wrote in message
...
On Tue, 5 Jan 2010 15:49:35 -0500, "Existential Angst"
wrote:

Awl --

In keeping with Sears' auto repair ripoff scheme (prosecuted in mebbe a
dozen states), does anyone recall a smaller scandal on how sears and a
bunch
of others rated their motors based on locked-rotor current, or somesuch?

I recall some organization putting a stop to this, but see nothing
immediately apparent on google.
Is sears rating their motors more realistically now, or are they still
using
that "peak hp"/locked rotor current bull****?

http://www.truetex.com/aircompressors.htm

Or for general trends just compare rated horsepower, cfm, and current
draw of different models and you'll find the best value whether the
specs are inflated or not.

I haven't shopped recently but I doubt that sincerity has taken over
in advertising yet. :-)

A few years back a friend was shopping for a compressor. I warned him
not to be fooled, but he came back with a nice shiny one with giant
labels claiming all sorts of foolishness, and it plugs into 110. It
has a good-sized tank but the check valve leaks so it has to be pumped
up from zero if let sit overnight. Which takes about 10 minutes
because the pump is so wimpy. sigh He doesn't seem to mind, which is
why they'll keep selling such stuff.



what I tell people looking at compressors is to not even look at
horsepower - look at current draw to see if your circuit can stand it, and
look at CFM and pressure - for example, I have an older 2 hp sears
compressor that puts out 7.2 cfm at 40 psi - that's about right - the newer
5 and even "8" hp compressors put out less - and my Quincy 5 hp compressor
puts out 19 cfm at 160 psi, compared to about 6 cfm at 40 psi for a cheapie
5 hp I ran across somewhere.