Air compressor for blasting recommendations

[Spotshooter]

If you happen to have run across one brand you thought was quieter than another chime in.

The last couple (LOL) of things I needed to finish my shop gear was a blasting cabinet and large compressor to run it.

I like ingersol given we’ve used them for years on the farm... but I’m always open to recommendations.

 

[spitfire_er]

Ide get the biggest largest CFM you can afford, put it in another room or soundproof box. Have a second or third auxiliary tank for volume.

I've heard IR's are nice. Had a smaller Quincy compressor in the past that always worked well. I rebuilt it once and sold it during a move.

 

[carlsbad]

I'm not familiar with all the newest air compressors on the market. I think a lot of them claim to be quieter than they really are.

Traditional wisdom is a low rpm, 2 piston, cast iron air compressor will be quieter. The 3500 rpm pancake compressors that sears sole a zillion of are the loudest.

I've noticed a company called California Air Products that has a line that they claim are very quiet and I've been wanting to find one to listen to.

-Jerry

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Speedaire or IR will be best unless you get into stuff like on demand screw compressors and such. Oil free compressors are the loud ones. I have a napa one right now and its been a good one. Go in and deal on one. I got a lot off the sticker on mine and put it down in the craftsman price range

 

[Gun Smith]

"Ide get the biggest largest CFM you can afford, put it in another room or soundproof box." - quote spitfire_er

Best advice ever!

 

[Riesel]

I have an old Sears Piston and a Harbor Freight large 10 gallon oil free screamer. I yoke these two together and get good volume and pressure. I wear hearing protection while running.
I have to stay on top of the Sears as the shutoff died years ago.

Blasting is not a fun chore but sometimes it is the only way to get a job done right.

 

[akajun]

Depends on your budget and cfms your gonna need.
I have an ir 3 hp 60 gal
Good machine but a lot of blasting will drain it quick. A type 30 with more cfm would be better.
Quincy and champion are both good brands as well but again both have budget models.

 

[Evlshnngns]

I have an older 60 gallon belair that is nice, 5hp, 15.8cfm. It works for a one man autobody shop. I'm piecing this one together, its huge.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/EMAX-In...-Electric-Air-Compressor-HI07V080V1/204353724

 

[Mudcat]

Been running an 80gal 5HP IR that I bought from Tractor Supply when they had them on sale for less than a grand. We bolted it to the pallet it was shipped on, stuck it in the corner then a friend ran copper lines all through the garage and into the machine shop. We have run a good bit of stuff on it over the last couple years and it has never had a bit of trouble keeping up...even with the blast cabinet running. My other option was the Quincy but I could never catch them on sale at the right time. But I dont think i would be disappointed with one of those either.

 

[Bc'z]

Check into a screw machine and dryer,
Most body shops are converting to these from standard pump compressors. You wont suffer line drop from running more equipment at same time.
The dryer will save you from worn out tools from moisture in the lines

 

[johnfred1965]

Check into a screw machine and dryer,
Most body shops are converting to these from standard pump compressors. You wont suffer line drop from running more equipment at same time.
The dryer will save you from worn out tools from moisture in the lines

What he said! Look up the Eastwood Elite QST, quiet and high volume. Not cheap though!!

 

[AckleymanII]

I bought the Scat Cat blasting cabinet first second hand for cheap money , then looked at the CFM requirments. I need a three phase large compressor to run this 32" blasing cabinet.

Prudent to keep these blasting cabinets out of the same room as the lathe and milling machine are in if you can.

 

[ebb]

My boss talked me into trying a Kaser rotary screw type compressor , I have used a bunch of compressors over the years and this is the quietest by far. It was rated to produce more cubic feet per minute than all of the 5 HP piston compressors I looked at. It used less power. The only thing I didn't like was it was in a box of its own and not mounted to the top of the storage tank, so in my case it used more floor space.

 

[tobnpr]

Only thing I use compressed air for is blowing chips and AlOx blasting for Cerakote.
I get by with a couple of Dewalts I've had forever chained together, and a large tank in addition.
A big ass tank can make up for borderline CFM in the short term, I'd rather buy mo tooling than spend four figures on a compressor

 

[Dusty Stevens]

If you gotta blast a bunch just take a break.

 

[Spotshooter]

Yes sir - I’m getting a Scat Kat blasting cabinet .. and I’ll probably put in outside the lathe room as well.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I got a scat blast. Works good. Finally had to put a new glass in it this year.

 

[Jesse Gietzen]

talking portable diesel models, not shop compressors.

my direct experience is limited to two brands, kaeser and ir. my last boss has a thing for kaeser. i think we were using a 210 cfm m58 model and replaced it with another after user error damaged the engine. we used a few ir rentals. the kaesers were nice but had a smaller engine and had to run a little hotter. the ingersoll-rand with more displacement felt like it was running at load closer to an idle. the blasting was smoother and we actually used a lot less diesel with the bigger motor. (this is the only meat and potatoes part of this post.)

we were using a huge blast tent with the compressor right outside it. knowing what i know now, i would keep the compressor as far away from the blast media as possible. we had some get in the engine. not the compressor's fault, oil fill cap was not replaced after a top off. so we got our cylinders custom lapped with copper slag.

end result: increased velocity, less jacket failure, and smaller groups. this performance boost cost us about ten grand for a new compressor, though.

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

There are air compressors and then there are real air compressors. For small work, most 5 HP compressors will be fine, but you will need a high capacity tank. For big jobs, air capacity is a big factor. Most small shops and especially home shops, don't have the room for large tanks and will require a different style of compressor, than that you find at Home Depot.

I restore Wheel Horse Garden Tractors. I sandblast every usable part to bare metal when doing this. Sometimes I am sandblasting for several hours at a time. Having to wait for pressure to build up drags the time required to do a tractor hood twice as long as it should.

There are two types of compressors. Single stage and two stage. The two stage compressor pumps air on both the down stroke and the up stroke and will keep the air pressure at a more constant level. In theory this will produce twice the amount of air as the single stage unit.

Also there are two types of 5 hp motors. Two phase and three phase. While some will tell you that both produce the same horsepower, this is not true.

I can't see a gunsmith needing all this added capacity so I would estimate a single phase compressor with a 60 gallon tank will suffice. You are going to use it a lot so you can invest less money in it.

 

[Danny1788]

I use a sears 6HP 60gal tank they don’t make them 6HP anymore. But I’ve rebuilt it once and I run 80-100psi with my blasting cabinet. Yes It’s loud but it works well and I don’t blast every day. I have a small air dryer on it.

But I’d really like to upgrade it to a better dryer any recommendations on air dryers?