"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 14 Oct 2005 15:14:31 -0500, "RAM^3"
wrote:

"Don Foreman" wrote in message
news

Ignore the HP ratings. The only meaningful rating is free air CFM at
90 PSI. There are a few "consumer" 5 HP units that will deliver
about 11 CFM at 90 PSI. They're OK for occasional use, and they will
run most tools including a diegrinder, DA sander, chisels, sprayer,
impact wrench, etc.

I'll second that and suggest ignoring any unit that can't produce at least
12 CFM @ 90 PSI with at least a 20 gallon tank.

I bought a Porter Cable "Job Boss" [model 3151 iirc] that was "rated" at
6.2
CFM @ 90 PSI. It won't keep up with a Campbell-Hausfeld 6 CMF die grinder.
Oh, it'll run it for a short period but not continuously and a sander is
out
of the question.

If you have any desire to do any sand/bead/shot blasting you'll need up to
30 CFM.

A small blast cabinet with an S-25 siphon gun from TP Tools works
fine on 10 CFM. Not for big jobs, but it's great for small stuff.


Unfortunately, for me, the "stuff" that I'd like to clean up won't quite fit
in it.