Air Tools

[Andrew]

I bought a used air compressor, primarily for the price. It came in a package deal. A friend was selling off a lot of tools. Right now its only used to blow up tires. I've been thinking about replacing some of my electric power tools with air tools as they wear out, break, get lost or stolen.

Any thoughts, insights or recommendations?

[pcford]

I bought a used air compressor, primarily for the price. It came in a package deal. A friend was selling off a lot of tools. Right now its only used to blow up tires. I've been thinking about replacing some of my electric power tools with air tools as they wear out, break, get lost or stolen.

Any thoughts, insights or recommendations?

Some air tools, like air disc grinders, take a lot of air. Check it out.

Air tools are nice. Much lighter.

[Bruce Hooke]

Air tools can be great. The key thing to figure out right off the bat is the specs on your compressor, especially the CFM rating at various air pressures. Some air tools need very little air, others are real air hogs.

A point to consider is if this compressor is noisy, using a tool that runs at close to the capacity of the compressor will mean that the compressor is running pretty much all the time. If you don't have a way to isolate the compressor from your shop space then this can make what would normally be only a slightly noise task into an ear-splitting task.

Another point to consider is if this compressor is not a portable model then buying air tools means less portability. You are pretty much chained to the compressor.

As to which tools...a lot depends on what you do. Pneumatic nail and staple guns are great for a lot of things so that is one place to start. These are more in the line of tools that you can get now that you have a compressor rather than tools you would otherwise get an electric version of.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

I found an small air reciprocating saw a very valuable tool for repair work. They are small and easy to get into tight spaces.

http://www.irtools.com/_imgLibrary/complete/429_SawRecip_p001_m.jpg

[GregH]

About 15 years ago, I restored a '65 Mustang convertible. Of course all the info books, magazines, etc. mentoned nothing but the use of air tools-- sand blaster, nibblers, DA sanders, recip saws, and on and on. So I went out and bought one of everything along wiith a stationary 220 volt, 5 HP compressor. They all worked just fine, and I really impressed a lot of folks with all the "real body shop" air tools. Along about the second month or so of this, my wife showed me our electric bill- it had nearly doubled! Then I got to wondering- "Why am I paying to run a 5 HP compressor just to drive a DA sander, when one with it's own electric motor would do the same job at a fraction of the cost in electricity?" Now, I know that the pros like the air stuff for their speed and durability, but I'm still not convinced that air tools for the home shop is a worthwhile investment.

[Bruce Hooke]

A very good point Greg. Air tools can make a lot of sense in a commercial shop, but for home use there is a lot to be said for only getting air tools where there isn't an electric option (e.g., nail and staples guns)...

[Uncle Duke]

Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of air tools and if the system is sized right and it's tight, then I don't think the cost of running is that much.
Few things to bear in mind, though - the noise warnings, above, are correct. Best is to place the compressor outside your shop in it's own little shed, decent soundproofing and good ventilation.
Then run the output hose into your shop and into a water separator - that is absolutely vital, compressing the air generates water vapor, and you want to keep it out of your tools. Mount that someplace where you can see it, and drain it, easily. From the separator run piping along the walls of your shop, with a 'quick connect' every 10 feet or so. That way you have air available everywhere without having to lug long hoses everywhere.

[UpScope]

Buy a good air tool oil or an automatic air line oiler. I do before each use.

Air tools have to be oiled.;)

[Bruce Hooke]

But be careful about locating the compressor outside your shop if you have neighbors anywhere at all nearby...they may not appreciate the rumble of a compressor, especially if you sometimes like to work in the evening or on a Saturday or Sunday morning...

[Bruce Hooke]

Buy a good air tool oil or an automatic air line oiler. I before use.

Air tools have to be oiled.;)

But keep the oil out of any hoses that will go to paint sprayers, and definitely keep the oil away from the paint sprayer itself.

[Uncle Duke]

Air tools have to be oiled.

But keep the oil out of any hoses that will go to paint sprayers, and definitely keep the oil away from the paint sprayer itself.
Quite right - oil goes in the tool, not in the hose. A drop or two is all you need, don't overdo it.

[Bruce Hooke]

Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of air tools and if the system is sized right and it's tight, then I don't think the cost of running is that much.

I just did a quick calculation and I think a 5hp compressor running steadily would cost about $1/hr. to run at my local rates. That could add up fairly fast if you were using it a good bit. What I did not try to do is calculate how much it would cost to run the electric versions of the tools you could run on that size compressor. Of course if you are not using tools that need the full capacity of the compressor then the compressor will not run all the time, which will reduce the power consumption. I suspect that tools that need a lot of air to run (such as sanders), might be more cost effective to run on electricity.

[Uncle Duke]

Bruce - you may well be correct about running a compressor (I trust your figures), but we should all remember that compressors should never run continuously - that's a sign that it's too small. The rule of thumb from my past is that the compressor should only run about a quarter of the time, average. Half the time is OK, but stretching it. Those motors need a chance to cool down.
Sanders eat up a lot of air - a decent palm sander uses about 15cfm, to properly support that full time you need about a 10Hp compressor, minimum. A good spray gun, in comparison, only uses about 7cfm and a normal air-ratchet uses about 4 cfm.

[Bruce Hooke]

Quite right - oil goes in the tool, not in the hose. A drop or two is all you need, don't overdo it.

Some automatic oilers are installed near the compressor rather than near the tool, which means that the oil ends up in the hose. These hoses should not be used for spraying paint, or so I've always been told...

[Tylerdurden]

I will throw my two cents in, I like Air tools but hoses are harder to work around then cords. You need clean "dry" air for best performance so if you live in a humid climate an air dryer is a must have. I don't consider most 5hp compressors to be worth a damn.
90% of them are threes sped up to put out five. If it spins faster than 1725 don't get it. I tend to sandblast so I need close to fifteen HP to do the trick But a slow turning five with a 60-80 gal tank will work ok for most tasks. Better for the electric bill too.
The best air tool oil I have ever used is Marvel air tool oil. I have a customer with and air operated tray accumulator, It moves cafeteria trays into a dish room so it works in the harshest of environments.
High humidity, alkali's and food crap. I used to be in there once a week for hours replacing spool valves cylnlders and switches until an old fart told me about this stuff. I started running it in the oilers and I haven't touched it in two months. I just wished I had found it sooner because its one of the nastiest pieces I work on.

[Nicholas Carey]

Bruce - you may well be correct about running a compressor (I trust your figures), but we should all remember that compressors should never run continuously - that's a sign that it's too small. The rule of thumb from my past is that the compressor should only run about a quarter of the time, average. Half the time is OK, but stretching it. Those motors need a chance to cool down.Depends on whose compressor it is. My Thomas Air-Pac T-2820ST (http://www.thomasairpac.com/products/airpac/airpac_electric/T-2820ST/t-2820st.jsp) (oilless) is rated by the manufacturer for a 100% duty cycle. Not enough oomph to drive anything like a jitterbug or the like -- 5cfm @100psi, 6.6cfm at 50psi, 9cfm air displacement -- but it's got enough oomph to drive, say an HVLP conversion spray rig and most air tools I'm likely to need. It's portable, too...or something :p (75 pounds: moveable, yes, portable..no).[/quote]

[merlinron]

if you look in most commercial shops that use air tools allot, like a body shop, you'll see a large air compressor with a massive tank. it's all about the reserve volume available. the reason the compressors don't run continually is not only because of the capacity of the compressor itself to deliver a certain volume of air, but also because there is a very large volume of reserve air for the tools to draw from. it takes extremely large amounts of air to run air tools economicaly. you don't need a really big motor, many of the commercial units use only about 5 hp, but they have huge ,huge tanks, something a guy with a small shop can't afford or has not enough space for. the big slow running compressors they use aren't all that noisey, but they cost allot and take up allot of space.

[The Bigfella]

Air tools are great in wet environments - like wet sanding cars. Other great uses are the mini jackhammers and the air wrenches.

I've got two compressors - one in the basement and one on the boat. The boat one is a cheapie - a small 2hp / 24 litre tank one from China - and it is fantastic for its single use - blowing construction debris away.

Oh - and I spent about $1k buying special breathing apparatus that will take the oil out of compressed air so that you can do isocyanates - and now find it really hard to get the filters - beware

[Andrew]

Wow, thanks. A lot of good information. Some I hadn't even considered.