Thread: Compressor first buy

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I know others have asked before but I didn't want to hijack anyones thread.

We want to up the ante this year and want to build one or two pneumatic props.

This compressor is in my price range, is it suitable?

Aldi 2.5HP 270 litres/minute

This shop does time limited offers, I realise it might not be the best quality but we only want to use it once a year for Halloween.

They do some accessories as well.

Thanks in advance

On a side note, I would consider looking around for a rental service. I have not taken on any pneumatic props, just know from my home improvement projects, that if I need a special tool that I am only going to use for a day, the rental service in town is the best way to go.

Erlang, Yes this question has come up several time before and you'll get many different opinions. So here's my input

The best way to approach this is look at the utility of the item, That is how are you going to use it in the near term and future. How often will it be used (only on halloween) and to operate what (a couple of small props) or will it be used for other applications and do you plan on expanding the number of pneumatic props in the years to come. Also you need to take into account storage.

A smaller compresser will run a couple of props with out any problem and is easier to store. However if you plan on running more props and bigger ones then a small compressor will run a lot more which could cause it to fail prematurely.

If you have the space and only plan on limited use I would get a small one. If you add more props and out grow its capacity then sell it and buy a bigger one.

Renting is great but I have found that unless its a unique or very expensive equipment that you will only use once in a great while the hassel and expense of renting makes it less attractive I know that I don't have the time on halloween to run to the rental store and back then return it the next day. However you may have a great rental store that will give you a good weekly rate so its worth investigating, it also eliminates the storage issue.

Best of luck

Here some tips I learned last year (first year of pneumatics). I had read that I need to get an oil pump vs. oiless compressor because it's quieter. The Sears guy did me the favor of plugging in each version. Yes, the oil pump is less loud but it's still loud. So, I went the cheaper route and got the oilless version. Then I put it in the basement and found a way to snake up the airline to the garage. So, it ran when it needed to and I never heard it in the haunt

Here's a picture of what I got and I'm very happy with it so far ($180):

Terra, that's a good idea on "hiding" the compressor.

Another thing I thought of that goes along with this hiding bit. The closer the plugin is to your circuit box the better. And being inside is a plus anyways when you live someplace that can get cold. If it gets cold enough the compressor becomes a power hog and you end up tripping a circuit.

The one in the link above is about identical to the one I bought last year.

Now, I didn't use any "props", but we did spray the hell out of a webcaster gun with no problems. Yes, after a few minutes, the compressor would kick on, but it was no big deal.

I've bought a slew of tools for it as well.

Don't know HOW I lived without nail guns before! Hoo yeah! That made redoing the floors and trim around the house a breeze, and saved my hand much pain from the hammers. (I dislocated my thumb a while back, and hammering has been painful ever since)

Ironically, I actually haven't bought the adapter kit to hook up the airbrush to it yet...(you know, the reason I bought the thing in the first place...)

Simply put, best $80 I ever spent. Yeah, it doesn't have the oomph to do all the fancy pneumatic drills and drivers, but it'll run just about anything else. Might get a larger one some day.

Thanks folks, I think I'll get this one.

I forgot about using it for web casting, and I have a couple of oak floors to lay this year so this is definately the right time to buy one.

Cheers

Yeah, getting the bigger one is the best bet. I bought mine years ago from sears and have used it all the time. I do work on an older car. Then I bought grinders, sprayers, etc. etc. I have two different hook ups for it in my garage. I like it because, I bought the attachment from frightprops.com where you can hook up 6 different props. It runs it without any probs. The downside of a rental is that you really don't have time to make sure things work and then double and triple check them. After a couple years of renting you could have bought one. Good luck with it. Oh, and make sure you drain the air out at the end of each use. You don't want the air condensating in it and causing rust.

I got mine at an auction and at the time didn't know what I was going to do with it but knew I'd find something; then i bought a nailer on ebay and used it for some trim work,then I started build a work bench no bent nails! then I started using it for building props nice for those hard to get at spots then for powering the props.as you can see you'll be glad you bought it. there not just for halloween anymore!