Portable air compresser

farley · Post by **farley** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:43 pm

I have these air nailers which I hook up to my air compressor,which is about the size of a 15 inch tire and rim. Kinda awkward when you have to work outside the shop. Do they sell a small bottle, like propane touch size, of compressed air that is "refillable" by me?

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 2:27 pm

Not that I'm aware of but I suspect it would not last very long...think about how often a smaller compressor cycles on when you are using it...I think you'd find yourself having to stop and refill a small bottle like that every couple of minutes. There are lots of portable compressor options, from small pancake ones that aren't super light but can fairly easily be moved around, so larger ones on wheels. The reality is the best plan is to put your compressor in a cnetral location to where you are going to work and then use a long enough extension cord to plug it in, as well as as long an air hose as needed to cover the area you are working...ie you lug around the tool(s) and air hose, not the compressor.

anmius · Post by **anmius** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 5:26 pm

I seem to remember that Lowe's offered a small portable tank that you clipped to your belt under the brand of Kobalt. Like dgale, I didn't think they would last very long (only a few shots from a finish nailer and even fewer from a framing nailer) so I never inspected them. I just checked and I couldn't find a thing about them on Lowe's web page so it appears they weren't too practical.

forrestb · Post by **forrestb** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 5:27 pm

Harbor Freight advertises 'small' bottles:

http://www.harborfreight.com/merchandis ... 65594.html

might help.

benush26 · Post by **benush26** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 8:05 pm

I bought a small tank from a propane company that could no longer certify it so it was cheap ($5) and then bought a kit from Ace that coverts a propane tank to portable air for another $5.

However, I don't have a clue how well it would work for nail guns.

letterk · Post by **letterk** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:10 pm

You are correct that lowes used to sell them, but the first time I saw them was when they were clearancing them out. They were about the size of 3 camp stove propane tanks end to end and used CO2 like paintball guns. The problem was you probably needed to go to a sporting goods store or a gas company to get a refill.

Here is the Lowes version covered by Toolmonger:

http://toolmonger.com/2007/03/09/hot-or ... r-nailers/

db5 · Post by **db5** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:11 pm

The portable tanks will last about perhaps 10 minutes. You have three choices: an air compressor (bought one 3 years ago with a nailer at HD for less than $50. Barely adequate. You can also use a CO2 tank (costs me 10 to refill but I have to drive 20 miles) and that will do an entire job; but you also need a regulator. I've had one since 1983 so the cost is minimal. I use it only for airbrush. Hammer and nails are the third choice. Or, say the heck with it, "screw it."

reible · Post by **reible** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:42 pm

Hi,

From my experience you never seem to have enough air for any job you get into. Storage tanks have limited use for anything that takes much air so you are better off with having the compressor to work with.

Might I suggest getting a longer hose? I'd go with at least 3/8" and reasonable quality with quick disconnects. When I work inside my house I hook up the two longer sections of hose that adds 50 feet then go to my normal hose for another 25 feet. There is no noticeable problems at 75 feet but I guess at some point I would guess you can get too far away.

My compressor is near the front of my garage in a compress house to limit noise and to give me a good starting point for most of the places I need to reach. I do have a 12 gal portable tank that I can hook up to increase my storage for heavier use tools.

Some day I'd love to have a LARGE tank and 220 volt compressor like my brother does. Just can't get enough of that air.

Ed

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:44 pm

Most compressor manufactures offer a 10 gal tank that can be filled with air and used. The tank comes with a very basic regulator.

When you aren't using the tank apart from the compressor it can be semi permantely connected to add to the overall capacity of the compressor.

Bioth Lowes and Home Depot sold them.

The product that Lowes sold was CO2 under high pressure that was used to power a Nail gun. You could have the tank refilled or buy another tank or two. I think the battery powered nail guns pretty much out shown it and it has been pulled from the market. From what I understand you could drive about 500 nails on one tank.

BuckeyeDennis · Post by **BuckeyeDennis** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:12 pm

The information that I can share on this matter is probably useless in practice, but fun nonetheless. Many decades ago, I took a scuba-diving class in college. The instructor told us to never leave a fully-charged scuba tank in the trunk of your car in the summertime, as the excess heat might cause an overpressure situation that could seriously blow up the back end of your car. If dim memory serves, the tanks were charges to a few thousand PSI.

So my instructor loved to tell about the time that he rescued some guy in a pickup truck with a flat tire. He had a regulator that allowed for tire inflation, and pulled out a tiny little auxillary scuba tank from his trunk that was maybe 10% the size of the deflated tire on the pickup. Pickup guy says: no way that little thing can inflate that big tire. Scuba guy says: I can inflate that one, and ten more like it! And proceeds to prove it. Score, Scuba guy gets bragging rights. Pickup guy learns something, and gets his truck back on the road.

Shopsmith Forums

Portable air compresser

Portable air compresser

have not used it, but....

Don't waste your time or money