

As soon as I get settled into my new house I'm getting a real compressor that runs on 220v with a big tank. Hopefully a 2 stage. I really don't think you can get too big of a compressor.
 
I have a Campbell Hausfeld 20 gallon oil-lubricated compressor that's served well for 10 years now. Along with it I have a standalone 10 gallon air tank, that I plumb inline with the compressor for extra capacity when i'm going to be using the drills or die grinders for a significant amount of time. The 30 gallon capacity means the compressor doesn't cycle as often, and the oil-lubricated pump means I don't go deaf when it does.
 
economy

I have a 30 year old single stage 30gallon sears compressor in my build shop, works fine, I do go easy on it when doing a lot of courtersinking, like the spar screws or something like that. I just take a break and let it catch up and cool down. Other than that its fine. Now when it comes to painting, thats another story, I have a 60 gallon two stage 5hp compressor for that. It delivers enough for painting, but I think that is the minimum for spraying. Hope this helps.

bird
 
It will probably be fine for things like riveting and drilling but it will definitely not fly if you will be using a die grinder. I have a 30 gallon Kobalt compressor that I love but it still works it's butt off to keep up with the die grinder.
 
Keep an eye on Craigslist for a 60-gallon oiled unit. I just picked up a barely used Husky still on its pallet for cheap and without sales tax.

1252419652_C3Xd5-L.jpg


It is WAY quieter than my Craftsman oil-free 26-gallon compressor. Though, it does seem to take longer to build up pressure when it kicks on in Auto mode. I reckon at some point I might find a two-stage pump and motor to swap in, but I think this one works great for now.
 
LeeM_2000 said:
Keep an eye on Craigslist for a 60-gallon oiled unit. I just picked up a barely used Husky still on its pallet for cheap and without sales tax.

1252419652_C3Xd5-L.jpg


It is WAY quieter than my Craftsman oil-free 26-gallon compressor. Though, it does seem to take longer to build up pressure when it kicks on in Auto mode. I reckon at some point I might find a two-stage pump and motor to swap in, but I think this one works great for now.
Click to expand...

I have the exact same compressor, it is ideal for our shops (it is 220v) and is usually available at a reasonable price at Home Depot or Lowes. I bought mine new so don't want to hear what you paid...... :eek:
 
Get anything...

...but an oil-less compressor. I bought a 30 gal Craftsman which works as advertised but the noise drives me crazy and I had to put an oversize circuit breaker in the panel (which is against code out here) because of the startup draw which goes as high as 45 amps even though it's 15 continuous amps. It runs constantly when I have to use the die grinder or the drill motor a lot, riveting less so. I can't justify getting an oiled 220v compressor now but sure wish I had in the first place.
 
I was at Costco today. They had a 20gal Snap-On OILED compressor for $199.
Looked lik a good deal to me.
 
David, that seems to be my observation as well. No idea why, although the retailers say the same thing everyone does when you point out a canadian/us price difference... Higher volume in the states, so they get economies of scale that we don't in canada due to our smaller market.
 
Compressor

The porter cabel you are speaking of is great
for working a finish nail gun. That's about it.
No capacity. If your drilling with an air drill you need much
larger. Get an oil model. Save your ears.
 
Keep an eye on the classifieds. I got a used 30 gallon oiled 6hp compressor for 250. I wouldn't want much less cause it needs to really work to keep up to the drill.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.