Small Compressor

[Mark18PLL]

Hi, i looking for a small compressor for my garage, it would be used for cleaning tools some upholstery work and maybe a little spraying. Ideally i would like something small, not too noisy or expensive (i know that's a big ask) but worth a try.



I have read quite a few of the posts on here but cant find the answer i need.

Thanks
Mark

 

[julianf]

Whenever I see anyone asking about compressors, my first bit of advice is -

Buy a belt driven one, not a direct drive.

 

[julianf]

In follow up, there's a thread on the UK mig forum right now where someone is asking similar having had a SGS unit break on them very rapidly.

My own two compressors are both 3hp. One is a FIAC that I purchased used about a decade ago. Direct drive. Makes a right racket, and won't start first thing in the day in the winter without fully draining the tank of air (yes, the unloaders are working, but even still!)

It will happily munch a 13a fuse with even a small bit of volt drop, but is otheriwise a nice machine.

The other unit is a large "airmaster" which, I think, is basically Clarke from years back. It's a belt driven unit. Much less current on start up. Quieter. I bought it used, left it outside on a pallet under a dumpy bag for two winters, and it still started up (allbeit with a stuck NRV)

If I'm spraying I'll always use the belt driven unit. Sure it still makes a good bit of noise, but nothing like the hammering of a direct drive unit.


I had another old belt driven compressor that I did up, and gave to my brother's kid. That one was far from antique, but a decent age. It was fine too.

And another direct drive that I gave to a friend. Sadly they spent £20 on parts to get it to run (which we both knew were needed) but then found that the head gasket was flawed. This was a cheap from China unit that I'd accquired with other kit, had no use for, so gave away. I wish I'd have just scrapped it before my friend spent even £20 on parts now.


My own direct drive FIAC is a resonable quality machine but I think a cheaper direct drive is asking for trouble. Probably a real budget belt driven one is also, but I'd still go for the belt.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

If you are going to be doing upholstery work you will need at leat a 50Lt compressor, you can get the air master from Machinemart for £155 which is great value but it is noisy. I have it but I have no near neighbours to my workshop so I can fire it up at 6am with no problems.
If you want quiet there is the Bambi, which I used to own, it is excellent and very quiet but double the price.

 

[Ollie78]

I have a Nu air. They are much better than machine mart ones and not much more money.
Mine is a belt drive 150 litre it just works great.

Someone told me the other day that they had a small "silent" Hyundai that they thought was brilliant and cheap.

Ollie

 

[pgrbff]

How much you spend will probably depend on how much you intend to use it. I have two, one small bought in Ireland around 10 years ago, direct drive, and a large 3hp ABAC bought here in Italy. The latter is about the largest I can run on my limited Italian electricity supply.
The most important thing I have discovered is that if I need 100% oil-free air I need to borrow a friends oiless compressor, also direct drive, or spend hundreds on filters etc to remove the oil and water from the air. My much younger ABAC which should in theory be better quality leaks oil like there is no tomorrow.

 

[julianf]

or spend hundreds on filters etc to remove the oil and water from the air.

I think the breathing kit that I connect to my two compressors cost more than both the compressors combined.

 

[danst96]

I got the Hyundai following a recommendation on another thread on here last week, ordered late on Thursday and arrived in yesterday, was cheap £150 and is basically silent compared to a noisy sealey one I've used before. It's a small tank but my first impressions is it's a very capable and absolutely excellent value for money.

Does anyone have any opinions on adding an expansion tank in a series with air compressors? Just thinking of expanding the capacity in the future

 

[shed9]

I grabbed an Hyundai, in fact this one from this seller late last year. It's been faultless and never misses a beat. If you browse their products they some times pop up a small window offering you to make an offer on their list price (assuming you don't block their pop ups of course. I used this option and saved a fair bit. I actually picked it up directly so met them and would happily recommend them.

As already mentioned, direct drives are noisy which can be prohibitive sometimes. The db levels don't look that far out when comparing direct drive to belt drive but trust me they are very different noises and you don't want to be around a direct drive for too long.

To add my advice, buy at least 3HP belt drive and 100L tank minimum. Get some decent external inline filters, lubricators, etc relevant to your tool requirements and remember to drain the tank between use. Compressor tanks rust from the inside out and usually because users never drain them. This is always a concern when buying used - they make look immaculate from the outside but have the consistency of crackers on the inside of the tank. But to respond to the OP, there is no small not-too-noisy compressor that will support nail tools and spraying that isn't too expensive but then that's relevant to what people think of as expensive. If you pay a little more you will get more tool and options.

Does anyone have any opinions on adding an expansion tank in a series with air compressors? Just thinking of expanding the capacity in the future

I have done this connecting the Hyundai to an industrial expansion tank of 260L giving 460L total. I got lucky and bagged the expansion tank for about £80 from a process control company that was upgrading, they did a full internal inspection before I picked it up. The new price for something similar is north of £1k. Compressor tanks can be quite expensive unless you find a bargain is my point, sometimes more expensive than just another compressor.

 

[Dazed]

If you are going to be doing upholstery work you will need at leat a 50Lt compressor,

Why is that? Perhaps for manufacturing but surely not for repair work in a home garage?

I'm in the same boat but have separated nailers & blowdown from spraying. Nailers for non production work use very little air, spraying however needs substantial real-world delivery capacity - ignore the figure given on the marketing blurb. Do you really need spraying capacity? If not a much smaller unit may suffice.
Steve

 

[Inspector]

Mark from here there is no way a recommendation on a brand would make any sense from me. I will tell you to have a long hard think about what or how you will be using it. The tools you pick will all have a recommendation for the air it needs to operate properly so the compressor needs to be big enough to supply that air requirement. If long sessions with air sanders for example are planed then you also want the compressor to be able to handle continuous duty operation. Figure out what you hungriest air use will be and search from there.

Pete

 

[Davey44]

Mark from here there is no way a recommendation on a brand would make any sense from me. I will tell you to have a long hard think about what or how you will be using it. The tools you pick will all have a recommendation for the air it needs to operate properly so the compressor needs to be big enough to supply that air requirement. If long sessions with air sanders for example are planed then you also want the compressor to be able to handle continuous duty operation. Figure out what you hungriest air use will be and search from there.

Pete

Agreed. Talking about the name label is almost irrelevant when the majority of compressors come from the same manufacturer, or from several using the same or similar specifications. Often the only differences are minuscule and not related to performance in any way.