Air Compressor Help

I have a 5hp 220 volt 2 cylinder compressor with a 60 gallon tank that I bought 40 years ago from grainger. I think it's a "dayton" compressor, so it's pretty generic. I have 2 heads for it, I bought an extra one off craigslist so I could always have a fresh rebuilt mechanism ready to swap in, when the current one starts sounding like it's going to explode. The 5HP 220 motor has held up fine for 40 years. For 20 of those years, this compressor was used in a spray booth which takes a lot more CFM than nail guns or the occasional blow of a blow gun. It rusted out on the bottom of the tank and a local welder fixed it up for me and it's been good for 20 years with that repair...

I used it much less now, than I did back when I had a big 3 man shop and someone was always spraying a job in the finishing room on a daily basis. It's held up surprisingly. I think it cost me $599. 40 years ago.
 
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I have a Husky 60-gal with 3-ish HP motor. It's able to keep up with my CNC plasma but it's gigantic. In the machine shop, I have a 120-VAC Dewalt, the one with 2 small horizontal tanks. It keeps up with mist coolant, blowing parts off, power draw bar, etc, in a much smaller package.

I recommend an oil bath compressor but it's more of a feeling than a fact. Also, an after cooler is important. A transmission oil cooler, auto drain filter (https://www.mcmaster.com/4274K92) and some tubing make a huge difference. I have a refrigerated air dryer for the CNC plasma but with the aftercooler, it hardly does any work.
 
I don't know about new Curtis compressors but my 65 year old Curtis C90 is beast. Rebuild kits are also still available.
 
I bought a California Air Tools compressor. It's incredibly quite and has been reliable so far. I believe there other brands with the same exact construction possilbly at a lower price.
 
Chip Monkey said:
Folks,

My 25 year old, oil less craftsman compressor just spread metal frags on the floor around it. Haven't pulled the cover yet, but it's already been rebuilt many times and I'm tired of the 100 dB din. Time for a new one.

Looking for a 60 gal vertical w/at least 10 cfm @ 90 psi, 230 single phase. I know lower end compressors are somewhat generic, but I haven't found a brand with a consensus of being a good machine let alone severe criticism of long standing brands.

If anyone has thoughts about what brands/specific models I might consider I love to here them!

Thank you all in advance. As you might guess, without a compressor I'm at DefCon 5!
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I have a Matco tools 60 gallon two stage that is rated at 18 cfm I believe . I use it to paint and it has no issue keeping up. I believe it’s just a rebrand of a Quincy. It does have an aluminum pump body though. That being said, I do wish it was an 80 and had a cast iron pump
 
o0norton0o said:
I have a 5hp 220 volt 2 cylinder compressor with a 60 gallon tank that I bought 40 years ago from grainger. I think it's a "dayton" compressor, so it's pretty generic. I have 2 heads for it, I bought an extra one off craigslist so I could always have a fresh rebuilt mechanism ready to swap in, when the current one starts sounding like it's going to explode. The 5HP 220 motor has held up fine for 40 years. For 20 of those years, this compressor was used in a spray booth which takes a lot more CFM than nail guns or the occasional blow of a blow gun. It rusted out on the bottom of the tank and a local welder fixed it up for me and it's been good for 20 years with that repair...

I used it much less now, than I did back when I had a big 3 man shop and someone was always spraying a job in the finishing room on a daily basis. It's held up surprisingly. I think it cost me $599. 40 years ago.
Click to expand...
Dayton compressors are the bomb
 
G-ManBart said:
The new QT line from Quincy isn't the same quality as the older QT line, which is what formed the reputation. There are a lot of reports of quality control problems to the point I don't think it makes sense to spend the extra money on one over the more common options out there. The Quincy QR line is still absolutely fantastic, but expensive and hard to find a vendor selling them. When you look at a QR the pump is probably twice as big as a QT.

If you can swing it, a Saylor-Beall is made in the U.S. (here in Michigan) and a wonderful company to deal with. When I got my first SB I called them up with the data info and they e-mailed me a .pdf of the user manual and parts manual for it while we were still talking. A buddy at work bought an SB that was run so hot the paint melted off it...got all the parts for a rebuild at very reasonable prices and talked with their tech folks a couple of times as he worked through it. I upgraded to a newer SB, VT-735 series, 80gallon, 5hp with the performance package (after cooler, automatic drain, etc) and I love, love, love it...surprisingly quiet and super fast fill time.
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i have the same compressor. quick n quiet, my power bill dropped when i got it. i have put 2 starters in it in 18 years. i got it free from a car wash they said it needed to be replaced. just needed starter contacts cleaned.
 
I replaced my oilless Craftsman compressor with an Ingersol Rand 60gal single stage and am startled every time it comes on....it's SO quiet I don't relate the sound to my compressor...lol
 
I recently bought a Quincy also. Very pleased with it.
 
Chip Monkey said:
Folks,

My 25 year old, oil less craftsman compressor just spread metal frags on the floor around it. Haven't pulled the cover yet, but it's already been rebuilt many times and I'm tired of the 100 dB din. Time for a new one.

Looking for a 60 gal vertical w/at least 10 cfm @ 90 psi, 230 single phase. I know lower end compressors are somewhat generic, but I haven't found a brand with a consensus of being a good machine let alone severe criticism of long standing brands.

If anyone has thoughts about what brands/specific models I might consider I love to here them!

Thank you all in advance. As you might guess, without a compressor I'm at DefCon 5!
Click to expand...
Have you thought about putting a new compressor head on yours? HF sells the compression heads, 3 sizes where I live....
 
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