Two stage Vs single stage air compressor

Hello Bill!!    5Hp is good  2 stage good 175psi, needed, look for cfms, needed.  The blast cabinet will work ok, and a small nozzle on the POT should work for small jobs.   Don't even consider a single stage compressor.  220volts is also good.  This investment should last you forever.   Don't be cheap.    Allen

I agree you want a two stage unit. I looked around pretty good when I bought mine. I looked at Ingersoll Rand, but ended up with a Capmbell Hausfeld from Lowes. It was slightly cheaper, but the real thing is that it did more CFM's. When blasting CFM's is everything. With a small nozzle I can go without stopping. 

Bill, don't forget to drain the water out of the tank frequently. Comes from condensation. Seems like tank corrosion can do one in as quick as compressor problems. This is not from experince, but from "remembering" other comments with my shakey memory. Bob@allisdowneast

Two Stage.
Get one with cast iron pump.
I have a Curtis Toledo 2 stage with a 120 gallon tank.  I have a ball valve on the outlet. 
The unit came with a petcock drain in the bottom.  I replaced it with a street L and a pipe which was long enough to attach a ball valve for a drain. This way I do not have to reach under the tank to drain it.  I drain the condensation daily.

Buy one good BIG one,one time and be done.True 5hp cast iron 2-stage @175psi 80gal tank.You'll never regret it.Somewhere in the $1500 range but money well spent.

Coke has it right, a true 5hp motor will be labeled in the 23-25 continuous amp range. 

Also motor speed and compressor size have a significant factor in noise generated. 

A 1750rpm motor driven compressor will be quieter than a 3250 motor driven compressor.  Also the slower the pump turns the quieter it will be.  Most cheaper units spin the compressor over 1000 rpm.  They take a smaller compressor section and spin it faster to pump the same cfm due to the cheaper manufacture cost.  Also many of the big box store compressors not only rate hp incorrectly, but also rate cfms incorrectly.  A lot rate cfm by theoretically by pump displacement.  No pump is 100 percent effeicent and the cfm rating drops off as pressure builds to a point.  Some cheap compressors are rated at 21-22cfm when top tier compressors will be rated correctly at 17cfm and will outperform the 22cfm one.  The tag should say(rated 17cfm @175psi) or something similar. 

Ingersoll rand used to be a quality product, but the pumps now are smaller and spun faster to make the unit cheaper.  A 5hp IR pump now is the same size as an older 3hp pump, just spun much faster.  As a result I have seen some pumps fail due to high wear of the faster/higher loading of a smaller pump. 

Quincy isn't quite as severe, they spin a 850, which really helps, but again, in the last few years they have cheapened their pumps up, done away with the pressure lube and such.  Now selling a "slightly" inferior product under a previously top tier name, but is still better than 90 percent of them out there. 

Curtis, champion, and saylor beall make excellent compressors. 

I personally bought a eaton 5hp 17cfm 2 stage compressor, mostly American made, compressor section is foreign sourced, but the other components are made/assembled in ohio.  It turns a slow 650rpms and is very quiet.  Can carry on a conversation very well on the cell phone standing right next to it, cant think standing next to my fathers IR of the same size.  It wasn't that much different in price compared to the IR either.  I picked it up at the factory and they loaded me quick and the owner/worker or two took several min to get to know me and a friend that was with me, very nice people. 


Edited by firebrick43 - 25 Nov 2010 at 11:08pm