Got A Compressor

[DaveH]

Ed,
Every time you pick up the air hose put on your safety glasses, the first time you don't something will end up in your eye.
 
DaveH

[EdK]

Already got that covered Dave. I do it religiously when in the shop.

Ed

[DaveH]

DaveH

[stevec]

I got "lucky" 35 years ago when it was determined I needed glasses for my sight. Prior to that my boss was always nagging me to put on my safety glasses. My safety glasses have been on my face ever since.

[rleete]

I have been looking for a small shop compressor for a while now. The problem with most of the small ones is that they're so damn noisy.

I'd be interested to hear how this one is, and if you think it's tolerable for inside. Would you consider using it when the wife is asleep upstairs? Would it startle you if it turned on while you were in the middle of something?

[mfletch]

I Made a small shed like structure and put the compressor in there you can hardly hear it running

[arvidj]

(01-24-2015, 05:13 PM)EdK Wrote: I ran it through the break-in process per the manual and the two spots circled in red in the picture got hot enough so I couldn't hold my hand on them. I'm assuming this is normal for compressors but just wanted to verify that. One point is at the fitting where the air exits the cylinder head and the other point is where it enters the tank. The line that connects the two has fins on it so I'm assuming they are expecting that line to get hot along with the two points of concern.

Ed

Ed,

As a point of reference I've measured the temperature of the pipe that goes from the second stage of the compressor to the cooler with my infrared heat measurement gun\thingie and it is about 230F going in. Its about 90F coming out but I, like you, found the high temperature to be more than I was expecting.

Arvid  

[EdK]

(01-26-2015, 12:40 PM)rleete Wrote: I have been looking for a small shop compressor for a while now.  The problem with most of the small ones is that they're so damn noisy.

I'd be interested to hear how this one is, and if you think it's tolerable for inside.  Would you consider using it when the wife is asleep upstairs?  Would it startle you if it turned on while you were in the middle of something?

It's a pretty quite compressor. The reviews all stated they thought it was much quieter than they expected. I have it in the basement next to my mill for now and when it kicks in it's not so loud that I feel I need to wear hearing protection and I'm a guy who wears hearing protection to mow the lawn.

If I had a wife, I'd not run it if she was sleeping directly above where the compressor was. If the compressor was in the basement and she was sleeping on the upper floor of a 2-story house, then I would run it.

Hope this helps.

Ed

[EdK]

(01-26-2015, 02:10 PM)arvidj Wrote:

(01-24-2015, 05:13 PM)EdK Wrote: I ran it through the break-in process per the manual and the two spots circled in red in the picture got hot enough so I couldn't hold my hand on them. I'm assuming this is normal for compressors but just wanted to verify that. One point is at the fitting where the air exits the cylinder head and the other point is where it enters the tank. The line that connects the two has fins on it so I'm assuming they are expecting that line to get hot along with the two points of concern.

Ed

Ed,

As a point of reference I've measured the temperature of the pipe that goes from the second stage of the compressor to the cooler with my infrared heat measurement gun\thingie and it is about 230F going in. Its about 90F coming out but I, like you, found the high temperature to be more than I was expecting.

Arvid  

I also have one of those infrared heat measurement gun/thingies so I'll have to take a measurement and see how it compares to yours.

Ed

[terrywerm]

For those looking for a truly quiet oil-free air compressor, try the units from California Air Tools. No affiliation with them, but I am very happy with one of their 3/4 HP compressors with the aluminum tank - will not rust out. Unit is very quiet, under 60 dB, so noise is not an issue, someone could be sleeping in the room right above and they would never  hear it. Guys like me could sleep in the same room and not be bothered by it.  You can see their offerings here:  California Air Tools   They also have some videos available that compare their compressor's noise level against a typical 'pancake' compressor. They are not the cheapest compressor out there, but I think they are the quietest.

Home Depot carries many of their models and they currently have a 1 HP unit with a 6.3 gallon steel tank on sale for $169.15 shipped to your door.