Need help on choosing Air Compressor
 

Please help me, so I need a new air compressor. I'm looking at this one Makita MAC2400 Big Bore 2.5 HP Air Compressor http://www.amazon.com/Makita-MAC2400-Big-Bore-Compressor/dp/B0001Q2VPK. I went to home depot to check it out. This thing is pretty small and light (I can carry it around) with 1,720 RPM low noise and overall very good reviews. Not to mention this thing looks pretty cool :p

But the question is with 4.2 liter tank and only 4.2 scfm will it run my 4.5 scfm impact gun and 4.8 scfm air rachet. It's just for basic automotive bolt on and some suspension work, maybe some paintgun too. Anyone have this thing? let me know, thx much!

i suggest finding somethign that has atleast 10% more CFM than your most hungry air tool...

small compressors are usually enough to take wheels off with a 1/2" drive impact gun, but air ratches see quite frequent 10 second bursts and a small compressor cannot keep up with it...

i used to use a 5 gallon 4.2 cfm compressor and it'd kick in after 3 seconds with my air ratchet... and i'd run out of air after about 15 seconds... my current compressor puts out 6+ cfm with a 30 gallon tank, and it's been great so far...

one more thing to keep a look out for... direct drive (all compact compressors use this) are generally noisy and difficult to service... if you have money, i suggest getting a vertical 20-30 gallon compressor that uses BELT DRIVE... you will find these much less noisy (atleast less annoying) and much more reliable, and much much more capable of running your automotive air tools...

i have one of these. it does wonderful things to my air tools.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

Did you know, many of the major tool brands actually have a secret line of tools specifically designed to be sold at big box stores. Most of you won't believe me I'm sure, but why do you think tools from Home Depot are so cheap. Its not just the volume of sales that accounts for the low price. The internals aren't made as well, plastic parts in place of metal and such.

Home owners might not notice the difference in quality, and some trades people rather pay less, because all tools wear out anyway. Personally, I buy all my tools at lumber yards and tool suppliers.




I love Makita tools, but if you decide to look for a large compressor Ingersoll Rand is the best IMO.

I have that compressor but I also have two extra air storage tanks and when I want portability I just take it without the tanks.

Go to KMS tools.. they have way better selection.

Get an oiled one.. it won't drive you nuts.

For air tools.. the bigger and heavier they are.. the better they are.