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SvingenB

Well Known Member
I wonder what the minimal size of a compressor for the air rivet tool must be. Will 50 liters be enough (with 2-3 hp)? or too much? It seems that all larger compressors have 3 phase motors, and that will need a rewiring in my house, and i don't want that.

Thanks
 
I built my whole airplane with a 2.5 hp with a 30 gal. tank. The samller the hp the bigger the tank needs to be.
 
A friend has built his entire RV-10 with a small 4 Gallon Electric Hand Carry Compressor like this one from DeWalt.

He did use cordless drills for all the drilling but that little compressor worked great for riveting.

That said, I used a 5 HP belt drive, two cylinder, 35 gallon, 110 V compressor. The only downside of that thing is it is a bit small for painting.
 
I have been using a small compressor, too, and it has been ok. It runs a lot when I use the air drill, but it has been able to keep up. It is a bit loud, and I had thought of buying a new, larger compressor, but since the little guy keeps up, I guess I will keep using it. But, if you don't already have a compressor, you may as well invest in a good one.
 
Standard Cubic Feet per Minute (SCFM) is really what you should be looking for in a compressor.

I looked for one with greater than 10 SCFM @ 90 psi that was 220V, no rewiring required.
 
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do you want to paint it also?

if so you will likely want a 5 hp with a 60-80 gallon tank. i have painted cars with a 3 hp 20 gallon tank but it runs the compressor ragged. any will work for riveting and drilling. but the smaller ones have a rough time with air tools you may find yourself using on cars. yes they will run them but not very well.
this one is similar to mine. http://www.devap.com/products/view.asp?i=E7540
the direct drive oiless compressors are short lived units in the industrial world.
not to mention noisy as ****.
i know mine is a touch overkill but more is better for the work i do.
minimum for me would be 3 hp 20 gallon tank 120 volt.
 
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DON'T USE HP RATINGS!

They are false and misleading. 5 hp on 110volts? I don't think so. Do the math. You might get 1 hp out of 110v. I haven't done the calculations for a while, but as I remember 1 hp equals about 15 amps at 110 volts.
Look for CFM ratings. My compressor is 5 hp, 18 cfm at 175 psi.
 
My 60 Gal. compressor is one of those standups from Lowes. 3.5 running HP on single phase 240V.
Says 7 HP peak on the label.

10.8 SCRM at 90psi
12.2 SCRM at 40psi.

I originally completed almost the entire plane with a smaller 30 gallon, that said 3 HP, although that is probably mis-leading as noted in other replies.

The newer 60 gallon was for painting, and did just fine. Works a lot better for tools such as die-grinders too! :D

Home Depot also has plenty of compressors that compare with the size of mine, or larger.

L.Adamson
 
Ok, thanks.

I ended up with a 280 sl/min (@ 10 bar), 2 KW belt drive unit. I have no plans doing the painting myself. It should be enough for a rivet gun and other tools.
 
QUIET!

Excepting painting-

you can use a pretty small single tank portable compressor like those used on residential construction sites (air guns).

BUT-

get a larger belt drive- they are SOOOO much quieter and you will be spending A LOT of time in the shop.

It also helps because it's hard to hear your bucking partner (like for wings and fuse) with a loud compressor.

and what about all the great music you'll be missing...
 
2-STAGE

The main factor of noise is 2-stage. These compressors are about 1/2 the noise of single stage compressors. They also run slower and last longer.
 
Mel said:
The main factor of noise is 2-stage. These compressors are about 1/2 the noise of single stage compressors. They also run slower and last longer.
Click to expand...

But at nearly twice the cost. I went with an oiled single stage and the few times it comes on, I can deal with the noise. I have had oil-less compressors and now oiled single stage, and have worked with dual stage and even screw type. If I had it my way, I'd have a Kaeser screw type with a dryer - very quiet, but $$$ :D

jcmcdowell said:
and what about all the great music you'll be missing...
Click to expand...

How does ANYONE work on their airplane without jamming out to some tunes? :)
 
I can't say I've driven thousands of rivets, but I've found in-ear monitor type earbuds to do a great job of simultaneously providing hearing protection (about 20db) and providing tunes. To get maximum hearing protection and comfort, you need to get custom ear molds made - not that difficult, but certainly not free - your local audiologist should be able to do them or point you in the right direction. If they work for F1 drivers with their heads just inches from V8 and V10 engines revving to 19,000 RPM+, they'll work for me banging rivets. ;)

TODR
 
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