Good air tools on a budget?
Discussion
Hi all
I've just acquired a sealey 150l air compressor to replace my ageing small and not up to the job Clarke air master one.
I've got a Clarke impact gun and small air ratchet which I would assess as 'ok', but today I witnessed my local indy make mincemeat of an exhaust hanger and tap out a particularly difficult looking ball joint using the air hammer.
So, I'm an occasional user, car tinkerer who hands over difficult looking jobs to aforementioned Indy, but you know, I like a good tool as much as the next bloke.
So, who's the best make to go for? Don't need the snap on stuff, that's excessive for my use, but neither do I wish to go for one which will fail after half a dozen uses just when I need it!
I've just acquired a sealey 150l air compressor to replace my ageing small and not up to the job Clarke air master one.
I've got a Clarke impact gun and small air ratchet which I would assess as 'ok', but today I witnessed my local indy make mincemeat of an exhaust hanger and tap out a particularly difficult looking ball joint using the air hammer.
So, I'm an occasional user, car tinkerer who hands over difficult looking jobs to aforementioned Indy, but you know, I like a good tool as much as the next bloke.
So, who's the best make to go for? Don't need the snap on stuff, that's excessive for my use, but neither do I wish to go for one which will fail after half a dozen uses just when I need it!
I like Sealey stuff, they offer a huge variety of air tools at quite low prices.
My Local motor factors sells sealey and I have always been impressed with the build quality for the money and parts availability if you do break something.
I have a couple of needle guns, a belt sander, and a few die grinders and all have been excellent. I wore out the moving internals of my needle guns when I did the granite walls on a house and the rebuild kits were cheap and in stock from Sealey via my motor factors and they work like new again.
At the moment I am servicing/rebuilding my 14 year old Sealey compressor and again all parts and diagrams are available,
My Local motor factors sells sealey and I have always been impressed with the build quality for the money and parts availability if you do break something.
I have a couple of needle guns, a belt sander, and a few die grinders and all have been excellent. I wore out the moving internals of my needle guns when I did the granite walls on a house and the rebuild kits were cheap and in stock from Sealey via my motor factors and they work like new again.
At the moment I am servicing/rebuilding my 14 year old Sealey compressor and again all parts and diagrams are available,
I've got some cheap and cheerful Draper Stormforce items at work and they are plenty good enough for most jobs. The 3/8 air ratchet I've got is a savage beast, wrenches your wrist round if it bites and I have to wear ear defenders it's that loud. It was something like £40 or so off eBay brand new, worth every penny.
Thanks for the thoughts so far. A further question if I may?
My previous compressor was 1/4" bsp out. I have some 10mm plastic pipe running down the wall to a couple of outlets. And my tools are all 1/4". I run a typical rubber hose between wall snap adapters and the tools.
The new compressor is actually 1/2" output. Should i use a step down at the outlet and into the current setup, or is there significant advantage to upgrading all that pipe work, tools and snap fittings to 1/2"?
Eta I'm not very knowledgeable on air, so if the above is crock, please tell me so!
My previous compressor was 1/4" bsp out. I have some 10mm plastic pipe running down the wall to a couple of outlets. And my tools are all 1/4". I run a typical rubber hose between wall snap adapters and the tools.
The new compressor is actually 1/2" output. Should i use a step down at the outlet and into the current setup, or is there significant advantage to upgrading all that pipe work, tools and snap fittings to 1/2"?
Eta I'm not very knowledgeable on air, so if the above is crock, please tell me so!
Edited by eltax91 on Tuesday 2nd August 20:29
eltax91 said:
Thanks for the thoughts so far. A further question if I may?
My previous compressor was 1/4" bsp out. I have some 10mm plastic pipe running down the wall to a couple of outlets. And my tools are all 1/4". I run a typical rubber hose between wall snap adapters and the tools.
The new compressor is actually 1/2" output. Should i use a step down at the outlet and into the current setup, or is there significant advantage to upgrading all that pipe work, tools and snap fittings to 1/2"?
Eta I'm not very knowledgeable on air, so if the above is crock, please tell me so!
Using a smaller bore pipe will restrict air flow which is critical for air tools, although your PCL (Quick release) fittings will likely be 1/4", the hose & pipework could do with being larger, 3/8" or more ideally 1/2"My previous compressor was 1/4" bsp out. I have some 10mm plastic pipe running down the wall to a couple of outlets. And my tools are all 1/4". I run a typical rubber hose between wall snap adapters and the tools.
The new compressor is actually 1/2" output. Should i use a step down at the outlet and into the current setup, or is there significant advantage to upgrading all that pipe work, tools and snap fittings to 1/2"?
Eta I'm not very knowledgeable on air, so if the above is crock, please tell me so!
Edited by eltax91 on Tuesday 2nd August 20:29
To prove this, plug your air tool directly into the compressor, then on the end of your longest pipe run, I'd put money on it being noticeably slower just free-running!
As for the air tools, used CP (Chicago Pneumatic) or blue point (snap-on entry level brand) would be a good choice, at least then if you have a problem you're likely to be able to get a repair kit for it!
Clarke in my experience are not very powerful or durable and made down to a price!
Petrolhead_Rich said:
eltax91 said:
Thanks for the thoughts so far. A further question if I may?
My previous compressor was 1/4" bsp out. I have some 10mm plastic pipe running down the wall to a couple of outlets. And my tools are all 1/4". I run a typical rubber hose between wall snap adapters and the tools.
The new compressor is actually 1/2" output. Should i use a step down at the outlet and into the current setup, or is there significant advantage to upgrading all that pipe work, tools and snap fittings to 1/2"?
Eta I'm not very knowledgeable on air, so if the above is crock, please tell me so!
Using a smaller bore pipe will restrict air flow which is critical for air tools, although your PCL (Quick release) fittings will likely be 1/4", the hose & pipework could do with being larger, 3/8" or more ideally 1/2"My previous compressor was 1/4" bsp out. I have some 10mm plastic pipe running down the wall to a couple of outlets. And my tools are all 1/4". I run a typical rubber hose between wall snap adapters and the tools.
The new compressor is actually 1/2" output. Should i use a step down at the outlet and into the current setup, or is there significant advantage to upgrading all that pipe work, tools and snap fittings to 1/2"?
Eta I'm not very knowledgeable on air, so if the above is crock, please tell me so!
Edited by eltax91 on Tuesday 2nd August 20:29
To prove this, plug your air tool directly into the compressor, then on the end of your longest pipe run, I'd put money on it being noticeably slower just free-running!
As for the air tools, used CP (Chicago Pneumatic) or blue point (snap-on entry level brand) would be a good choice, at least then if you have a problem you're likely to be able to get a repair kit for it!
Clarke in my experience are not very powerful or durable and made down to a price!
eltax91 said:
Cheers. Is there a good supplier out there to buy the 1/2" stuff from? At the moment it's all 1/4" push fit compression fittings. To go to 1/2" on the pipe, do I need to go to copper?
no just steel pipe, any decent industrial compressed air supplier should be able to sort you out with pipework and fittings cheaply enough!Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff