To much pressure - some lock up. Can't recycle. The volume is vary low.

I've run for a time on a hand bottle and even those fancy compressed
bottles from Lowe's.

Finish nailer, crown stapler, roof coil nailer, lots of metal working
tools under air.

Martin

On 11/8/2010 12:27 AM, Michael Koblic wrote:
Air tools are a new thing to me. At this point all I own is a brad
nailer which I have not used in anger.

I have been looking at the general principles guiding air tool use and
there are questions that I have not found satisfactory answer to:

1) Air tools are usually given specs including operating pressure (often
90 psi) and air flow (in CFM). If the available compressor is not rated
for the given flow "the tool will not perform properly". How is this
manifested? E.g. a grinder: Will it turn slower? Less torque? Both? Will
it not turn at all? Will it keep turning till the operating pressure
drops to some level and it stops, i.e is it an on-off thing?

2) Lowering the compressor operating pressure should increase the
available flow. What does lowering the operating pressure do to the
air-tool? I am looking at pressure x flow as similar to current x
voltage but I am not sure this analogy holds in this application. If the
electrical analogy holds I cannot see the air tool "suck" more air
because the pressure dropped, in fact I would intuitively assume *less*
flow.

3) In practical terms, if a tool requiring "average" 3 CFM is operated
from a 2.7 CFM @90 psi will it just underperform all the time or will it
require a shorter duty cycle (and when "on" it will run at full power)?

At this point I do not see much use for air tools in my shop but one
never knows.

--
Michael Koblic,
Campbell River, BC