COMPRESSOR

[mikeno]

I found what I think to be a pretty good deal on an air compressor (SKU 1013313) at Tractor Supply after shopping Sears, Lowes, Home Depot etc. I have one a couple of miles away but right now shipping to the stores is free on orders over $100. Amazingly it is USA made and it appears to be well constructed. Twin cylinder & belt drive and very quiet relative to my other compressors. My only complaint so far is the location of the regulated and unregulated output ports. In both cases some plumbing will be required to add a manifold. I've not run it much so far but I'll post if I encounter any problems.

[John Massaro]

Looks to be a nice little unit for the money for filling tires and airbrushing. Just be careful about the CFM needs of your tools and processes like media blasting. This one is stating 5.5 CFM at 90 PSI which might be a bit too light for media/sand blasting and some air tools like grinders, DA's and the like without the compressor working excessively to make up the kind of volume those tools need.
​Basically your tool will seem like it operates (it will spin or turn) but it won't have any useful torque to do anything once you place any kind of resistance or load to it.
PSI is but only one component in air tool and compressor specs. You have to have the volume of air (CFM) and the ability to maintain it along with the pressure.

Just my 2¢

[marcusofcotton]

My portable air compressor is 240v only, 15 ampere, max psi 135, 10 cfm @ 90 psi. It is marginal for light media blasting, I fear that when blasting fuselage it won't go well. Just enough air for running a die grinder for longer periods, fine for my 1/2" impact wrench most times (although they really work nice with 175 psi :0)). Riveting capacity is perfectly fine, at least at my pace.

I hear painting, especially with Stewarts, needs lots of air, but I haven't been there yet.

Mark J

[bestbearhawk1231]

Mark, you will not have any trouble with an Iwata spray gun. Most cheap guns are SATA knock offs and go through air like it is going out of style. Air consumption for painting is dependent on the gun, not the paint. I have an Iwata LPH-400 with a 1.4 tip and have not had any trouble with it...aside from a little nub that grows on the tulip if you have the paint needle a little to conservative, open it up a touch and that little problem goes away. I am using a 20 gallon compressor optimistically rated for 5.5cfm @90psi and 7cfm@40. The Iwata only needs 16psi at the gun to atomize correctly.

[jaredyates]

I'd recommend renting a compressor for blasting. My 10cfm IR compressor was not really big enough and I kept having trouble (delays) with the blasting equipment. It's a terrible job that needs to be done quickly, so having trouble-free equipment is very worthwhile. The 120 cfm rental for the fuselage was on the order of $100, and was money well spent for me.

[Jflyer]

We needed our glider fuselage blasted recently. We hired a local sandblasting company. He's a one man operation with a portable system. Portable as its a big trailer with a gas engine powered compressor. He charged $350 including the sand to sandblast the fuse and he did a fantastic job. He is also known for aviation work and he knew which sand to use and to be gentle as necessary. This was the 80th fuselage he blasted. It took him 2.5 hours to finish.

3 years ago I used an 11CFM at 90 PSI compressor to do the same job on my other glider fuse. That took me 3 days at 5 hours a day to complete. Constantly having the stop to let the compressor catch up. After 5 hours the compressor was getting pretty hot. Sometimes it pays to pay the pros.

[bestbearhawk1231]

Mike, looks like a nice compressor. What the others are saying is true, but you can always get another one later and T them together. I have a 20gallon sanborn that is similar to that one you have posted...optimistically rated for 5.5cfm@90psi and 7cfm@90psi. It is pretty worthless with my die grinder but gets the small job done, I have an electric 4 1/2" grinder for the big jobs. It is way to light for most spray guns unless it is a small job like motorcycle parts (think v-twin, not crotchrocket bodywork). I do know that mine can keep up with an Iwata LPH-400 spray gun without any issues. The Iwata only needs around 16psi at the gun too atomize correctly. My compressor will maintain 30 psi with the water drains open on the tank and the water separator/filter. If mine is still running when I get to painting the wings and fuselage, I will probably buy or borrow a second one and T them together so they don't run continuously. Wouldn't be a bad idea to rent one of those big trailer type air compressors used with jackhammers for sandblasting. A lot of times if you pick it up just before quitting time on a Friday or Saterday (if they are open) you will only get charged for one day's usage if you have it back by opening time on Monday morning. I have one of those space blaster type sandblasters and my compressor doesn't stand a chance on any part of any size.

PS, I highly recommend the Iwata LPH-400 spray gun. Yes I know it is expensive but this is one place that you get what you pay for. Low air usage and amazing atomization, there is a reason it is one of the top rated spray guns out there and used by many many pros to lay down the clear coat. If you have never used a high end spray gun, find someone who has one and see if you can use it...the difference will blow your mind. It is right up there with SATA and many pros use a SATA to lay down the base and an Iwata to lay down the clear. I bought one last summer after fighting with a home depot gun, my first impression was holy cr** this is nuts! It uses about 1/3-1/2 the paint that the home depot gun used and there is virtually no over spray. And the best part is (other than the decreased paint usage and lack of runs and over spray) that my air compressor has no trouble keeping up. This is one tool that will actually pay for itself over the course of the project in paint savings. I am using Stewart Systems paint. I can only talk about the Ecoprime at this point...it works great. If you are running it conservatively (not running balls to the wall with it) every so often you will have to pull off the little nub that "grows" on the tulip. Easier to show than explain, I just don't have any pictures of it. Don't have that problem when I open up the paint needle a bit more. Anyway, enough of that plug.

[mikeno]

My compressor size and anything else needing electricity is limited by the circuit breaker servicing my hangar; 20A. Since the hangar is rented from the city I don't have the option of going to 220. This compressor will do most everything I need to do albeit not as fast as some.

[marcusofcotton]

My compressor size and anything else needing electricity is limited by the circuit breaker servicing my hangar; 20A. Since the hangar is rented from the city I don't have the option of going to 220. This compressor will do most everything I need to do albeit not as fast as some.

Mike, that being said, I think you found the ideal compressor for you, jump on it!

Joe, thanks for the specific paint gun advice!

Mark J

[Craig C.]

Mike: A quick and easy way to add air capacity to any compressor, is to gang tanks. Until I got my big compressor and a 650 gallon additional tank, I used to gang all my little compressors together. I only ran one, but used the tanks from them all. It's pretty easy to find dead or dieing cheap compressors on Craigslist. Simply run the regulators up to near max, and chain them together. To make a quick chaining fitting, utilize a pipe "tee", two male qd fittings and a female qd. One qd male plugs into the second compressor regulator output, the jumper hose plugs into the second and the tool hose plugs into the female. Repeat as necessary. If you are going to be running a lot of air and shop temps are warm, add a fan pointed at the running compressor head to help cool it.

[mikeno]

Good advice Craig. I've got two dead compressors that I can use if needed. Both were bought on Craig's list over the years and I wore them out but the tanks are both good. I understand that the compressor I recommended has limitations but for the price it's still a good deal if your power service or budget limits your choices. One big advantage to me is it's low, low noise level. Wow, what a difference from old compressors - my hangar neighbors thought an F-4 was taking off every time they kicked in.