What kind of air compressor is sufficient?

[allan5oh]

What kind of cfm (at 90 psi) is required for doing heavy truck wheels? My impact seems to prefer 130 psi or so to break 500 lb ft loose. Normally we use the truck air compressor, but that takes a while of waiting even in between each nut.

Is 60 gallon good enough or do we need 120(or bigger)?

Shop will have 220, in floor heat is electrical (10,000W if I'm not mistaken). Nothing is installed yet except the in floor heat, so I'm wondering what the best direction is. Should I reserve one plug for 50 amps for the air compressor? Or maybe hard wire it.

[mike in idaho]

A five horsepower double stage compressor should do it. A 60 gallon tank should be enough for painting, tire changing,etc..

[allan5oh]

Ok great, our current tank is 30 gallon and the compressor hooks up to a 240v/30 amp source. I have no idea of the cfm of the compressor. All I know is it's a single lung oiled unit and it leaks.

[Musicman]

A five horsepower double stage compressor should do it. A 60 gallon tank should be enough for painting, tire changing,etc..

Exactly correct. Here's a link to the Craftsman Professional Grade (80 gallon) compressor I bought over two years. I have never had a problem with it and it powers my 1 inch drive impact quite well. I can remove all ten lugs from a wheel before the compressor kicks on.

Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

[allan5oh]

80 gallons is enough for 10 lugnuts eh, at what pressure does your compressor kick off? Thanks for the recommendation.

[Musicman]

80 gallons is enough for 10 lugnuts eh, at what pressure does your compressor kick off? Thanks for the recommendation.

Compressor kicks on at around 145 psi and kicks off around 178 psi. I have the following Chicago Pneumatic 1" drive impact:

Amazon.com: Chicago Pneumatic CP7976 1-Inch Drive Super Duty Impact Wrench with 6-Inch Anvil: Home Improvement

With this and other 1" drive impacts, you'll need 1/2" air line and quick connect fittings to properly power it. I have a Craftsman 1/2" impact that purportedly makes 700 ft/lbs of torque with 1/4" fittings, but I wouldn't trust anything but a one inch drive for my wheels.

[Musicman]

Should I reserve one plug for 50 amps for the air compressor? Or maybe hard wire it.

I just realized that one hasn’t been answered. I think my compressor is wired to a 240v/30 amp breaker (well, two 120v/30 amp breakers to be exact). The compressor I have uses a capacitor-assisted-start motor and doesn’t even dim the lights in the shop when it kicks on.

[allan5oh]

I was definitely going to go with 1/2" line and G-type fittings. This is our current impact:

http://www.nationalpneumatic.com/pro...lex&lang=en-US

It will break nuts loose, but you have to be patient. Currently using truck air. I think the problem is the tractor protection valve simply cannot deliver enough air. I think with just more air delivery (volume and psi) this unit should work fine.

[Musicman]

This may be information you already know, but just in case:

Remember when setting up your air system that the longer the pipe and hose from compressor to air tool, the bigger the drop in pressure at the tool.
Here’s a couple links to charts that detail pressure loss in various lengths of pipe and hose:

"Air pressure loss in steel pipe"
"Air pressure loss in standard power tool hoses"

My current configuration is about 40 feet of ½” black iron pipe, then a filter / moister trap / regulator / automatic oiler assembly, then two fifty foot sections of ½” line (which isn’t ideal). My one inch impact is supposed to run on 90 psi, but with my setup, I have to set my regulator to 120psi to power it correctly. Also, if you use an automatic oiler like I have done, make sure you put a separate (3/8” is adequate) air line outlet BEFORE the oiler and and regulator so you have high pressure “dry” air for filling tires. You don’t want to put oiled air in your tires… bad things can happen.

[Musicman]

This is our current impact: http://www.nationalpneumatic.com/pro...lex&lang=en-US

It will break nuts loose, but you have to be patient. Currently using truck air. I think the problem is the tractor protection valve simply cannot deliver enough air. I think with just more air delivery (volume and psi) this unit should work fine.

The specs on your impact would indicate that it should generate more than enough power to remove and install truck lugs. I would imagine that you simply aren’t getting enough volume of air off the truck’s compressor to get the job done. I looked at ¾” models myself when I was shopping for an impact, but opted for the one inch drive because I wanted to make sure I could get the job done. The model I ended up buying is one of the most common you’ll see in truck tire shops so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with it. Plus, I figured that with just one truck and trailer to maintain, the more powerful one inch drive would last me a lifetime.

[Musicman]

You will need a compressor with a tank to power a nail gun. Nail guns require a certain amount of cfm at a set pressure to operate and the compressor needs to provide at least that amount.

If attending the class you have conveniently included in your spam-disguised-as-a-post makes me post a response about nail guns to a post about heavy duty impact wrenches, I think I’ll pass.

[YerDaddy]

Here's my air compressor
Morgan Series Reconditioned Stationary Vertical Air Compressor — 80 Gallon, 240 Volts, 14 CFM, Model# RE6580A | 10 - 20 CFM | Northern Tool + Equipment
Great price. These are reconned Kobalt units which go for a lot more at Lowe's.

I also wrote a review for it so check reviews for one by 5string

[Musicman]

Here's my air compressor

Very similar specs to mine, the lower air pressure (155 psi vs 175 psi) notwithstanding and half the price. It'd certainly do the job.

[mitchno1]

if on callout our mechanic hooks 60litre tank to truck compressor

[LBF]

You need two things for big air consumers like a 1 inch gun,

Volume of air at the gun, and a compressor that keep the supply tank filled.

Marketers will hype the size of the tank, and then hype the horsepower of the motor, but we don't know if that is input or output of power.

The real measure that matters for choosing the pump portion of an air compressor rig is volume of air produced in cfm, cubic feet per minute.

To get the air to the tool, you need a complete set of hoses and fittings that are not restricted somewhere.

You may do this on the cheap with patience and the small compressor you have, or off the truck air system.

Get a portable air tank of some description to use in the middle of your supply run. And old truck tank from the scrapyard, whatever. You will add a short length of large diameter hose and fittings to the tool. Then it gets a T fitting of the smaller size to match your existing source of air. An air gauge to monitor is handy, but not necessary, you'll know by the tool's performance whether you have enough.

So, you get a volume of air local to the tool, with large fittings to give it full power. The pressure in the local volume of air will drop through tool use, and you may need to wait for it to catch up, but when you do have air, you have full power from the tool, without the expense of a big compressor and the long lines and hardware in the larger size.

We gotta save a buck here and there, depending on the duty cycle we expect to need for this air set-up at home.

[Musicman]

The real measure that matters for choosing the pump portion of an air compressor rig is volume of air produced in cfm, cubic feet per minute.

Yes, and don't forget also that cfm varies at different psi as well. The specs of most compressors will include cfm at two different psi levels. Your impact will also include literature containing the cfm at what psi it needs to operate properly.