On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:02:16 -0400, (Hactar)
wrote:

I'm looking for an air compressor, either tankless or with a small tank
("pancake" style?). It'll be used to inflate wheelchair tires (60 psi)
and run small things like a drill. No 12V kit please; I won't be near a
battery. Any recommendations or antirecommendations? Brands or
features I should look for? Why would I prefer tankless or tanked?

All depends on how much space you have to park or carry it, power
available to run it, and money to fund it. And noise tolerance,
because the small portables have no noise damping enclosures and can
be LOUD.

(You can make a box around the compressor to cut the noise, but you
must make provisions for air circulation or the unit will cook.)

If you only have a 120V 20A branch circuit to work with, that limits
you to 1 HP maximum. And that would be plenty for filling tires, but
not really big enough for anything other than occasional air tool use.
They might label the compressor as "2 HP" but if it draws 120V 16A
full load that is in reality a 1 HP motor.

(The motor maker will not lie, they just fill in the HP blank on the
motor label as "Special" and let the final manufacturer lie with
nebulous and unenforceable terms like "Peak Horsepower." Or as we
call it here, "Sears Horsepower.")

If you will be running any power tools like an air drill or sander,
you need a decent amount of air. Look for an honest 1 HP with a 4 to
6 gallon tank at a bare minimum. And even at that you can still
easily out run the compressor with a drill, and will have to do two
holes and stop for a minute for the compressor to catch up.

The drill will have a CFM Used at 90 PSI rating, if you want to use
the drill continuously the output rating on the compressor has to meet
or exceed that. Otherwise, you can divide the compressor CFM rating
into the tool CFM rating to get a rough Duty Cycle of working to
waiting ratio.

For those kinds of workshop uses I bought a "5 HP" (3 HP actual)
240V 80-gallon two-stage vertical that takes the room of a decent
sized refrigerator and a 240V 30A circuit. And I can still outrun the
compressor with a small bead-blast cabinet or heavy use of hand air
tools - makes a good reason to stop for a minute.

One important feature you need if you plan on keeping the unit for a
long time and lots of hard work is an oil lubricated compressor, and
they do make small portables with oil lube compressors. Change the
oil every year or two, or 25 to 50 hours of run time (read the manual
on the your unit) and it will live a very long life. The "OILLESS"
units tend to wear out faster and die young.

-- Bruce --