Best 60 gallon air compressor for the money

[Crazypete]

Best 60 gallon air compressor for the money I'm looking at upgrading my little 30 gallon air compressor for 60 I have several 220 outlet in the shop in the dedicated fuse box right now I'm looking at some Ingersoll-Rand one is a 3 hp the other one is a five the reviews online are so skewed that I can't make up my mind I want something that's going to last I'll spend a little bit more for quality Right now I'm looking at this

[6bblgt]

I'll be watching this thread ..... but I've always heard you want 2-stage - is this still accurate/recommended?

[1 Wild R/T]

I'll be watching this thread ..... but I've always heard you want 2-stage - is this still accurate/recommended?

Want? Yes.. Need? No...  I have one but I got by for many years with a single stage 5 hp 60 gallon stand up Cambell Hausfeld... And I still have a 4 cylinder 5 hp single stage compressor that does everything I need at my second shop... The two stage is in my home shop... 

The 4 cylinder compressor..

https://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Campbell-Hausfeld-TQ3104-Air-Compressor/p7630.html

[wldgtx]

I have a 7.5hp 80 gallon in the barn, but I was planning on buying a Quincy 5hp 60 gallon.

I have never heard anything but glowing reviews of Quincy and they have been around for a long time.

[dodj]

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200455342_200455342

I bought a Puma compressor similar to the above model. Had it for five or six years so far.  No issues.  I paid $599 for it.  Looks like prices have gone up a bit though

[Crazypete]

Yeah this one is decent priced I'd love a 2 stage but I really don't need it the most powerful stuff I use is sand blasters and die grinders while I do porting otherwise I just use the normal air tools

[1 Wild R/T]

Yeah this one is decent priced I'd love a 2 stage but I really don't need it the most powerful stuff I use is sand blasters and die grinders while I do porting otherwise I just use the normal air tools

Those wo items are both huge air hogs.... For porting since it takes so long your better off looking at electric die grinders..... A buddy picked up one of these... Seems pretty well made... Link deleted, it wasn't the same unit.... His was a standard design collet....  I'll see if I can get a link..

[RUNCHARGER]

A two stage is nice. I have had two Ingersoll Rand 5HP and they were both good. I don't use air much anymore with electric tools improving so much but you need lots of capacity if you have a blast cabinet. I find air filters to be an issue, it's nice if you have one that uses commonly available felt. If you buy one that uses a specific filter it could be hard to find them down the road. I always buy a cast iron pump and not oilless.

[Crazypete]

Yeah I just picked up a big blast cabinet that's one of the reasons for the upgrade that and snap on air tools like more air volume

[shawge]

My opinion 
- 2 stage over single, 2 stage tend to be quieter and more efficient (less heat)
- pressure oiled over splash
- vertical tank over horizontal
- cast iron over aluminum pumps
- as much SCFM and capacity as you can afford and have room for

I initially used my tank for filling tires, painting my car/ parts, and a cutoff wheel and grinder.  Then I got an blast cabinet and an impact wrench.  Now have kids so now I'm filling all sorts of blow up toys and pools.  What I'm getting as is that your needs will change, might as well plan for it as best you can.

Built a makeshift cooler out of copper pipe.  This worked well to get a lot of moisture out of the air for painting and blasting.

My winter project will be to build a sound dampening enclosure around the tank. 

[realn96]

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiFjpP4qOzXAhXYj7MKHVhZBfwYABAaGgJxbg&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASE-RozyvaNWDluTImgOCiNfpSKGc&sig=AOD64_1a-Qcx3qw0pOu5WKJVer-ib4Nl8Q&ctype=5&rct=j&q=&ved=0ahUKEwj_1Y74qOzXAhWIYt8KHXexCzcQ9aACCEk&adurl=

I have this one for a few years now. I paint DA,blast Cabnet, no issues ever

[A.Gramz]

This is what I have.   5 hp 80gal 19.1 scdm @ 150 psi.

http://www.dvcompressors.com/?page_id=2154

Never had a problem had it over 5 years now.  Used for everything from basic air tools to paint to sand blaster

[Ennist]

First you must decide how much air you need. What do you want to do with it. A two-stage will give you more air. Remember spending for a better tool only hurts once. A cheap one may continue to hurt you again and again. The HF 5hp, 60gal, 2 stage is often on sale for $750. The same one is also sold under other brand names. It is made here with parts from various places. It is not a Qincy or a Champion but it is cheaper. If you go single stage Campbell Hausfeld makes a 4 cylinder single stage that puts out as much air as some 2 stage units but for the money you can have a 2 stage. Remember a single stage puts around 125 psi max in the 60 gallon tank. A 2 stage puts in 165 or 175 psi. That stores a lot more air in the same size tank. You have to figure out your present and anticipated needs. You can fill tires and blow dust with anything. Tools like impact wrenches use air in short bursts. What you can paint with depends on compressor size. Any kind of sander or sandblaster sucks air like crazy and will not run off what you are looking at. I would stay away from oiless. They are short-lived and incredibly noisy and are really only available in the smaller capacities. I assume you have 240 volts available because some of what you looked at run on the higher voltage.

Another thing to notice is there are 5hp and 5hp, tank size aside. The big box 5hp only say 5hp on the tank. The motor says something like "special compressor motor" . They are allowed to use some BS peak power method to rate hp. There is a conversion formula of watts( volts x amp) to hp. They don't use enough power to even be 5hp.; probably more like 3hp. Have you ever noticed that the 5hp motors on the commercial compressors like Kellog or Sailor Beal https://mechanicguides.com/best-60-gallon-air-compressor/ or high-end Quincy are twice the size of the cheaper ones? They also put out a lot more air. Since those are very expensive and probably require 3 phase power, I would ignore hp and look at cfm and the pressure the cfm is rated at. Even there, they play games. Commercials usually rate cfm at 100, consumer at 90. There is also some average cfm scam that I am not quite clear on.

[RUNCHARGER]

Yes: I wish they showed the CFM at different pressures rather than just one random pressure.

[1 Wild R/T]

Built a makeshift cooler out of copper pipe.  This worked well to get a lot of moisture out of the air for painting and blasting.

I did the same, works well....
The first set of copper lines are on the discharge of the compressor pump, they allow water to be removed from the air before it gets to the tank....
Second set of copper lines are on the discharge from the tank... Typically after a day of hard use the first drain will have a cup of water, second drain less than half a cup... Third drain a couple spoonfuls.... Fourth drain just mist...  Fifth & sixth drains? Dry....  Honestly I wound up removing the coalescing filters & the desiccant filter, they are overkill & the only time I attach them is when painting....