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Time for a new air compressor!

John Conroy

John Conroy

member
Premium Member
My little 20 gallon air compressor was just not cutting it when it came to using air impact tools. The max pressure was 110psi and the air tools weren't doing what I need them to. I shopped around and decided to take a chance buying this Chinese made 2 stage compressor with an 80 gallon tank. It's rated at 21 cfm at 180 psi. I'm not sure if that's accurate but it fills the tank to 180 psi from empty in 12 minutes. That's about the same amount of time it took my old compressor to fill the 20 gallon tank to 110 psi. I had to use the last 2 empty breaker slots in my panel for the 220 volt breaker so I guess I can't buy anymore big tools!

I had to modify some existing shelving to fit it into this corner but it fits like as glove and it easy to roll out away from the corner for servicing.

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Is it noisy or just typical for its size? Looks like an everlast tig hiding in there too. How do you like it? I really like mine.
 
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I see you have a overhead heater how do you find it in the wintertime? My brother has a double garage but it seems to have a hard time heating up the area. I have a older floor model that throws out good heat but I'd like to regain that space, or since the overhead ones are vented through the wall maybe put in one of these.
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Tom I had a normal house furnace (80K BTU) and threw it away and put in a 50K BTU overhead unit. Better heat, reclaimed floor, and cheaper to run... you won't be disappointed!
 
Princess has them for $900. (Dabbler corrects me it's less) Anybody have one?
 
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The compressor is quieter than my old one but still pretty annoying but it has an 80 gallon tank so it doesn't have to run very often. My little compressor ran almost constantly when using any air tool, even the cool mist on my mill.

The Everlast TIG welder works great but I need more practice on it

The overhead furnace was a gift from my son who is in the HVAC business. It's a Reznor brand, 50,000 BTU I think. It vents through the side wall of the garage and keeps the space warm in even the coldest weather. One of the best gifts I've ever received!
 
I'll have to see what the btu is on mine and price out one with the same btu or maybe a bit bigger because of a exhaust fan I want to install it's a big bugger but should allow me to cast in the winter time with a overhead hood I'm hoping to control the motor with a dimmer switch or change it to a dc motor I have a spare for my Craftex 601.
this has a 6" inlet & outlet.
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I had run plastic air lines to 2 air outlets in my garage but the quick fit connections were plagued with small annoying leaks so I decided to run copper and solder all the connections. I used a 24 inch rubber hose to connect the compressor to the copper to isolate the vibration form the compressor away from the copper pipe. At the compressor end I left an 8 inch leg below the air connection for water to settle in and installed a tap for easy draining. I ran the pipe up to the ceiling and over to the other side of the garage with a 3 inch slope in 18 feet toward the compressor.








Then I ran the pipe along the ceiling toward my mill with a 3 inch slope in 16 feet toward the mill with another 12 inch leg below the 2 air outlets, again with a tap for water drainage. The highest point in the system is at the right angle on the ceiling so water can drain both ways. I welded up a bracket to support the pipe so there will be no flexing when connecting hoses. The extra outlet is for the coolmist on the mill, i have to get some fittings to finish that part.











No more leaks!
 
Nice. Be interesting to see what kind of liquid dropout you get with the new 'distillery' piping.
ps - does that compressor work well with your plasma cutter?
 
John Ive got questions too! Shop pictures are always good. I’d like to see pictures of the cool mist system. Is it noisy? Expensive to run? I saw this stuff at KMS Tools and wondered what it was like. Does it make a fog or odour in the air?
 
PeterT said:
Nice. Be interesting to see what kind of liquid dropout you get with the new 'distillery' piping.
ps - does that compressor work well with your plasma cutter?
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Thanks Peter, I haven't tried it with the plasma cutter yet but it should work great as it has tons of capacity compared to my old compressor.
 
Janger said:
John Ive got questions too! Shop pictures are always good. I’d like to see pictures of the cool mist system. Is it noisy? Expensive to run? I saw this stuff at KMS Tools and wondered what it was like. Does it make a fog or odour in the air?
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Most of the time I don't use coolant but when I do I use this from KMS.

https://m.kmstools.com/kool-mist-78-mist-coolant-1-gallon-140333

With a very low flow rate it doesn't make a fog and you don't hear it over the sound of the mill.

I just use a cheap Chinese nozzle like this.

https://m.kmstools.com/magnum-magnetic-mount-coolant-hose-kit-2961

I'll post some pics when I get the plumbing finished.
 
John - do you use this mist cooling for drilling? Does it cool the bottom of the hole and end of the drilll bit? Or are you still peck drilling and cooling on the up stroke. ? Thanks John.
 
We've got one of the actual Noga brand cool mist setups.. it fills the air with atomized coolant and you start feeling it in your lungs pretty fast. I wouldn't recommend it to most people. For drilling you want flood if possible, even if it's not high volume and pressure you still need it to get down into the borehole and cool your drill and ideally eject chips, the mist cooling systems are more for turning, milling and grinding. Having said that all processes are better off with flood coolant.
 
Janger said:
John - do you use this mist cooling for drilling? Does it cool the bottom of the hole and end of the drilll bit? Or are you still peck drilling and cooling on the up stroke. ? Thanks John.
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I don't use the mist for drilling, I use it mostly on stainless to help extend the life of carbide end mills. With the mist volume set very low it doesn't seem to fog up the shop but I only use it for short periods. I don't have the flood coolant system set up on my mill or lathe as I don't want to deal with the mess it makes. I'm happy to work at slower speeds to reduce the heat and avoid the mess. A lot of the time I just use the air with no mist just to blow chips away from the work especially when fly cutting where chips can get wedged under the cutter and spoil the finish.

I did finish up the plumbing on the mist system yesterday by adding a short whip hose with a ball valve to regulate air flow. The coolant volume is regulated by the little adjusting screw on the body of the tool. I just use a clear plastic windshield washer fluid bottle as a reservoir for mixed coolant and hang it on a bracket on the side of the mill below the tool to prevent siphoning. I only mix small batches of coolant as it seems to go skunky if left mixed for a long time.





 
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