Portable Air Compressor Ideas

I'm looking to purchase a small air compressor for blowing out air filters and cleaning saws and the like. What do you kids recommend? I know little about them, like pancake, no pancake oilless and so on.

 

About all the small compressors (pancake and the like) will be oilless (noisy, cheap). But for what you're doing with it, will be fine. I have a tankless portable that works great for pumping up tires but they're no good for using a blower.

 

I just bought one.

Merry Christmas to me!

Other than verifying it works. I haven’t really used it yet.

 

I can tell you that you'll want a bigger tank capacity than the 2.5 gallon one I have. My dad had a 5-6 Gallon pancake one that had a lot more power/ capacity and just does a lot more for only a little more size. Probably a bit more money, but worth it. Trying to use the air gun for blowing off the saw with the 2.5 gallon one is tedious.

I'll probably take that one and swap my smaller 2.5 gallon so there's still a compressor up north.

 

I'm not sure what you think about this- Ryobi air compressor

To each their own, and I know guys tend to love the tools they have. I'm no different. LOL.

I bought a few little Ryobi battery powered tools back when I bought my house when I was 31 and on pretty limited funds. I got criticized by the guys I worked with for "how crappy Ryobi was" that it was "chinese junk" and that I basically was using kids toys.
There has not been a single task I tried to accomplish with these tools that I got left high and dry on. In the years I've had them I've replaced saw blades and upgraded to the 6amp hour batteries but other than that- everything has worked perfectly.

 

Whatever you get, Ralph. Stay away from the coiled-up, spring loaded hose!!

 

If you are going to buy a small portable compressor, get an oil lubricated one (with a crankcase), not an oil less. The oil lubed ones last much longer and aren't effected by the heat of compressing the air. Far as pancake versus a tank, your choice but keep in mind, the larger the tank (air receiver), the more air you have available before the pump starts again. Oil less compressors use a plastic or aluminum piston and they spin fast and fast equals short life.

Far as hoses go, I use coiled (in the shop) and straight everywhere else. I have little need for air away from the shop and if I need it outside, I have a 150 foot air line on a reel inside on the wall and it's usually plenty long enough.

I have serious air compressors in the shop because I use serious air. Have a Sullaire screw compressor with a 10 horse Quincy QP vertical reciprocating compressor as a backup and 2 300 gallon air receivers. The whole shop is plumbed in 1.5" black iron pipe with 3/4" drops to the quick disconnect air fittings and all the air goes through a refrigerated dryer first. Condensation is the enemy of all air tools. Way more than you'll ever need but then I have a CNC plasma table and that alone is an air hog.

 

I bought a Porter Cable pancake compressor and it works great. I got it with a finish nailer, which I gave away. Works great for cleaning my saws and bars and keeping tires inflated. I think it is a 6 gallon unit.

 

Have had a porter cable unit for 10 years. Still ticking. Everything from blowing up tires to running the nail gun off 150’ extension.

 

Personally, I like a quieter compressor. My portable ones are Makita. I have the twin stack Mac2400 in the garage and it keeps up alright with blowing out chainsaws and such. It is probably 70 pounds and awkward to carry, but still portable. It is oil lubed and quiet compared to some in its size range. In the 14 years that I have owned it, it hasn’t missed a beat. I also have a little 1 gallon oil less Makita that will run a trim nailer, but is not great for much blowing. It is super quiet and lightweight, though.

 

For light duty like that it honestly won't take much of a compressor to do the job...anything in particular catching your eye around there Ralphie?

 

I have lots of Milwaukee tools. This fits in my truck box and is a very nice compressor.

 

Looking at this from the big 'A'
Makita MAC2400 2.5 HP Big Bore Air Compressor

 

That would certainly do it! Probably a lil more machine than you really need from what you described...but nothing wrong with that if that's what you want! Better than buying junk over n over!

 

That sure is a nice one. They don't give them away do they.

 

Ain't nobody rides fo free!

 

As a rule, direct drive (motor coupled) oil less compressors are way more noisy that one with a crankcase even if the oil bath compressor is direct coupled.

Like I said, oil less compressor life is always much shorter than a oil lubed model simply because of the design. The two things that 'eat up' a oil less compressor is piston failure (because most use a plastic piston not metal) and reed valve failure from carbon built up and most of them have small air tanks (receiver's) so they cycle constantly. My big Quincy QP has pressure lubrication and the compressor life is 5000 hours continuous duty, same with the Sullaire but you ain't toting either one around anywhere. For in the truck, I use a Campbell Hausfield tank unit with a direct couple oil lubed compressor head. It has to be 15 years old and still runs just fine and I can run it off my portable genny too.

The one thing that kills any compressor before it's time is condensation in the tank/receiver. They have to be drained regularly. When you compress air, you lower the dew point and the hot compressed air contacting the colder tank surface causes water droplets to form and collect in the bottom and the inside of the air tank is uncoated steel so it corrodes and eventually a pin hole forms.

I use electrically timed drains on my big compressors that drain the condensation a couple times a day. I don't need receiver failure, neither do you.

 

I agree with shorter life but for most of us the oil less compressor will last a lifetime. Oiled will last 2 lifetimes.

I have owned and used the same 99$ pancake compressor, the tank is still there it's just shaped like a pancake, oilless for about 10 years. It owes me nothing. Yes, it's loud but works great. Runs roofing nailers, framing nailers, finish nailers, paint guns, impact gun for lug nuts etc. Most normal things including blowing out saws and it plugs into a normal 120 volt outlet.

If an oilless air compressor tips over because you pull on the hose too hard, it doesn't dump oil out or hurt anything. Or even if it tips over in transit, can that hurt an oiled compressor or make a mess?

 

I have to agree with corncob and get a compressor with oil and a crankcase. They do last longer. Get one a little bigger than you think you will need. You will not regret that either.

 

fair statement Highbeam but most pancake ones are not that light to begin with. I believe HF sells an oil lubed pancake one as well. We all know where it's made but today most things are...

With oil less it all depends on how hard you use them as to the lifetime. Most have an issue shedding the heat that comes with compression and those plastic pistons don't stand up well to heat. For intermittent use, probably good. For hard use, not so good and when they poop out, you are pretty much out of luck and time for a new one.