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?

--
There's a term for those who fantasize that the world works in
precisely the way that produces maximum convenience for them,
despite years of evidence to the contrary. The term is "Morons".
GA in

Hactar wrote:
I'm looking for an air compressor, either tankless or with a small tank
("pancake" style?).

(...)

You will want to start at the other end, methinks.

A pneumatic drill is not a small thing.
The smallest of these drills for example require an honest
4 cubic feet per minute at 90 pounds per square inch.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/cat...c-tools/drills

So you are not looking for a 'pancake' compressor if you want to
run that tool for more than a couple hundred milliseconds per tankful.
I've seen examples of pancake compressors sporting a 6 gallon tank.
That's peachy until you realize that is about 0.8 cubic foot of air.
They empty RFN when powering a reasonable size rotary tool.

More like:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4TW29

Can you specify your need in terms of cubic feet per minute
at a given pressure for a given amount of run time?

That would be the way to start.

Beware that manufacturers often fudge their products performance figures.

Upward.


--Winston

On 2008-06-25, 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?


I had a Harbor Freight one that I did not like due to noise. My friend
now has it and he swears by its performance.
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"Hactar" wrote in message
news
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?

--
There's a term for those who fantasize that the world works in
precisely the way that produces maximum convenience for them,
despite years of evidence to the contrary. The term is "Morons".
GA in

Get a cordless drill, an air drill takes a LOT of air. Convert a BBQ propane
tank for air and fill it at the gas station, that will fill a bunch of little
tires.

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 --

Tom Gardner wrote:

"Hactar" wrote in message
news
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?

--
There's a term for those who fantasize that the world works in
precisely the way that produces maximum convenience for them,
despite years of evidence to the contrary. The term is "Morons".
GA in

Get a cordless drill, an air drill takes a LOT of air. Convert a BBQ propane
tank for air and fill it at the gas station, that will fill a bunch of little
tires.

Um, perhaps buy a portable air tank intended for the use, rather than
converting a BBQ tank.

"Pete C." wrote in message
...

Tom Gardner wrote:

"Hactar" wrote in message
news
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?

--
There's a term for those who fantasize that the world works in
precisely the way that produces maximum convenience for them,
despite years of evidence to the contrary. The term is "Morons".
GA in

Get a cordless drill, an air drill takes a LOT of air. Convert a BBQ propane
tank for air and fill it at the gas station, that will fill a bunch of little
tires.

Um, perhaps buy a portable air tank intended for the use, rather than
converting a BBQ tank.

You're no fun. Propane tanks are usually free, add $20 in fittings and it's
BETTER than a commercial air tank.

In article ,
Tom Gardner wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in message
...

Tom Gardner wrote:

"Hactar" wrote in message
news 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?

Get a cordless drill, an air drill takes a LOT of air. Convert a BBQ propane
tank for air and fill it at the gas station, that will fill a bunch of little
tires.

Um, perhaps buy a portable air tank intended for the use, rather than
converting a BBQ tank.

You're no fun. Propane tanks are usually free, add $20 in fittings and it's
BETTER than a commercial air tank.

Where do you get them for free? Unless you flush it, you run the risk
of inflating your tires with a propane-air mixture.

What I'll probably do is get a dinky electric pump for tire inflation
(slow, within reason, is fine), and an electric drill. Going for a
pneumatic drill would cost me way too much for the compressor.

--
-eben P http://royalty.mine.nu:81
GEMINI: Your birthday party will be ruined once again by your explosive
flatulence. Your love life will run into trouble when your fiancee hurls
a javelin through your chest. -- Weird Al, _Your Horoscope for Today_

On 2008-06-26, Hactar wrote:
In article ,
Tom Gardner wrote:

You're no fun. Propane tanks are usually free, add $20 in fittings and it's
BETTER than a commercial air tank.

Where do you get them for free?

The ones which missed getting the "safety" conversion a year or
two ago, perhaps?

Unless you flush it, you run the risk
of inflating your tires with a propane-air mixture.

Of course you flush it.

What I'll probably do is get a dinky electric pump for tire inflation
(slow, within reason, is fine), and an electric drill. Going for a
pneumatic drill would cost me way too much for the compressor.

Before you purchase one of the small ones, ask to listen to it
running at the store. Most of the ones the size of the pancake style
are *very* noisy. If they won't demonstrate it for you, it is almost
certain that it *is* too noisy. Look for one of the slower speed ones
with a separate motor and belt. They will be quieter, and will run much
longer before failure.

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 27 Jun 2008 03:59:25 GMT, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:
On 2008-06-26, Hactar wrote:
Tom Gardner wrote:

You're no fun. Propane tanks are usually free, add $20 in fittings and it's
BETTER than a commercial air tank.

Where do you get them for free?

The ones which missed getting the "safety" conversion a year or
two ago, perhaps?

Heck, I've been returning those for exchange at The Borg one at a
time, and coming home with full OPD propane tanks. The clerks don't
know to check, and I don't volunteer. It's not exactly kosher, but
the tanks do stay in service and out of the scrap stream, because I've
gotten older recertified re-valved and repainted tanks in exchange.

And the exchange cylinder supplier buys the OPD valves in bulk for
maybe $2 each (which you or I can't) and has a production line all set
up for stripping and painting, hydrotesting and replacing valves.

Nobody around here does the recertification. If I could get the
valves at the right price, I'd do it myself - but they usually want
more than a new tank. And painting the old tanks is easy.

Unless you flush it, you run the risk
of inflating your tires with a propane-air mixture.

Of course you flush it.

The trick is getting rid of all the methyl mercaptan stink.

What I'll probably do is get a dinky electric pump for tire inflation
(slow, within reason, is fine), and an electric drill. Going for a
pneumatic drill would cost me way too much for the compressor.

Before you purchase one of the small ones, ask to listen to it
running at the store. Most of the ones the size of the pancake style
are *very* noisy. If they won't demonstrate it for you, it is almost
certain that it *is* too noisy. Look for one of the slower speed ones
with a separate motor and belt. They will be quieter, and will run much
longer before failure.

And the oil lubricated pumps last much longer than the oilless, even
if they are the noisier direct-drive style. (Coupled to the motor.)

You can always make a plywood box noise enclosure, but you have to
provide flow-through ventilation with In and Out ventilation
labyrinths and a fan.

-- Bruce --

Bruce L. Bergman wrote:


Unless you flush it, you run the risk
of inflating your tires with a propane-air mixture.

Of course you flush it.


The trick is getting rid of all the methyl mercaptan stink.


Easy. Dump in a cup of household bleach and fill it halfway with hot water,
then slosh it around for awhile and dump it out.

I do lots of stuff with (free) old propane cylinders.

Grant