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What Size Air Compressor Do I Need for Air Tool Use?

Let’s say you’re a professional mechanic who’s learning the ropes or at least a do-it-yourself one. You might even be someone who simply tinkers with the vehicles in your garage every weekend after work. Whichever, the case you should have a good set of tools ready in order to make all of your work or projects go without a hitch every time. Electric tools are great but air tools have certain advantages to them that make them ideal for garage, home improvement, and industrial usage.

However, it’s also important to know which size of air compressor you need to power your different tools, whether they’re air tool drills, paint sprayers, grinders, sanders, or screwdrivers.

The Advantages of an Air Tool

Investing in air tools for your garage is a commonsensical thing to do. Air tools have extra torque compared to electric tools, particularly those with direct motor drives, because of the boosting power of an air compressor. To be more specific, here are just some of the advantages of getting air tools:

  • Reduced heat output
  • Little to no risk of fire hazard
  • Little to no risk of electric shock
  • In most cases, there’s more power or torque
  • Operator fatigue is reduced due to less weight
  • Lasts longer when compared to electrical tools

Air Tool CFM Chart

Here are the air tools you’ll most commonly use in your garage with their average CFM requirements included, from their CFM at 90 PSI to their average operating PSI.  Don’t forget that these tools are rated at 25 percent duty cycle, which means that you can use them 15 seconds out of every 60. So for continuous-use tools such as the air grinder, you’ll want to multiply the CFM number by 4 to get the proper requirements for them.

Air Tool

Average Operating PSI

CFM at 90 PSI

Air Hammer

90-100

4

Tire Inflator

125-150

2

Angle Grinder

90-100

5-8

Impact Driver (½”)

90-100

4

Angle Grinder

90-100

5-8

Speed Saw

90-100

4

Blow Gun

90-100

2-3

Ratchet (⅜”)

90-100

4

Impact Driver (¾”)

90-100

7

Brad Nailer

70-90

0.5

Ratchet (¼”)

90-100

3

Die Grinder

70-90

5

Paint Spray Gun

90-100

4-8

Disc Sander

90-100

20

Orbital Sander

70-100

6-9

Drill

70-90

4

Impact Wrench (1″)

90-100

10

Framing Nailer

100-130

2

Impact Wrench (½”)

90-100

4

Grease Gun

120-150

3

Impact Wrench (⅜”)

90-100

3

Hydraulic Riveter

90-100

4

Impact Driver (1″)

90-100

12

FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions when it comes to air tools and the air compressors that power them up.

  • What Size Air Compressor Do You Need? Before purchasing an air compressor for air tool usage, you should calculate or work out your exact personal needs or applications for the tool. This way, you can find the perfect fit. Usually, it involves knowing which tools you’ll be using and what their CFM requirements are. Actually, knowing the tasks you’ll be doing should also help figure out what type of tools to buy on top of choosing the right compressor.
  • What Types of Projects Will You Be Doing Exactly? The bigger, more complex, and more involved the project in your garage or wherever else, the more powerful and larger your air compressor capacity should be in order to power more powerful tools in kind. It’s a question of major construction projects versus minor occasional maintenance tasks. Auto repair or home improvement also dictates the types of air tools you should get. In turn, the air tool CFM requirements dictate the grade of air compressor you should have.
  • What Types of Air Tools Will You Use? Obviously, you’ll need a compressor that’s much larger and more impactful when putting up a shed or fixing your roof when compared to smaller tanks and compressors for airbrushing small figurines for hobbyist purposes. With that said, the types of tools will dictate the type of compressor as well. If you’re using a sandblaster, for example, you’ll need a compressor with more airflow and a bigger tank to better accommodate its sandblasting action. Meanwhile, a brad nailer will work with most any small compressor.
  • What Kind of Power Source Do You Have? The majority of compressors out there will work with any standard home outlet or electric socket. However, the more impactful compressors that power up air tools such as orbital sanders, disc sanders, and one-inch impact wrenches will require a 240-volt source at the very least. There are also several industrial-grade air compressors out there requiring gasoline power for when an electrical outlet is unavailable and you need extra air power and more torque than usual.
  • What Tank Size Should Your Compressor Have? Air compressor tank sizes go from less than a gallon to over 60 gallons and beyond. The tank size of your compressor simply ensures that it has more or fewer reserves for compressed air. In other words, the bigger the tank the longer it will take before the motor has to turn back on in order to create a fresh supply of compressed air. A tank creates less waste and makes your compressor more efficient and long-lasting.

Conclusion

In order to get started with air tools such as impact drivers, hydraulic riveters, and impact wrenches, you’re required to get a good air compressor to run every single tool. Your compressor will be the main power source for such tools, although the compressor itself also needs electricity or gas to run. You might wonder what the point of using a compressor with a plug is when you can plug electrical tools as well and make them work, but more often that not the compressor offers that extra torque that you can’t get from a directly plugged-in power tool.

The post reference from Tina  admin of F5active.com

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