Brian, good to know on the cal air I have a small 10 gal and it is pretty quiet. I turn it off everytime I leave the shop except when I forget...
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On Jul 18, 2020, at 12:14 PM, Brian Lamb <blamb11@...> wrote:
?
Hi Tom,
Better air is easy to accomplish with a dryer and then a filter, the compressor is really not the problem. What is the CFM of your current Quincy? A larger storage tank might be all that is necessary if the pump has adequate CFM delivery.
I have a 5hp 60 Gallon upright Ingersol Rand compressor, it¡¯s not bad, but it¡¯s one of their ¡°cheaper¡± consumer grade compressors, has an aluminum pump instead of cast iron, so it¡¯s noisy. If I¡¯m spraying (HVLP conversion gun) or using air tools (my favorite sander is a Dynabrade 5¡± RO air sander, and my deburr gun is an AirTurbine pencil grinder) then even this compressor at 17cfm is cutting it a little close. My CNC mill needs about 3-4cfm for tool changes and coolant spraying, so I could/can run it or any of my other woodworking machines with a small 5CFM compressor. My little 2hp Hitachi hot dog compressor will keep up with those, but I can¡¯t stand the noise.
My suggestion would be a 5hp quiet, two stage compressor with a 60-80 gallon tank, and then find a smaller, super quiet compressor and plumb both compressors into the same tank. Then add a refrigerated dryer with automatic drain and a filter unit after the tanks. This way you can run the silent compressor 99% of the time and kick on the big compressor when you want to do any spraying or run out of capacity for some reason.
I used to suggest the California Air Tools compressors, but I almost lost the whole shop to one of those. Relief valve stuck and was purging the tank and it made the compressor run continuously, I was in the house and came out to a shop filled with smoke and probably just minutes from a fire. So unless you are religious about turning off the compressor every time you leave the shop, I wouldn¡¯t recommend one of them.
On Jul 18, 2020, at 8:53 AM, Tom Morris <
morrist@...> wrote:
Brian,
I¡¯m in the process of expanding my basement shop and I thought it would be a good idea to upgrade my compressor. I have to admit that the Kaeser brochure ?is very good and I liked the idea of quiet and built-in dryer. I¡¯ve been thinking for awhile I should have better air for my Martin tools other than just an in-line water separator. My current Quincy 20 gallon tank is doing fine for my Al-Ko 200 dust collector. I¡¯ve thought about adding spray equipment in my new space.
I have an addiction to expensive equipment but don¡¯t want to throw money away on something that might only work a few years. It¡¯s obvious I need to do more research, that¡¯s where I get so much benefit out of this group.
?Thanks,
Tom Morris
