When it comes to tackling tough home-based projects, where common hand tools fall short of expectations, there's nothing better than a high-quality pneumatic, whether it's an impact, grinder or cut-off wheel running full-tilt boogie.
As you already know, pneumatics can be an absolute adrenaline rush in the home workshop, a decent pneumatic is able to handle a typical "knuckle busting" job in half the time of common hand tools. Finishing faster means more time enjoying your project.
Speed isn't the only thing they'll provide, pneumatics offer a tremendous amount of torque, much more than you'll get out of a hand tool, even if you have super-human strength. But to properly power pneumatics, you first have to find an air compressor that matches or exceeds the tool's operational requirements.
The D55168 is affordable,...
The D55168 is affordable, portable and has most of the performance you will need for typical home-based projects, including painting.
One thing to consider when buying an air compressor is that each type of pneumatic tool requires a specific amount of air pressure to operate it, which we'll talk about later. Then you need to decide if you want a compressor that runs fuel or electricity, either 220 or 120. Electric compressors are the most popular in the home garage and by far the cheapest.
Armed with this information, we went in search of an all-around 120-volt electric air compressor that offered three simple things like: Performance, Portability and Affordability. Surprisingly, what we found literally blew us away. There are some fantastic electric air compressors on the market and practically every major tool manufacturer offers one, including Makita, Craftsmen and Ingersoll Rand, but as we learned they are not all the same. If you don't do some research you could end up disappointed with the results. Fortunately, it's easy to determine what you need, and what to expect from your compressor.
Prices and Styles
Air compressors are available in all shapes, sizes, power ranges and price points. Compressors start at about $150 and go up from there. Some of the commercial grade compressors can run $1,000 and much more. What we discovered is that besides price, many end-users complain about noise and portability. Others seemed disappointed by the lack of performance with certain pneumatics.
The D55168 has an oil- and...
The D55168 has an oil- and maintenance-free air pump; just turn it on and there's not much else you'll need to do.
So to get you started, here are a few tips that might make your search easier. Let's begin with cfm (cubic feet per minute at a given tank pressure) or scfm (standard cubic feet per minute) ratings. The greater the flow of the air from the compressor, the better the performance of the pneumatic tool. You must match or exceed the required average cfm of the pneumatic tool you are planning on using to the cfm output of the air compressor. These ratings are listed on the products. Pneumatic sanders, and grinders can require more continuous cfm than most other tools, whereas, nail guns and impacts require much less cfm in short bursts. A good cfm range for an air compressor in a larger shop is 6 to 14 if you are planning on using several pneumatics at the same time. Most decent air compressors that are used only occasionally at home or in the field, can operate well with 4 to 6 cfm. The majority of pneumatics operate with a psi (pounds per square inch) rating of 90, and so your compressor should have a regulator that adjusts to at least that high.
Most air compressors state...
Most air compressors state all pertinent operating information on the unit.
Horsepower ratings on air compressors aren't as important as cfm, and so don't get fooled by "peak horsepower" promotions that suggest otherwise. The cfm is the most important aspect of a compressor, no matter the "peak" horsepower ratings. In fact, horsepower ratings of compressors only tell half of the story, and the ratings system is not as verifiable as consumers expect.
Duty Cycle
When considering an air compressor, you should think about how much you would use it. Some air compressors (commercial grades) have a 100 percent duty cycle, meaning they are running all the time when in use. These are more expensive. Typically though, in stores like Home Depot or Lowes, we see duty cycle ratios around 50/50. This refers to how much time the compressor can safely run within a given period of time. In the case of a 50/50 ratio, it means the air compressor will run half the time on the stored air in the tank and half the time with the motor running as it builds up pressure.