Compressor size?

Alecia Helton · Post by **Alecia Helton** » Sat Dec 20, 2003 5:00 pm

I went to Harbor Freight and Northern Tool this week to check out sand blasting equipment. The salesmen kept steering me to 5-6 hp, 4ft long compressors. I'm pretty sure that's more compressor than I need, but I don't what what will be enough.

I don't plan to do a lot of sand blasting. Mostly clean up work and creating some matte surfaces on a few pieces, but not on the majority of my work.

I'd appreciate learning from your experiences before I over or under buy.

Thanks,
Alecia

Tony Smith · Post by **Tony Smith** » Sat Dec 20, 2003 5:38 pm

For your purposes, you can "get away with" a 25 to 30 gallon compressor in the 3 to 5 HP range. If you have a pressure pot, that setup should be adequate for a long time. With a siphon blaster, it will be usable but marginal (it will run a lot) because of the higher air pressure/volume demands of the siphon system.

Tony

Wallace Venable · Post by **Wallace Venable** » Sat Dec 20, 2003 6:04 pm

I've got a small compressor - I think about 2 to 3 hp and 12 to 15 gallon tank. I originally bought it to fill tires, spray paint, etc. I can accomplish a lot with it, but everytime I slowly work through a good project I can't help thinking how nice it would be to have a bigger unit.

Rick Wilton · Post by **Rick Wilton** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 4:03 pm

What ever size you go with just don't buy a oilless compressor. They are not worth the money for sandblasting. They have graphite rings in them that need to cool off regularily. Spend the extra money and get and oil compressor. I know when you look at the spec's they have equal or even higher cfm's but they need to take a coffee break often. When an oil compressor can run steady with out much trouble and oiless will over heat and wear out the rings quickly. I'm speaking from experience here I still use the old oilless tanks to hold extra air for my 80 gallon compressor.

Rick Wilton

Tom Fuhrman · Post by **Tom Fuhrman** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 7:18 pm

If you are going to be doing any deep carving and lots of sustained periods of blasting the 5-6 HP units may not even be big enough. I use my siphon gun many times and wish I had a large 2 stage compressor, but didn't want to spend the $1200+ for it. Get as big as you can afford and definitely get the oil unit. Tnn. Tom

Alecia Helton · Post by **Alecia Helton** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 12:54 pm

Thanks for your advice.

I knew there was a lot there I needed to know before I bought anything. I'm getting a pressure pot and I'll be sure to get an oil compressor.

Thanks again.

Alecia

Tony Smith · Post by **Tony Smith** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 2:07 pm

Alecia,

A pressure pot uses a lot less air than a siphon blaster, so you should be fine with any compressor that is 3-5hp and 25 to 30 gallons or larger.

Tony

dee · Post by **dee** » Thu Dec 25, 2003 10:08 am

Tony Smith wrote:For your purposes, you can "get away with" a 25 to 30 gallon compressor in the 3 to 5 HP range. If you have a pressure pot, that setup should be adequate for a long time. With a siphon blaster, it will be usable but marginal (it will run a lot) because of the higher air pressure/volume demands of the siphon system.

Tony

tony, i have one of the cyclone table top siphon feed setups, can i convert that to pressure pot if i purchase one of the portable pressure pots?

merry christmas
D

Tony Smith · Post by **Tony Smith** » Thu Dec 25, 2003 10:32 am

dee wrote:tony, i have one of the cyclone table top siphon feed setups, can i convert that to pressure pot if i purchase one of the portable pressure pots?

merry christmas
D

Merry Christmas Dee.

The conversion to a pressure pot is pretty easy. Just disconnect the siphon gun and feed the abrasive hose from the pressure pot into the cabinet. As with all pressure pot intallations, you need to drain the abrasive from the cabinet periodically and sift/pour it back into the pressure pot.

Tony

dee · Post by **dee** » Thu Dec 25, 2003 11:38 am

Tony Smith wrote:
dee wrote:tony, i have one of the cyclone table top siphon feed setups, can i convert that to pressure pot if i purchase one of the portable pressure pots?

merry christmas
D
Merry Christmas Dee.

The conversion to a pressure pot is pretty easy. Just disconnect the siphon gun and feed the abrasive hose from the pressure pot into the cabinet. As with all pressure pot intallations, you need to drain the abrasive from the cabinet periodically and sift/pour it back into the pressure pot.

Tony

thanks tony, i think i can handle that then

i'm not mechanically inclined ;P hope santa was good to you, i have a new toy to set up in the studio today

))))

got any snow up there? talked to my relatives last night in ct and they had rain and 50ish temps while we have cold and clear weather, unfortunately no snow ;P

D

Tony Smith · Post by **Tony Smith** » Thu Dec 25, 2003 12:37 pm

dee wrote:got any snow up there? talked to my relatives last night in ct and they had rain and 50ish temps while we have cold and clear weather, unfortunately no snow ;P

D

It's 50-ish and rain here too. The only snow is the remnants of the 3 ft deep snowbanks from the snows we had earlier in the month... no great loss. I can live without the snow and the slush... even on Christmas... not very sentimental I guess.

No new glass or glass toys for Christmas... I'm gonna have to have a talk with the big guy before next Christmas!!!

Have a great day. Talk to you soon.

Tony

dee · Post by **dee** » Mon Dec 29, 2003 10:59 am

It's 50-ish and rain here too. The only snow is the remnants of the 3 ft deep snowbanks from the snows we had earlier in the month... no great loss. I can live without the snow and the slush... even on Christmas... not very sentimental I guess.

No new glass or glass toys for Christmas... I'm gonna have to have a talk with the big guy before next Christmas!!!

Have a great day. Talk to you soon.

Tony

LOLOL tony, you musta been a bad boy this year not to get any glass toys or new glass! hey, send your unwanted snow my way - i miss it!

Rebecca M. · Post by **Rebecca M.** » Mon Dec 29, 2003 3:00 pm

I have a bit of confusion about the CFM's on compressors. What do those letters stand for anyway? I have a small 2HP compressor that says 2.6 SCFM @ 90psi. I've been looking to get a small blasting cabinet, but this compressor doesn't seem to be enough even for that, according to the specs on the small cabinets. Would it work anyway for a while until I got a bigger one? Or would it be pretty much like the waste-of-money-air-eraser that I already have and can't do a thing with unless I have all day?

Tom White · Post by **Tom White** » Mon Dec 29, 2003 4:04 pm

Becca, SCFM = Standard Cubic Feet of Air per Minute at the pressure listedF. For more information about this than you really want visit http://www.cleandryair.com/scfm_vs__icfm_vs__acfm.htm

For deep carving especially with a siphon blaster, which almost any self contained blasting cabinet is, 2scfm @ 90 psi is not practical. For light etching and shading it might work. For a pressure pot blaster operating at 30 to 40 psi this compressor could do a little more.since it could deliver more scfm at the lower pressure

Best wishes,
Tom in Texas

Tony Smith · Post by **Tony Smith** » Mon Dec 29, 2003 5:38 pm

Becca wrote:I have a bit of confusion about the CFM's on compressors. What do those letters stand for anyway? I have a small 2HP compressor that says 2.6 SCFM @ 90psi. I've been looking to get a small blasting cabinet, but this compressor doesn't seem to be enough even for that, according to the specs on the small cabinets. Would it work anyway for a while until I got a bigger one? Or would it be pretty much like the waste-of-money-air-eraser that I already have and can't do a thing with unless I have all day?

Tom's right. 2.6 CFM just won't give you enough air to run a cabinet. In the 5 CFM range, you should be fine with a pressure pot.

Tony

Rebecca M. · Post by **Rebecca M.** » Mon Dec 29, 2003 6:53 pm

Thank you gentlemen. My New Year's resolution is going to be simply 'more'. More bigger, more better, more real estate?!?

Have a Happy New Year!

Liam · Post by **Liam** » Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:29 pm

speaking of blasting, here's a nifty link. it's a syphon blaster, but it's got a smaller orfice than regular syphon types, making it use less air.
http://www.paascheairbrush.com/parts_20 ... veGuns.pdf

Liam

Brock · Post by **Brock** » Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:38 pm

Liam wrote:speaking of blasting, here's a nifty link. it's a syphon blaster, but it's got a smaller orfice than regular syphon types, making it use less air.
http://www.paascheairbrush.com/parts_20 ... veGuns.pdf

Liam

We used to use those for intricate details on blasted panels.
Called 'em air erasers. Used 320 grit.

WarmGlass.com

Compressor size?

Compressor size?

Compressor Size?