Compressor advice

[Robin Hewitt]

Quiet 50dB but expensive £300 and low flow 40 litres/minute
Noisy 95dB but cheap £100 and high flow rate 180 litres / minute

The noisy one will also require either ear plugs or psycho-active drugs. The cat will look for a new home and your wife will double the dose of Warfarin she puts in your tea.

[lucan07]

The noisy one will also require either ear plugs or psycho-active drugs. The cat will look for a new home and your wife will double the dose of Warfarin she puts in your tea.

Bit posh round your way ain't they, my old lady always used bleeding Rat poison!

[Neale]

Bit posh round your way ain't they, my old lady always used bleeding Rat poison!

I thought Warfarin was bleeding rat poison! Sorry - technical joke there...

So, cheap compressor, noisy, don't want it indoors, or expensive-but-silent compressor that costs more and performs less but saves on ear plugs. Not sure that old air-conditioning compressors from scrapyards are quite as common in UK as in Spain! And in any case, with the laws on refrigerant release we have these days, they're probably all treated as toxic waste. Some great advice here, guys, that leaves me as confused as I was when I started. But at least I now know what to be confused about...

[lucan07]

I thought Warfarin was bleeding rat poison! Sorry - technical joke there...

Glad you got it!

[nirmal]

Those Aldi compressors have gone up in price. I bought a smaller one (25 litres 2.5 Hp) a few years back for about £30 or £40. It's still in the box waiting to be commissioned. I hope it works as the warranty would have expired.

[Robin Hewitt]

But at least I now know what to be confused about...

If you should decide to remarry after your first compressor mistake then discover you still feel the need for shop air, look for a rotary screw compressor. The prices are high but they are fast, quiet and will happily run 24/7 so long as you can remember to add oil.

[cropwell]

If you should decide to remarry after your first compressor mistake then discover you still feel the need for shop air, look for a rotary screw compressor. The prices are high but they are fast, quiet and will happily run 24/7 so long as you can remember to add oil.

Yes, a friend has one in his studio, it cost £3,000 (which he got with a government grant) but the damn thing haemorrhages oil despite having been replaced by the manufacturer once after having the service engineer out many times.
Rob

[Iwant1]

My Lidl 2.5hp 25ltr finally died after many years of good service, but it was too loud to chat with someone while it was pumping. I've replaced it with a Workshop Sealey 3hp 1ph, 100ltr beltdriven job. Retail is 600 but got a good deal on ebay for 270 and its looks new. Although 100ltr is a largish tank, this Sealey one still comes on wheels so can be moved around very easily.

I find that belt driven reduces the noise level while charging, as now I can communicate with others to pass the size 17 spanner. Another point I liked is that the lidl compressor charge upto 8bar, the new compressor charges upto 10bar. I adjusted the kick in to 7bar, so the compressor doesn't switch on that often. Another good addon is to plumb in a 'T' connector after the regulator and have both types of compressor connections, euro and pcl.

Adil

[Boyan Silyavski]

Belt driven is the way, if more money is decided to be invested. Its much more quiet.

El cheapo in the £70 range could be silenced in a box without any problem. Have seen that. A friend has that setup.

I am greatly against the direct driven V head compressors in the 150-500 range cause they are scam. First of all they will not deliver the promised ~300l/m , that means not all air tools will work properly. Secondly they are noisy, third they will die fast in an industrial environment. So whats the point wasting money on them.