Air compressor?

[mikejt]

im thinking about getting a reasonably cheap 2nd hand/new compressor and was wondering what to look for...

i will be looking to spend up to around £150 and just wanted to know what to look for?

I want to use it for some air tools (i.e. impact driver, maybe a drill) and possibly a spraygun in the future

do i need a filter/lubricator? or does that depend on the tools being used?

Also, for what i want it for, what horsepower/ CFM should i be looking at?

and manufacturers to avoid?

Any help greatly appreciated because as you have probably gathered, i have little knowledge on this subject but i know how they work!

 

[Focus Owner]

its very simple look at the max draw from your tools
what the pump provides and what the tank holts
for example for a impact hammer how many boltsdo you need to undo the tank can probabily hold the volume for the hammer to hold.
but for a spray gun its constant so the pump wants to be over the tools capacity with a reasonable tank to help the duty cycle

 

[mikejt]

Does the draw relate the CFM? or the pressure, psi? i presume its the pressure?

just an example....

an impact hammer uses 5 cfm, the compressor produces 9.5 cfm with a 50L storage tank, this could be used constantly

a spray gun uses 9.5 cfm, the compressor is the same, this is not reccomended? what about for light use? how long could i safely spray for with no dips in pressure or anything?

also, what is scfm? i know cfm is cubic foot per minute, is scfm a smaller unit? or a different way of writing it?

Edit: found the defenition of SCFM

 

[Focus Owner]

im no expert
but with a regulator to take the pressure the gun want. it should last a little while
50L is a reasonable tank tho.
but after that since the cfm is identical it should be on all time.
so depends on the duty cycle of compressor to me.

 

[cc1]

You should look at the power supply requirements as some of the bigger ones won't run from a 13Amp socket outlet.

 

[mikejt]

Thanks for the replies, does something like this look alright?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wolf-50-Litre...Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item3efbffe139