Air Compressor Recommendation

[70 Challenger Lover]

Every now and then, someone asks for a compressor recommendation. I've been researching them for a couple years and this is the unit I recently purchased based on a recommendation from another car guy on a Facebook group.

I had certain air needs that may be more than most other car guys. Basically, I wanted to be able to use my bead blasting cabinet all day long or my portable sand blaster on rusty cars or other large items. The sand blaster requires more than 20 cfm of continuous air with the smallest nozzle. The cabinet more like 15. Both need very dry air. I also wanted to be able to paint occasionally and we all know pure dry air is mandatory for painting.

I find myself frustrated with many of the air compressor suppliers. Salesmen didn't know their products well and so couldn't steer me towards the right system for me.

In the end, a random guy threw this company out saying he was really happy with them. I called expecting the price to be way outside my budget but it was actually quite affordable for what you're getting.

This is a 7.5 hp rotary screw unit producing 25 cfm of continuous air at 125 psi. Those are great numbers. If it were a traditional piston type unit, it would need a 10 hp motor to provide less air. And it would be larger and louder.

This unit has a built in refrigerator that cools the air even more. It's already oil cooled but the fridge gets the air even dryer. The two drains have built in floats so you route drain lines but don't use petcock shut offs. I've put five hours on mine and still have seen it discharge any condensation.

Price was a pleasant surprise. $12,300 to my door which included my states high 10% tax and the delivery. Sounds like a lot but decent piston type units with large separate refrigerators was going to be the same cost. Anything under $10k gets you a nice system capable of running air tools but if you're trying to run blast cabinets, sand blasters or have air quality for painting, you're going to pay a lot more. Many of the guys I talked to who had similar requirements were telling me I'd need to spend closer to $20k to do it right.

I used it the other day to sand blast the interior of a buddy's car and this thing worked awesome. Hardly broke a sweat. Even time it cycled on, it was on for less than a minute.

They do have smaller units like this but most of their products are intended for large industrial operations. This particular design is for commercial customers and the salesman said it's been popular with paint shops. It was one of the few products they offered with single phase 220v. Most commercial units you find need three phase power which is nearly impossible to do in a residential area.

Happy to provide further details if anyone is shopping around.

[usraptor]

 Sounds nice, but way out of my price range.    that's more than half of what i paid for my Cuda in 2009 !  But like they say, you get what you pay for. 

[70 Challenger Lover]

Sounds nice, but way out of my price range.    that's more than half of what i paid for my Cuda in 2009 !  But like they say, you get what you pay for. 

I didn't want to pay that either!

I knew the box store compressors in the $1000-2000 range were simply inadequate for my needs so I started shopping for something more professional. Not just an increase in air volume but in air quality from a unit that was just better overall.

What you find is a halfway acceptable upgrade starts at $5k but the ones you really want are more like $8k. Then you need a refrigerator to cool the air if you wish to paint or want to use a blasting cabinet outdoors in a humid environment. That's a couple grand more. Then, filtration has to be considered at added expense.

Buying this unit has been a little like buying the nice restored car you want at full price. Doesn't feel so good paying that kind of money but after a while, you forget about the cost and enjoy the purchase.

[Brads70]

Looks like a really nice unit! Just more than I could spend or need. I like how small of a foot print it takes up!  Enjoy!

[mtull]

7.5 hp rotary screw unit

Hopefully you have many trouble free years of use.  I've heard the screw style compressors are quieter, what are you're observations?

Thank you for sharing.
 

[CudaA39]

I bought an EMax E350 80 gallon 5hp unit with their silent air muffler system.  It's pressure lubed, very quiet, and has been amazing for my use.  Made in America, which sold me.

Bought it from Summit

[70 Challenger Lover]

7.5 hp rotary screw unit

Hopefully you have many trouble free years of use.  I've heard the screw style compressors are quieter, what are you're observations?

Thank you for sharing.

Definitely quieter. It has more of an industrial whine to it rather than the hammering sound the piston types make. It spits out massive volume too. The tank isn't huge compared to the traditional units I looked at and that concerned me at first but this thing puts out so much air at high pressure, the tank is almost not needed. If I'm blasting with the bead cabinet, once it kicks on, the unit refills the tank in seconds as I'm still drawing from it. More old compressor would run non stop for hours when I was using the cabinet.