Anyone have a decent recipe for air tools in a home garage?

Compressor, air line management (would want something from roof), kits?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

CP makes a nice product

 

ingersoll rand 2 cylinder compressor. 60 gal minimum. fast reclaim. look for air ratchet, sander, 1/2 " impact and drill to start. milwuakee isnt cheap but very good. filters regulator and NO PLASTIC for thew air lines. if they burst its shrapnel everywere.

 

First you'll have to decide on what tools you want to use, if you start talking about painting/sanding/etc then you'll really need a lot of air. But being on this forum I'll assume this, and you have enough funds to buy whatever you want anyway haha

Back on track - I stalked HomeDepot's website and here are some examples and their requirements:
Random DA - 5CFM @90psi
Paint gun - 4CFM @45psi
1/2" impact - 6CFM @90psi
CutOff tool - 6CFM @90psi
Air shear - 4CFM @90psi
Angle grinder - 6CFM @90psi

Air compressor - You're going to want 220v single phase service in your garage. If all you have is a 110v circuit, you're going to be limited to 2hp and usually 5-6SCFM, 9SCFM tops. @90psi, mind you... So with a 110v unit, yes you could use an impact but you'd be really pushing it with continuous use. I'd highly recommend getting a safe sized 220v circuit so you can get a compressor rated for ~14-16SCFM then (I think the rule is 1.5x what the tool needs, you should have). Try to buy oil lubed...

Next, line conditioning. Shops will get a "FRL" installed. Filter, Regulator, Lubricator. You NEED the water filter to help dry your air so you don't contaminate your tools. Some tanks come with a pressure regulator (mind did), but I put another after my filter anyway because some complain of pressure drop in a filter. Lubricator is just to help maintain your tools, but I omitted the in-line unit and do this manually. If you plan to paint (I mean car parts, not a birdhouse), you need a better "coalescing" filter that will also trap oil to keep that out of your paint. Also remember the FRL... don't want to lubricate the air then filter that out to paint. Another reason I omitted that unit.

Plumbing. Most of these bigger compressors will start you with 1/2" NPT line outlet. In a garage you're fine to downsize to 1/4" NPT right away, but if you're planning 50' of hard lines spanning around your garage, you see where I'm going here. Add a lot of valves for redundancy (if something breaks, leaks, etc). Valve right at the tank, valves where you split off the main. Most tanks have a "pressure relief valve" built in, otherwise they make nice spring-loaded valves you can plumb in easily for safety. Not usually an issue because a 220v compressor will usually only be ~175psi max and you'll have your regulator, but still. I put a 150psi relief in my line because they're $5 and it's a failsafe.

Compressor location - will you care to hear it run? Mine doesn't bother me so I left it in the corner of my garage. Some guys will shelter them outside, try to hide them in the basement, build an insulated closet in their garage... up to you. You need to drain the tank of water periodically so it needs to be somewhere reasonable.

Lines - hard-pipe if you can. Or use good quality hose and "hard pipe" with that. I'd recommend avoiding PVC/plastic lines since they can be easily damaged. Most people seem to agree the retractable reels ceiling-mounted are most convenient.

What you want for tools is up to you. Just keep them oiled and drain the water in your tank

 

if there are questions you have that can not be answered here on the forums feel free to reach out to me. I own Delta Air Compressor in NY and would be happy to guide you in the right direction.
John
516-378-2068