air compressor recommendations?

[rumpelstiltskin]

Hi,i've been promising myself a compressor for ages and i know nothing about what actual power of compressor i need.First off it will be used mostly for DIY work on cars/bikes(stubborn nuts/bolts etc)and some light spray work,the odd panel now and again,anyone recommend any particular models or even if someone can say how much horsepower i will need,say 3hp+ or whatever,or the benefits of oilless/oil models,thanks!

[viperdave]

All I can say is probably bigger than you think you need. Brought a small kit from screwfix for £100. Now spent a small fortune on longer pipes which I then had to replace all the fittings with ones that I could actually buy more of, to fit the extra pipe.

Now I have found many more uses for it than I expected and find the small tank frustrating. It seems to be one of those things you didn’t know you need until you have one.

I.e. it’s great for drying all the fiddly bits on the car that usually drip everywhere but with a 6L tank I have to keep waiting for it to fill up again.

[hot wheels]

by the biggest you can afford, buy a cheapo make as reliability is prolly gonna be less of an issue than the extra capacity. Machine mart do a largish single phase one with a 200 ltr tank which is what i bought.
Mines goosed now but i paint cars , run a load of air greedy tools with it. and i've had it for eight years fair play i say
even for occaisional use you'll be glad of the extra capacity its too fustrating to wait for pressure to build up all the time

oh its the 5hp one which is as big as you can readilly get on a single phase supply
>> Edited by hot wheels on Thursday 30th December 22:17

>> Edited by hot wheels on Thursday 30th December 22:19