Air Compressor Recommendation

I’ve had pretty fine luck with my oil less. It was ugly when I bought it used on Craigslist for 40$ around 15 years ago. Pretty noisy, but works well… much like myself actually.

Got an idea to jam it under a work bench and encapsulate it with some plywood and maybe carpet remnants to cut down the noise.
 
Budget? Over $1k or under $300? I’ve beat the piss out of a 8gal kobalt (on sale $120) and even used it for painting which it did but didn’t like. Mobile was main concern for me and I’m not in my forever shop etc. Evo made a good point about tripping the breaker… We are fortunate to have a friend with a monster one at his shop if/when there are larger painting projects etc.
 
Dan Cobb said:
Working for a new company now or yourself? (If you already shared the info, I missed it.)
Click to expand...
I’ve got my own thing going on, along with contract climbing. I should’ve made the move long ago. Knocked out my first crane job as a business owner last week. Extremely gratifying because it was nearly in my own back yard, it went extremely smooth, and I got the job over the other companies.
 
Chris Schultz said:
I’ve got my own thing going on, along with contract climbing. I should’ve made the move long ago. Knocked out my first crane job as a business owner last week. Extremely gratifying because it was nearly in my own back yard, it went extremely smooth, and I got the job over the other companies.
Click to expand...
Heard anything about how your former employer is getting along? I'll shed a tear for him if he's struggling to replace you. Not!
 
I’ll I can say is, while I’ve been running around doing cleanups, getting groceries etc.. his equipment has been parked. I did show up to a failed codominant spruce on a house, and a car. They said he showed up to give a price, but wouldn’t/couldn’t get to it for lack of labor….So I got that one also! I kind of feel bad that I don’t feel bad at all.
 

NorthStar Portable Gas-Powered Air Compressor Honda 163cc OHV Engine, 20-Gallon Horizontal Tank, 13.7 CFM @ 90 PSI | Northern Tool

The NorthStar® 20-gallon horizontal gas-powered portable air compressor is built for heavy-duty applications and l...
www.northerntool.com www.northerntool.com

Would this be gross overkill, or not enough? Choosing a compressor has been much more challenging than I expected….. It’s a lot to spend, but I want good gear that will accomplish what it’s intended for, and will last. It checks a lot of the boxes.
 
Chris Schultz said:

NorthStar Portable Gas-Powered Air Compressor Honda 163cc OHV Engine, 20-Gallon Horizontal Tank, 13.7 CFM @ 90 PSI | Northern Tool

The NorthStar® 20-gallon horizontal gas-powered portable air compressor is built for heavy-duty applications and l...
www.northerntool.com www.northerntool.com

Would this be gross overkill, or not enough? Choosing a compressor has been much more challenging than I expected….. It’s a lot to spend, but I want good gear that will accomplish what it’s intended for, and will last. It checks a lot of the boxes.
Click to expand...
Way overkill for what you're looking for probably pretty questionable quality as well. Any of these should work just fine for you that 350$ 2hp 4.3 cfm is a beast, they're light to if you ever need to move them around. If you really want gas that 5.5 hp 9 gallon would be capable of just about anything and it's a higher quality lower cost unit than the one you linked.

White Cap | Search Results

www.whitecap.com www.whitecap.com
 
Last edited:
Curious why you say “questionable quality”? The tree service I used to work at had one, and it never had issues that I’m aware of, and it lived outside year round (sometimes even uncovered in winter, because boss was a lazy jackass). I’m hesitant about smaller volume tanks because dumping air constantly while blowing out saws, the motor will run quite frequently, and I’m impatient…..
 
I've heard some horror stories of northern tool branded equipment. I'd doubt you'd have an issue with either of them needing to fill for very long to keep up with an air gun, mine has a little less cfm than that small one and it'll run a little demo hammer all day keeping up with the output no problem.
 
Chris Schultz said:

NorthStar Portable Gas-Powered Air Compressor Honda 163cc OHV Engine, 20-Gallon Horizontal Tank, 13.7 CFM @ 90 PSI | Northern Tool

The NorthStar® 20-gallon horizontal gas-powered portable air compressor is built for heavy-duty applications and l...
www.northerntool.com www.northerntool.com

Would this be gross overkill, or not enough? Choosing a compressor has been much more challenging than I expected….. It’s a lot to spend, but I want good gear that will accomplish what it’s intended for, and will last. It checks a lot of the boxes.
Click to expand...
That compressor should do everything you need and plenty more! I don’t know who builds the compressor (the actual air pump) but the Honda engine will last forever, and 13.7 CFM at 90 PSI is as much or more than most big shop compressors put out. If you want that style compressor and want one that will definitely last forever, look at a Jenny. They’ve been in the construction compressor business forever, they also build/built the Emglo compressor, which every construction company in the world probably owns.

A note though on gas engine compressors - the engine runs the whole time, it does not start and stop. It will idle down a bit when the compressor disengages, but the engine runs continuously. If you’re just cleaning some saws though, you won’t have to run it real long. And you can always shut it down and just use the air in the tank. That tank should be plenty to clean a couple saws without the engine running.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom