[70 Dream]

Want to get one for the garage (blow leaves out of the garage, blow the pine needles off the drive way, fill a flat, power the occasional pneumatic tool, etc. etc.).

There's a 33 lb. 2 hp oil-free 150 psi upright Craftsman on sale at Sears for $299.

Is this overkill?

On the other hand, I don't want to run out of capacity halfway through blowing off the driveway (I don't want a leaf blower).

Thanks, guys . . . . . .

Harry

[J.D.]

i would steer clear of those oiless compressers if i were you. i had one of those from sears. they are made like crap. find one with cast iron heads on it. the sears one only has one piston and they are noisy to boot. just my .02

[Jim Scites]

I would recommend you buy as much compressor as you can afford. More is better. You can never have too much but you can have too little. If you buy a small one now and figure out later that you need more then you are out the money for the small one, since they are worth very little used. I usually recommend a minimum of 5 HP, a 2 stage pump and as much tank as you can fit in your garage. Just my $.02.

["Me"]

The oilless were developed for finish wood work so the wood was not contaminated with oil before staining. That being said, its not necessary, I've had no problems with the piston type and they put out a lot more air and last a lot longer so if you go with a pancake size get the piston type.

The thing is once you have an air compressor you are going to find new uses for it, and will need more air. Airtools are cheap! So.... If I were you I would look at the twin cylinder, single stage, upright tank seperate motor conventional type of air compressor. A two stage would be nice but the price skyrockets when you go two stage so go with a single stage with a large tank. Think of the tank as a resevoir, you will be able to do large air demand tasks for longer with a larger tank, like blowing off your driveway.

Larry

[70 Dream]

Holy cow, the prices jump up from there . . . the cheapest 2-stage is $439, but it is oil-free. JD, the catalogue doesn't say anything about the heads . . . . .

Is there another brand anyone can recommend?

I figured I couldn't go wrong with Sears . . . . . . .

[Jim Scites]

One day you'll want to run a DA sander or die grinder or something that consumes a lot of air. Like I said earlier buy as much compressor as you can afford.

[gregneun]

I have one of these and it is loud, and it has to run often.

Works fine for tires and impact wrenches, but not enough air at 90 psi for the DA sander. You get to sand for a minute and wait for a minute.

["Me"]

Originally Posted by gregneun

I
Works fine for tires and impact wrenches, but not enough air at 90 psi for the DA sander. You get to sand for a minute and wait for a minute.

Thats why god invented beer!

Larry

[carcrazy]

I had a Sears Craftsman oiless compressor for about 6-7 years. 5 HP (advertised-not real) 30 gallon. Had to be rebuild under warranty and load as h-ll! (coould wake the dead) The pos finally died again. Bought a new Lowes 60 gallon Kobalt for 399. Only a single stage but delivers 13.4 cfm at 40 and 1/2 as load as the Craftsman. If you anticipate doing heavy sandblasting or grinding a 2-stage would be a good investment. Ingersoll Rand makes some nice ones.

[Dan968]

check out home depot. They did have cast iron pumps and a continous duty cycle. I use a 7hp peak with a 60 gallon tank.

[Sirrotica]

Home depot is the lowest prices I could find, and cast iron compressor too. Although it's single stage, it runs any and all airtools I need it to. It's not excessively loud and I've had it over a year and it gets used almost every weekend. I beleive the price was $379, 7 HP 60 gallon upright tank (takes up less space) 10.3 CFM at 90 PSI 135 PSI max. I used to buy Sears stuff, but had way to many bad experiences with them and tools. Just my 2 cents.

[69gp400]

i have a 60 gallon from home depot works great for 399.00

[ctgross]

Originally Posted by carcrazy

I had a Sears Craftsman oiless compressor for about 6-7 years. 5 HP (advertised-not real) 30 gallon. Had to be rebuild under warranty and load as h-ll! (coould wake the dead) The pos finally died again. Bought a new Lowes 60 gallon Kobalt for 399. Only a single stage but delivers 13.4 cfm at 40 and 1/2 as load as the Craftsman. If you anticipate doing heavy sandblasting or grinding a 2-stage would be a good investment. Ingersoll Rand makes some nice ones.

I just got a ad from Lowe's in the local newspaper today and that Kobalt 60-Gal. compressor is on sale for $299, that's a full Franklin off the regular price. I don't know anything about them, but I paid that much for my Craftsman 33-gal. three years ago.
Mine burnt the motor windings when it was a year old. Have a friend that has a elec. motor shop and he repaired it for me for a six-pack . Sears wanted something like $180 for another motor

[carcrazy]

The Lowe's 60 gallon Kobalt compressor is a steal at $299!

[OhMyGoat]

Yesterday I looked at the compressors at Lowe's. For $299 they have a single stage 60 gal. 11.5 cfm @ 90 psi, 13.4 cfm @40 psi. And for $599 they have an two stage 80 gal. 14.0 cfm @90 psi, 16.1 cfm @ 40 psi. Both of these uprights look like nice units that run on 208-230v. I was thinking about the $599 one.

[Region Warrior]

Originally Posted by OhMyGoat

Yesterday I looked at the compressors at Lowe's. For $299 they have a single stage 60 gal. 11.5 cfm @ 90 psi, 13.4 cfm @40 psi. And for $599 they have an two stage 80 gal. 14.0 cfm @90 psi, 16.1 cfm @ 40 psi. Both of these uprights look like nice units that run on 208-230v. I was thinking about the $599 one.

Compressor's are one thing you want to go bigger to start with.

Got the 60g/13.3@40/15.0@90(3.5 running)135 psi Kolbalt high output last year.
Thats right. A H.O.
Made in USA. 3 yr warrenty.
Cast iron cylinder.
I love love it.
Wanted the 80g 2 stage, but room and $ are tight.
Quiter then my old 30g/5 hp.
I think it bypasses the tank when using a die grinder or d.a. sander, etc.
Never have to stop and wait for it to catch up.
If fact, when porting a set of iron heads last summer, i had to stop and rest

My nieghbor has a 80g 2 stage Ingersol Rand.
He's

[judgethis]

I'm building a three car garage next year and have plans in the budget for a lift and a 80 gal 2 stage compressor. Cant wait, Im getting tired of lying on the cold cement or if its not that, its to hot. Never seems to be comfortable outside when I need to fix something. And it seems like I always have all the tools under the car exept the one I need. Its a shame duct tape and a hammer cant fix everything. Happy holidays!!!!

[OhMyGoat]

Originally Posted by judgethis

Cant wait, Im getting tired of lying on the cold cement or if its not that, its to hot. Never seems to be comfortable outside when I need to fix something.

While you are budgeting, budget for heat in the floor and air conditioning too!!

[judgethis]

Heat and A/C also in the budget. Getting a lift so I dont need to be on the floor anymore. No plumbing in the budget though, I'll have to use to the garden hose for the water supply.

[tommie69]

I too am in the market for a nice Compressor!I'm going to look into the big ones at Lowes and depot!I just got done building my garage and need a nice size Compressor!Word of advise for the feller doing a bigger garage or just upgrading your garage."Radeint heat" with the lift is the way to go!Just make sure you know exactly where the lift is going before you put the tubes in the ground .You don't want to hit them when you drill for the lag bolts to mount the post on the lift!Anyone out there have a "bad experience" with the higher end kobalt or huskie compressors??