Ok...time to gripe some...looking at buying a compressor for the home. Start calling around, checking websites, etc. I contacted Campbell Hasfeld a while back and asked them for decibel level info for some of their compressors...got no answers but they sent a little handbook catalog. So I call them again and get someone in technical service...this lady, Claudette, assures me the info I need(I specified very clearly that what I was really looking for was the noise decibel levels) was in the "spec sheets" for each compressor and that she will send me these. Great. A few days later the "spec sheets" arrive in the mail....read them over and guess what?? Not a d#*n thing on noise decibel levels. But she attached a cover page to the info giving me a 800 number to call and ask for her. So, I call the 800 #....it's not even a good number for them... a completely different company!!!! Ok back to the web to get a phone number. Type in "Campbell Hasfeld" on Yahoo...nothing comes up. Try again..nothing. Type in "Air Compressors" and in the results they have their company listed under "Campbell Hausfield"...can't even spell the name of their own company right on the web ( I know they probably did this on purpose because of how it sounds). Now...try to find a way to email them on their site...not there. How can these people stay in business???? The people at Quincy compressor and Ingersoll Rand seem to be able to provide the info pretty easily....This is getting ridiculous!!!...I guess it's time to buy someone else's product. Ok...I'm through griping.
You are wise to be concerned about noise levels. Sesorineural hearing loss ( nerve deafness) caused by prolonged exposure to noise and carpal tunnel syndrome(a/ka tenosynovitis, tendonitis , etc.) are the biggest causes of occupational illness in terms of numbers of individuals affected. OSHA uses about 90 dB on the A scale as a threshold limit but I have have seen studies questioning 85. ( The scale is lograrithmic) I doubt any higher HP compressor is going to be that low whether 1 or 2 stage. Even the air release can be high in noise intensity. The onset of hearing loss is gradual and insidious. First the higher frequency recoginition 15-20 HZ, then down to the speach frequecies say 500HZ. However, the loss often goes unnoticed by the affected person. There is a warning sign which is ringing in the ears. This can be also caused by other things like ototoxic drugs like aspirin. Once it progresses, a person's own ability to speak clearly is adversely affected. So my advice is to wear hearing protection such as EAR type plugs. However, beware of their protection ratings which assume a perfect fit which is almost never the case. Their is also the factor of tactile induction of noise or machinery induced vibration through the musculoskeletal structure of the body including from the floor to the feet which is hard to protect against. This too adds to the risk for hearing loss, but enough said I think you get the picture. Jim Lore
I have the Campbell Hasfeld little 15 gallon compressor (oilless) and I can tell you that it is loud... Almost as loud as the impact that it came with, but not as loud as the air hammer. IF you want I can look in the owners manual tonight and it might give a Db lever for the compressor. I know all the tools came with that info so the compressor should have it too. But thats only if your looking for a small one like mine. The bigger oil type's are quieter I think.
I have a Campbell Hausfield (this spelling is correct by the way) (not to strike a bad chord with ya) anyway....the oil-less compressors will drive you absolutly crazy with noise! My compressor is the old type with the oil (1/2 hp 12 gal) and I cant hear it run when I move to another room in my basement. If DB's are a main concern for you, I would suggest the oil type compressor, you will be much happier :TU: . Larry
2 cents Make sure whatever brand you get has a ASME certified air tank. The cerification gives you extra assurance that its a well made tank. I recommend SEARS compressors - they have all styles, they are reasonablly loud, most are ASME certified, you can get parts, and they go on sale frequently! - Bill
What are you planning to run with this compressor? I can tell you, look around for a good deal on an industrial unit. Consumer air compressors are meant now days to have a 3 year life span.. My Snap on "big red machine" was certainly spendy at $2800.. but with it's huge twin cylinders (10HP, 80 Gal verticle tank), it runs a lot slower to produce the air volume (19scfm@125lbs) and is about half the DB of my old C-H 60 gallon tank 5 HP unit. That unit, under 2 years of full time use, and 2 years of part time use, was worn out, when I got rid of it. Also, the industrial units are typically pressure regulated to 175 psi.. mine kicks in at 125.. What a world of difference that makes, if you going to be doing any sand/bead blasting. And continuous paint spraying, causes the compressor to only kick on, every other pass, even with my HVLP guns. I know that would be way overkill for what your prolly going to do with it, but if you can get wayy more compressor than you need, used, and of industrial quality, you will be far better off than with a comsumer unit. Mine is rated to have a 20year life span. And I can easily hear the not very loud electronic ring of the shop phone, when it is on. In a shop full of expensive tools, I count that to be one of the best purchases I have made, when it comes to the money/value comparision. Industrial shops are upgrading all the time, and auto shops are going out of business, so their should be units available for a fraction of new cost, in most major metro areas. The direct drive, oil-less compressors are a toy, at best.. and will drive you insane.. I have one of those that we take in the car trailer when we go racing, and it drives me nuts. And keep breaking all the time. JW
I would also highly recommend checking on an industrial compressor!! My uncle bought two of them several years back - sold one of them for what he paid for the both of them!:TU: If I remember correctly, it was only $300.:jd:
Larry...point taken on the spelling, but in the interest of being grammatically correct the spelling is "Hausfeld"...I'm staring at their website banner as I write this..check it out. I'm not trying to be a jerk but sometimes these details bug me. http//www.chpower.com I honestly think they spell it the other way on purpose because most people will type in Hausfield on their search engine. As you can tell, it's quiet around here today. Thanks Patton
also..thanks for all the input..I was hoping you guys would see through my griping and give some useful advice(which all of you did). I agree on the oil vs. oilless....I did the bulk of the work on my 72 at a friends resto shop here...of course he had the nice, large industrial compressor...with a MASSIVE extra tank in addition to the fairly large attached tank. I sandblasted/glass beaded virtually every chassis part on the car other than the frame and rear axle, which were done by a friend with commercial blasting business. During that multi year period I also did too many parts to count for a couple other cars.....wheels, a-arms, control arms, etc+ every nut and bolt. Being a resto shop that did complete, nut and bolt restos and a lot of panel replacement(the guy does a lot of Jags and Healeys which always seemed to have massive rust problems)..there was always an air tool running along with the blast cabinet. Let's just say me and the blast cabinets really got to be good friends. Heck, I stripped the complete underside of the GS to bare metal with a die grinder using those 3M Clean-N-Strip wheels...that was a one week job in itself, not counting the removal of all the factory undercoating with a scraper by hand. I had to buy my buddy a new die grinder after that week. As Jim will attest, the resto shops hammer on these compressors. I'm getting to the end of this project and looking for equipment for the next couple, thus the griping. Thanks again guys for seeing through my griping and giving me some useful info. You don't really appreciate the work and facilities that these resto guys provide until you go try to duplicate it on your own...the things we take for granted. Thnx Patton
I am a Habour Freight Tool man myself and proud of it. Yyeah, they are cheap. Never broken anything from there so far, but I admit I am not a professional resto man --just an amatuer. JIm Lore
But I am willing to be you have one heck of a Law Library Jim, Your tools.... my tools... Tool purchases take on a whole new light.. when you use them 24/7. I would agree the "tool truck" stuff is overkill for most hobbyists. But it is nice to have... :TU: Patton, one other thing I should mention.. whatever you buy, you will be better served by a 220 Volt machine. JW
I recently bought a coleman 7hp 80gal compressor from Tractor Supply that was about the same price as the CH of the same size unit but has a control panel with 1 unregulated outlet and 2 regulated outlets. I think it cost about $420. I put it in a closet in my shop so the noise is not a factor but it is not real loud. I like it real well. Randy
Jim, Randy, et al: Definitely going 220V. So far the best customer service was at Quincy....they put me right into this guy that actually works on thier compressors and uses them(serious street rodder)...He volunteered more info than anyone and knew what he was talking about vs. reading it from some company published info. I was at another guys home shop a while back up in Dallas when we were dropping off a bunch of Olds parts on our way to a OCA zone show...he had an Ingersoll 2 stage I think...fairly quiet. One of the home shop type units...not what a commercial shop would use. My use will be glass bead cabinet..small or medium nozzle size...air cleaners, a few wheels, lots of various brackets, bolts, etc are typical items I blast. Probably some HVLP use for epoxy priming and build primer...final paint will be left to the real pros. A majority of the "pain in the butt" parts I have for future products are already blasted....2 complete A-body suspensions, spindles, etc, radiator supports and attached pieces, differentials. Future use for blasting will be infrequent.. HVLP priming will be most of the use. Of course, there are always those other future projects that show up so I'm going to try to err on the side of getting a little more than I need. BTW Jim....that avatar is awesome...I think there's a market for some prints of that photo. Thnx Patton
Thanks Patton, If we every quit inventing the wheel on this car, I may get it finished.. Spend the last 2 days building a custom front and mid motor plates... front plate that *does not* go thru the timing cover, and it attached to both the block and the heads.. custom mid plate, to fit the front half of the chassis, that we did not build here... Now I can go back to my building the headers... More fun... All kinds of fun...ou: I will be glad to get back to some resto work, where I can often times just put the old noggin in neutral..:gt: JW
Patton, I have an old Sears Craftsman (about 7 years old) that I just replaced with an Ingersoll Rand 5hp 80 gallon. The Sears unit and all portable units I have heard are very loud (don't know the exact dBAs but you can't hear yourself think). Most work fine except the noise. I bought the IR on sale at Home Depot for less than $700.00. It is 100% continuous duty (will run non-stop 24 hours a day) with 14.7 cfm at 175 PSIG. Max PSIG = 175, Quiet operation: 75dBA. (I did have to pay an electrician to wire this up but my ears thank me every time it kicks on) The slow speed of the piston and the belt drive make it very quite compared to the oil free design of most garage compressors. I would stay away from the no name brands from Harbor Freight but they do sell some name brands. Mike
Patton, I've been using an Eagle oiled compressor for about a year now after returning a Coleman. No complaints. 18.5 CFM @100psi, 3cylinder, 220V, 80db, 26 gallon tank, 230lbs, $480US. It'll only last about 1000 hours, which is OK for my needs. I went with the smaller tank because I often only need one tankfull to use the impact gun and the compressor works less to fill a small tank. I picked up the 18.5 CFM unit for sandblasting and sanding, both of which need at least 12-15 cfm @90PSI. Just another option... good luck!
Back in the day (about 1980 and still in high school) me and the buddy across the street rigged up a junk refrigerator compressor to an empty freon tank. We'd turn it on, wait about a half hour watching cartoons, use the die grinder on the 440 cylinder heads for about 5 minutes until the tank was empty, and then go back to cartoon watching until the tank filled up again. Talk about your cheap air compressors! Warning: don't try this at home kids.
Dad bought one like this at an auction about 20 yrs ago. Worked great for pumping up tires on our bicycles which is what he got it for.
Campbell Hausfeld, etc. My 2 cents: FWIW, I think C-H compressors nowadays are about the same as the "no names" from Harbor Freight. Essentially disposable, really whether oilless or not. I do think Sam's has pretty good deals on Quincys, if you're eyeing up one of those. In general, besides going for the 220, if you're looking for a lot of pressure, get a 2-stage pump, which is usually good for 175 psi as opposed to the single stage standard psi of 125. Personally, I bought a CH over 20 years ago and it's still going strong. I do believe the cast iron pumps they put on 'em back then were very good, however. But I do maintain it pretty well (drain tank religiously and keep oil fresh). It is loud! However, over the years, C-H came out with an updated head that increased the air intake area and improved upon the reed valve setup, so I upgraded. The new head had the fringe benefit of quieting it down quite a bit, too... As far as keeping it in a closet, you have to be real careful about overheating it under sustained usage; kind of like a computer. I use Mobil 1 in my pump, and during the summer, if I do any sustanied blasting or anything, I run a box fan right in front of the cylinders to keep 'em cooler. The 2-HP 220V Gould motor has never ever even burped! However, there have been times when it wasn't used for months on end, unlike something JW would be using for his shop, which is used, as he said, essentially 24-7.
porter gable recently purchased a porter gable (cplkc7080v2) 2 stage , 220v/23 amps, 7 peak hp, 135psi on 175 psi off, 80 gal asme tank, 17 scfm delivered @40psi/16 scfmdelivered@90psi , aluminum/cast sleeves decibel 84 got it at lowes last week (total with tax 749 - reg 779 less 10% + 7% sales tax). as a first ime buyer of a compressor i wanted to buy once. application is home garage with maybe some spraypainting it was priced at the very top of my compressor buy budjet but i think it has what it takes to do what ever i might ask it todo. check this site out for some basic info on compressors. www.underhoodservice.com/ts902/ts90214.htm :Comp: later paul
