recommendations for a compressor

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eddypeck
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 1:05 pm

recommendations for a compressor

#1 Post by eddypeck » Thu Mar 25, 2021 12:46 pm

Hi all, I have an old (2004) ABAC 50 litre, 2hp compressor.
I bought it second hand around 2014 (faulty) so I got a service kit and rebuilt the motor.

It's served me well since for all sorts of DIY/Hobby stuff, power tools, and a bit of painting. But now it is not reaching full pressure (as it was when I bought it) and I've contacted the supplier and it appears service parts are no long available for this old model so looks like I'm going to have to replace it.

I always said when it's time to replace it I'd like to get 100 litre one as it would be more useable.

However there's a couple of 'cons'.
1. Thinking when I just want to do a quick tyre pressure check, I'll have to fill a 100 litre tank.
2. It will obviously take up more space.

So wondering if spending a decent amount to get a good spec 50 litre one, rather than an entry level 100 litre and keep my old 50 litre tank and build a coupling system so I can run them joined to give me 100 litre when I need it is a good compromise. I could keep the reserve tank out the way when not needed so the compressor won't take up so much space. Or should I just bite the bullet and go for 100 litres (but still keeping the old one to give 150 litres if needed).

On my radar at the mo
100 litre £300:
www.sgs-engineering.com/sc100v-100-litr ... compressor

or 50 litre £250:
www.machinemart.co.uk/p/airmaster-tiger ... r-compres/

The good thing about my old one, it seems to be a decent brand, and parts and servicing items are/were available. Fair enough for a commercial brand it's their entry level item and is now 17 years old. The service kit I bought (when the compressor was already 10 years old) included a small foam filter which disintegrated to dust so had most likely been on the shelf a long time and was already NOS.

I don't consider equipment like this to be disposable so I'd like to know there are spares available for a decent lifespan afterwards.

The current equivalent of what I have is only £163, so looking at their range.

Maybe just go up a model to this:
www.air-compressorsdirect.co.uk/abac-mo ... amp-supply
Not as powerful as the ones above, but without getting carried away spending too much, it might be lower cfm but would probably be a better long term investment from a tried and tested brand. Maybe an idea to stock up on a couple of service kits at time of purchase.


Any thoughts, advice, personal experience or links to products greatly welcomed. For me it's a big expense so it's important to get it right. Thanks In Advance.
1986 VW Golf GTi, 1988 VW Golf GTi, 1993 BMW e30 318i Touring Lux

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Luxobarge
Posts: 1898
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 3:12 pm
Location: Horne, Surreyshire

Re: recommendations for a compressor

#2 Post by Luxobarge » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:26 pm

I'm not up on what's good and what's not right now so can't give you a recommendation. However, personally I'd not worry too much about the tank capacity, what's really important is the CFM in free air - that's the amount of compressed air it can deliver per minute. Far more important, as some air tools consume a LOT of air, and little compressors won't keep up even when they're running continuously. The other consideration is whether it's a direct drive or belt drive - the direct drive ones take a LOT of current to start them, mine is a 15CFM direct drive and often blows the 13A fuse in the plug when starting - it's OK when it's warm but try to start it in winter and it'll almost certainly blow the fuse. I'm confident that this wouldn't happen with a belt drive type, they're quieter too - but usually more expensive.

In DIY terms, 10 CFM is around average, 15-17 is good, and so on. However I recently had this put in perspective for me, we had some old oak beams in our house sandblasted not long ago. The guy came with a large diesel compressor towed behind his van. I got chatting and asked him what CFM it was - "250 CFM" he said - "Blimey, that's massive" I replied, "that makes my 15CFM DIY jobbie look really puny". "Oh no," he said "this is the puny one, my normal compressor is 350 CFM". Trust me, he never ran out of air, it had lots of power, it must have as it managed to deposit sand in EVERY room in the house, some of them 50 feet away. Gah! It took us weeks to clean up......
Some people are like Slinkies - they serve no useful purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them downstairs.

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Atodini
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Location: Mansfield Notts.
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Re: recommendations for a compressor

#3 Post by Atodini » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:12 pm

I bought a Burisch compressor about 5 years ago and can thoroughly recommend them. It's a 3kw 100l one, 14cfm.

It's predecessor, from Machine Mart, only lasted 4 years and tbh was knackered at 3......

https://gtair.co.uk/31-burisch-compressors

John
"I thought I was wrong once - But I was wrong"...

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eddypeck
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 1:05 pm

Re: recommendations for a compressor

#4 Post by eddypeck » Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:35 pm

Thanks John, that's a great link. Looks like the 100 litre which I presume is similar to yours is out of stock, but they have one that's bang on budget, belt drive and a decent size tank at 90 litres, still 14 cfm. I think that's a winner so far.
1986 VW Golf GTi, 1988 VW Golf GTi, 1993 BMW e30 318i Touring Lux

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