Air Compressors?

[BudgetSlasher]

I am thinking it might be time to add a stationary air compressor to my home shop. I already have a pancake compressor for portable task and low air demand tasks.

Determining CFM needs is not difficult, but I am unclear on the single stage vs dual stage cost/benefit for a home shop with intermittent use.

Does anyone one have any experience making this decision.

[BikingEngineer]

What does your primary usage look like? For most home mechanic work, 5-6 cfm at 90 psi should be plenty to keep up with most jobs. If you're painting cars you'll need more capacity. I have the harbor freight 2.5 hp 21 gallon unit and it keeps up with reasonable amounts of impact gun use, that's probably the price/performance sweet spot for most people. Most dual-stage compressors I've seen are bolt-to-the-ground, 240V hard-wired shop units which, while very nice, are probably a bit overkill for a home shop.

[JLee]

I have this - it's impressively quiet and easily keeps up with a fluid film spray gun: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-QUIET-TECH-26-Gallon-Portable-Electric-Vertical-Air-Compressor/1000405189

10/10 would buy again.

[BudgetSlasher]

What does your primary usage look like? For most home mechanic work, 5-6 cfm at 90 psi should be plenty to keep up with most jobs. If you're painting cars you'll need more capacity. I have the harbor freight 2.5 hp 21 gallon unit and it keeps up with reasonable amounts of impact gun use, that's probably the price/performance sweet spot for most people. Most dual-stage compressors I've seen are bolt-to-the-ground, 240V hard-wired shop units which, while very nice, are probably a bit overkill for a home shop.

My known usages plus some future(possibly pipe dream) projects would be closer to the 15-17 CFM.

My small pancake at 2.6 scfm @ 90 PSI handles small (kitchen cabinet drawer faces) HVLP spray and general construction work. Based on that my next compressor does not need to be mobile and I fully intend for stationary in the workshop. Adding a new 240 drop will be no problem there, I have put in a 100 amp sub-panel in the shop for these purposes.

I have this - it's impressively quiet and easily keeps up with a fluid film spray gun: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-QUIET-TECH-26-Gallon-Portable-Electric-Vertical-Air-Compressor/1000405189

10/10 would buy again.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I have a few compressors I am looking at that would meet my needs and desired room to grow; I also stalk CL and see some deals come up from time to time.

What I am hoping to learn, is if I am comparing two compressors that both meet my CFM and will fit in my space, but one is a single stage and one is a dual stage. Generally the dual stage compressor is more expensive, but I cannot figure out if the extra money is worth it for a DIY'er. Things like cost to operate, longevity, excessive moisture in the compressed air, duty cycle.

Either Compressor wouldn't be run constantly all day every day (like in a commercial shop); it likely a few hours for a few days a week and maybe some long days on weekends.

[JLee]

Do you need a compressor to keep up with 15-17CFM steady-state, or are you able to allow for some recharge time? 

If you want something that'll sustain 15CFM you're going to be spending more than a few dollars!

[Glenstache]

Following up on previous comments, you can do a bit to reduce the on/off duty cycles by having a larger tank. Under continuous load, this will have similar total "on" time, but over fewer total cycles reducing the startup load as it is getting going.

[Car Jack]

When I bought my garage compressor, I went to Lowes.  They all have a label with red (can't), and green (can) for various tasks.  I bought one with everything green.  It is the biggest 240V dual stage unit they have.  It was a display unit, so got something off for that.  I have never had any regret getting this.  There are still tasks where I have to wait for it to catch up (sand blasting, HVLP painting or using a cut off wheel a lot).  But I don't have 3 phase available, which is the next step.