Not sure if this is the appropriate subforum...

Just wondering if anyone has any great experiences with a particular model?  I want to buy one but don't want to be disappointed.

I only need it for small jobs: inflating tires, drying parts of the bike, removing grips, etc.  Also, I have a one-car garage that is already stuffed full with two motos, two pushbikes, and all the crap that goes along with it.  Oh yea and I don't want to spend a ton of cash. 

Any suggestions for one I can buy locally (OC, CA) like at Sears or Harbor Freight or something?

No experience with anything small, but from your description of what you want to do a small contractor type should do the trick.

Only downside is they're noisy.

Home depot has one for under $100 i believe. Its maintence free and runs on electric. They dont have enough CFM to power anything that runs for a durated amount of time (anything that requires a 5second burst is pretty much as far as it can do).

I have a .5cfm 120psi tank that i use for just blowing crud of my bike or inflating my tire, Dont bother with harbor freight stuff, something about their quality tells me the piston would jam on you the second you turn it on.

Quote from: He Man on August 30, 2008, 10:35:18 AM
Home depot has one for under $100 i believe. Its maintence free and runs on electric. They dont have enough CFM to power anything that runs for a durated amount of time (anything that requires a 5second burst is pretty much as far as it can do).

I have a .5cfm 120psi tank that i use for just blowing crud of my bike or inflating my tire, Dont bother with harbor freight stuff, something about their quality tells me the piston would jam on you the second you turn it on.

Good info, thanks man.  I hear ya on the HF stuff, I usually avoid them.  I'll check out Home Depot, might be better prices than Sears.

Any compressor that's not oil lubricated will be noisy as hell and won't last as long as an oil lubed one.  A $100 compressor isn't worth having, IMO.  YMMV

Quote from: Dan on August 30, 2008, 11:29:11 AM
Any compressor that's not oil lubricated will be noisy as hell and won't last as long as an oil lubed one.  A $100 compressor isn't worth having, IMO.  YMMV

Ddont ask a 2stroke to travel around the world without a support group for the engine. 4stroke can do it no problem. same thing here. Dont ask a oilfree compressor to do the work of an industrial grade one. Mines been running for 6 years without any issues, only becasue i dont demand anything out of its ability.

Looks like the smallest sears craftsman 2-gal one is oil lubed, maybe i'll shoot for that one...

+1 on avoiding Harbor Frieght or Wallyworld.  Hell, even the one I got from Lowes (I think it was their Kobalt Brand) couldn't survive the halfway point of roofing a 2000 square foot home.  We have a lot more rural areas around here, but you may check your local Craigslist for compressors in the tools section.  There are normally tons of good ones for a decent price there, and yes, you do want to get an oiled one.  My dad had an old B&S (I think it was a Briggs) that lasted 2x years that he got at a rummage sale. 

Well, I ended up buying this one: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00915310000P.

I'll try it out today and post up if it is any good.  Got it on sale for $118 and that includes all the hose, nozzles, air gun, etc.

Looks like a good one, let us know how it works.  I just picked up a little flux wire welder and a compressor is definitely next on the list for garage toys.

Quote from: Evil_Ductator on August 31, 2008, 10:59:43 AM
Well, I ended up buying this one: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00915310000P.

I'll try it out today and post up if it is any good.  Got it on sale for $118 and that includes all the hose, nozzles, air gun, etc.

I have that same one.  Works great for basic air compressor tasks.  Not up to painting, but you can blow dust away and fill tire.  The only thing that's kind of annoying, is it takes 3 tanks in order to inflate my truck tires (265/75/R16) to the proper pressure.

JM

I have the next size up from that one.  Works well, no problems.  I am able to run my air tools all day when I am messing w/ the quad.  I also have a Coleman Powermate that I use to inflate the tires on the Duc, mountainbike, truck and car w/o a problem.  Plus, it also has jumper cables.  Although I would never use those on the Duc.

Yours puts out 2.4 SCFM @ 90psi, according to the Sears specs.  I have a Porter Cable that puts out 2.6 and I find it runs an aweful lot for my taste, if you're blowing crap out of your chain or drying the bike. 

I bought this one about 8 months ago. I use it at work to run my nailguns. It runs a roofing nailer, or framing nailer, but only one at a time.
It's small enough to sit in my workvan, so it'd probably work in a small garage.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00916636000p?
I wouldn't use it for painting.

I have this makita, and it works great:

http://www.toolbarn.com/product/makita/MAC2400/?ref=base



The reason I got it was all the reviews mentioned how quite it is, and I agree, when it runs you can hardly here it in the next room.

mitt