I just bought this compressor at Sears http://www.sears.com/craftsman-4-gallon-portable-twin-tank-side-stack-compressor/p-00916638000P#desc (http://www.sears.com/craftsman-4-gallon-portable-twin-tank-side-stack-compressor/p-00916638000P#desc) I can take it back within a week unused for a full refund if it wont work for me. It is 4 gallons, 1hp, 135psi and a bunch of other numbers. Eventually I want to paint my bus with it, but for now Im happy to air some automotive tires and run an air ratchet to remove my bus tires........ Is this what I need? Hopefully too, it will be a toy some bus nut could use that gets unlucky enough to land on the surface of the sun with me :o ;D
Thanks guys!!!
You can paint your bus with this but it will be slow going. You will have to wait on the compressor to build up pressure sometimes. Be careful not to let the motor run continously. These compressors usually have a small% duty cycle which means they will overheat if you run it constantly. You can keep this one for general use and rent/borrow a bigger one for shooting paint.
I think I would have spent the extra $20 and bought this one. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00916640000P?mv=rr&i_cntr=1314302414407 (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00916640000P?mv=rr&i_cntr=1314302414407) The tank will give more working time.
Frankly, I would take it back and keep looking. The one Eddie suggested is a little better, but still marginal. 2.4 SCFM @ 90 psi is not enough to paint with and not nearly enough to get your lug nuts off with.
You really need 10 SCFM or so to do any kind of work. That means a minimum of 3 horsepower.
I just bought a nice Ingersol 10.9 SCFM portable for $100.00 at a pawn shop.
MsT those are nice compressors I have one but no portable unit will work for painting if you want a good job, my Devibiss gravity flow gun requires 16 cfm I think the cheapo HF gravity guns require 14 cfm and gravity type is the gun you want still a good little compressor for light work and a aux for your bus
good luck
Happycamperbrat:: You will need at least a 60 gal. tank with a comperable compressor to do a decent job . also check into a pressure pot. that is a lot of surface to cover.
I have to go with the consensus. My compressor is around 6 CFM but I put it on a 60 gallon tank, even it is using a 2 hp motor that draws close to 12 amps at 220 volts. I can paint with it, but it takes a long time to recover. My gun is a HVPL type that only needs 50 PSI at the regulator.
Those little compressors are great for running little nail guns, filling tires, blowing the dust off things.
Brian
I have one like that only has a different off shore brand on it. It will hardly run a half inch inpact but I still keep in bus for backup.
John
hmmm, ok I will take it back. But I am going to need a small one because my bays are only about 22" tall....... I was hoping to not only use it at the house, but to be able to keep it in my bus and use it if needed out on the road..... and yes I did want to paint with it, but that doesnt seem like a portable will do so I will end up having to beg borrow or steel a big one for that job
you would be hard pressed to get the nuts of a 10 speed bike with that one..... just get allstate rv road service for 7 bucks a month, they will change your tire for you,
The compressor would air up bus fine. The problem with mine is that the tank will not hold enough to do much work with a impact.
John
John fwiw that compressor is made in China for Campbell/Hausfeld model HL5402 so much for knock off huh lol still a nice little compressor
good luck
You might look to buy, borrow, rent a gasoline powered compressor when the time comes to paint. They produce a pretty good CFM. A 110/220 volt unit that size would be pretty hard to transport for a rental.
I would recommend looking at Craigslist for a compressor that is oil lubed with a belt. I got one pretty cheap a while back from Craigslist.
you don't need a big compressor for the bus, a small oil one will be fine, and air up the bus do anything else (but paint) you need on the bus if you use the bus air tanks as your reservoir. You can run a 1/2" air line from a bus tank to a 1" air gun and get your lugs off etc and use the little comp to recharge. The oil ones can handle long duty cycles, so a little bitty thing can air a bus up no problem.
When it is time to paint the bus, you will need lots of CFM if you want to spray large panels in one go. You can practice the small stuff using a small comp and a punk tank, and once you know what you are doing, rent a big compressor for a few days and paint your bus.
I have a large comp and a wee one, and most of the time I use the wee one, the big'un comes out for paint and for running my 3/4" and 1" guns when I am not with my bus, the wee one will drive a 500ft/lb 1/2" driver as long as I go off a punk tank.
It is important to remember that where the pressure comes from is irrelevant to how much energy (?) it contains. A large reservoir full of air will run any gun etc 'til it runs out of pressure. That is why the painting is a problem, it uses so much air.
By the way I am painting my work van right now using enamel oil thinned with tulene, paint still dries too slow but it sure goes on smooth and forgiving, and the paint cost $40 instead of $200 +
Most gas compressors are not oilless. If she was to do something like that she needs to look at putting an axillary tank off the bus compressor. The bus has plenty of air. Never try to paint with oil filled compressor without expensive filters.
Most compressors larger than consumer grade are oil lubed. Oilless are usually noisy. The compressor on your bus is usually oil lubed so if you're worried about oil don't use the bus compressors,
Do body shops not use oil lubed compressors? I have been to lots of smaller service shops and they all used oil lubed compressors.
The only issue I have with using the bus air comp is when the bus is turned off...... my compressors do not work without the big bad detroit running. I like a lot of the stuff that has been posted here in the past like airing up the bus without the engine running in the morning in a campground, being able to limp home when one of the OEM compressors goes out, being able to change/air up a tire in an area without cell phone service, etc. I really didnt want it dependent on the bus. I understand running out of air when painting, so for that I will absolutely use a larger one! But if this little one wont do in a pinch in an emergency, then even though it fits in my bays.......... it is of no use to me and I will keep looking.
Maybe a larger one could be put on it's side to fit in my bay and the oil rerouted or something so it wouldnt all spill out? I like electric tools opposed to gas for a variety of reasons, which on most tools over powers using the gas ones....... I know the gas tools usually have more power, but they are too often too hard for me to pull start. Given a choice I usually opt for less power but at least something I can turn on lol
the oil is in the crank case you can't reroute it. I have this http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPA7176S2101881103P?prdNo=20&blockNo=70&blockType=G70&blockNo=70&blockType=G70#desc (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPA7176S2101881103P?prdNo=20&blockNo=70&blockType=G70&blockNo=70&blockType=G70#desc) as my mini comp. It looks like it might be the same comp as yours with a smaller tank. Like I said before, a punk tank or the bus tanks will give you capacity, if you want small these are ecent oil comps. I have worked mine hard for a few years now, and am surprised it is still working...quiet too. The one you bought is also a oil comp.
Zub you are the man!!! If anyone can fix a leaking transmission on the fly in an emergency in Tim Buck Two with nothing more then a wrench, some bubble gum, a rubber band and a clothes pin....... it would be you! I salute you for that and crown you King of the Redneck fixes!! Seriously!
If you think this will do for me in a pinch, then Im all on board even though it wont do everything I want it to do. At least I can start it up and store it in my little bays. I may have to be more patient and it may take me more time to fill up a tire, but it will get me home. I became real concerned when I read that it wasnt big enough and even that it would not remove nuts on a 10 speed (which Im sure was an exaggeration, but nonetheless....)
What is a "punk tank" do you mean those little storage tanks that I can get at garage sales for about $10.00? And how would I go about hooking it up to the compressors on my bus?
BTW, I did see and check out the 3 gallon compressor like yours at Sears. I thought the 4 gallon would be stronger and work the motor less, that was why I chose it.
I used a little tank like yours to paint the pontoon boat I was fixing up. It will work great spraying paint for about 10 seconds then it starts to suffer severely.
Keep an eye on pawn shops, garage sales and online auctions and you should be able to find a bigger compressor for not a lot of money. Keep the little one for portability and smaller jobs.
You really need at least two compressors. Ideally a 5 hp (real hp, not the fake compressor HP) with 10 - 25 cfm on an 80 gallon plus tank, and one ultra quiet little one to keep in the bus to air up and sneak away, inflate beach toys, etc...
Brian
Quote from: bevans6 on August 26, 2011, 09:33:48 AM
inflate beach toys, etc...
Brian
;D haha!!! I like that!! Yes, okay!! I will keep an eye out for a bigger one to keep at home and this one on the bus.
Too bad I cant find a big bad one that lays on it's side or in a small package to fit in my bays.
Punk tank is an auxiliary tank. In the case of a small compressor and tank you attach the output of the compressor to a larger 5-10 gal tank (the bigger the better) when you need to drive a big impact gun. This is just a temporary thing you do to get a nut loose. You get the punk tank up to pressure and hopefully a little shot with the impact driver starts the nut moving....if not you patiently wait for the p tank to pressure up again and try again....then you get frustrated....but if you are patient (I do other stuff while the little comp catches up) it works.
Find a used 5 hp twin cylinder compressor, throw away the tank and mount the motor/compressor inside the Bus. You can tap it into the Bus air system and run air off the Bus tanks. Make sure you install a filter/drier before painting.
art would you by any chance have photos or a tutorial on how to do that? That would be great. If I come across a compressor motor I will surely latch onto it
I can't stand the sound of the direct drive compressors-whether it be oiless or oil type. I would look for a belt driven compressor of 1-2hp. I have one that is over 28 years old and haven't so much as added oil or changed the belt yet. It is much quieter then a cheapy direct drive compressor I bought as stand by. With a belt driven compressor, the motor is typically continuous duty, and the compressor oiled. When I painted my car, it was able to keep up with my painting-albeit it ran alot. I aimed an electric fan on it to keep it cooler, and it ran just fine. When painting you do not want to have fluctuations in pressure as you're painting as that can make for different spray patterns. Spend the extra money on a good compressor-as you can see you'll have it for many years. Good Luck, TomC
A true 5 HP compressor will require 220 volt service. If your bus is wired for 220 volt you'll be fine.
Quote from: happycamperbrat on August 29, 2011, 12:13:23 PM
art would you by any chance have photos or a tutorial on how to do that? That would be great. If I come across a compressor motor I will surely latch onto it
Well, Brians right of course, you really need 220 for a 5 HP. No pics, but ill try the tutorial.
You want the kind of compressor where the motor and pump sit on top the tank, and the pump is belt driven off the motor, the motor and pump sit side by side, not inline. Sears made some good ones years ago, like TomC said, you almost cant wear them out. Take everything off the tank, discard the tank, and mount it all to a base simular to the top of the tank. Wouldnt have tobe steel, a good piece of 3/4 ply would work. Run the compressor outlet back into your Bus air system for tankage, and you can put the pressure switch anywhere inline on the pressure side. There is a check valve usually where the ouput from the pump goes into the tank, you want that between the tanks and pump, same way as it is now.
People have been painting with air for over half a century with oil lubed compressors. You need a filter and even though its mighty dry out west, you should buy a drier. They have disposable ones now that attach right at the paint gun, which is about as good of place to have a drier as you can get.
Thank you gentlemen!!! This is a great thread that will help me tremendously! You are all brilliant gems!
What do you guys think of this one http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/2562761520.html (http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/2562761520.html) I emailed him and he says
Quotebodythis unit is intended for painting and a myriad of other industrial uses it is a dual piston unit and has never failed to provide adequate air to whatever task it is given in an industry where you would be painting all the time as a buisness you might want that exact measurement but for just one project this unit will be more than adequate and dont forget it comes with 1/2 inch impact gun for tire removal and 3/8 drive air ratchet together combined i paid more for just these tools than i am asking for all of it, a bargain in any case my friend. It takes about 3min to get 150psi
I would say way over priced for a used unit. Try $100.00 and see what happens.
I would not give that much and would not trust the seller on anything he says about it. Now that you have done your research on spending all your money on a compressor you might try calling someone like MAACO "is who we have here" to just spray the paint. They are a cheap run them through paint franchise. By the time you buy a compressor and filters and paint you can probably have it done. Lets face it your not going to have a paint booth at your house to paint it. The high cost of painting is prep work. If you do all of that it might only be $600 to have them spray it with a 3 year warranty on the paint. They spray 20 cars a day. your not going to find a better spray guy. Paint is not cheap and if you find some that is, your work is not worth the time to put it on. I am sure you would do a great job of it but you are really putting yourself in a major undertaking. Now that you have your compressor for the bay to do what you need on the minor side ask yourself how big of a shop can you have around your house. That is a personal question you have to ask yourself. Painting is a one shot deal that you have to live with the sand in it, bugs and runs or start all over. have you priced scaffolding. You can't climb up and down a ladder to do this. It all has to flow or you will see the feathering between the passes. I know you can get down and dirty rebuilding your bus but........... You can't eat an elephant all in one bite and there is enough of it to get some help with it and still say you ate one.
Eddie youre no fun! You had to go and get all serious and make me think further down the road of projects/storage/money/time/etc. geesh! I can see I am clearly going to have to think this through more now thanks to you lol
BUT I do have a friend that just offered me (through his wife which knows about as much about them as I do) his air compressor for $75.00 It is 9scfm at 40psi........
Sorry lol just being real. I want to read your post that your done with your welding,tires back on and the blocks under it gone. It is fun to dream and plan but if you have another $100 for a compressor get a welder over there and chew that bite first. You know I have your back but I am afraid one day your going to walk out there overwhelmed on whats started and needs finishing. I want to buy a plane and do vacations down on the islands off Galveston at the old air force runways. If I go but it it would still sit there because there is no way I could fly it. Sometimes our plans are bigger than we are. Just looking out for you. ;)
I have watched this thread at times shaking my head and at other times basically laughing at some of the advise given out. As with most questions we all get a lot of folks wanting to help out. I'll just put it bluntly from my perspective. I own a big enough shop with all the air and resources available that I could paint my bus. I have scaffolding and forklifts and friends that paint for a living for advise. It's all right there for me if I decided that was what I wanted to do. No way would I do it. You really have no idea of just the cost alone of the paint less the materials such as primer and such. You also are forgeting about the time spent sanding, also needing air in case you forgot, and sanding around each rivet to insure cohesion. Take it to MAAKO and watch the paint fall off a month later. I know we all want to save a buck here and there but owning a bus and converting it is not cheap. So you need to decide what do you want? If you want a nice job that lasts, fork out the 10 grand and be glad. If you want it cheap buy some paint rollers, a hundred dollars worth the masking supplies and a $25 ladder from Lowes along with several gallons of Lucite. Ask BKO what it costs to paint a bus in Imron. I'm not trying to be rude and such but I can be when you ask. You get what you pay for and there really isn't much more than that I can offer. Do you want something awesome, just ok, or something that lasts until Christmas? The price will vary.... But with you asking about a dinky air compressor and if it will be enough to paint my bus I already know you have limited knowledge about such an endeavor. Just my 2 cents. Later
There are many ways to paint a vehicle. Most of them look good from 20 feet on a rainy night....pretty much none of them look good under critical light from close up. Many many variances in between. I would probably paint a bus myself...use air mostly to speed things up not for the finish as the finish would suck with me spraying. But, it would look good from 20 feet at night (probably a little rain would help).
How about an industrial acrylic enamel paint applied by an airless sprayer. I know that works very well on a school bus.
Well the "paint job" is something MUCH later down the road. It is just that I had some other projects going and needed to buy an air compressor quickly for these other projects. Im also the type of person that doesnt mind spending a few extra bucks to buy only one tool instead of several. So my thoughts were one air compressor to do everything I could ever imagine wanting to do at anytime.
Yes, Eddie you are right in that I have welding to do on my bus. I recently bought a welder for it and helmets for my son and I. Unfortunately though, I have several projects Im currently working on around my property that I need to get done and the bus is on the back burner. But Im learning to make lines with the welder and doing other projects with it before I tackle my bus, the same goes with wood working on it, metal framing, tiling, etc. virtually everything I will be doing on my bus I am having to do around my property first. I also had some auto painting I would like to do on my beater 1984 diesel suburban which I thought would be a good primer for my bus.
Please God, may I live long enough to do and learn everything I want :D
It is surprising what you can do with little if you have time and patients. A small aircompressor will feed a low air requirement gravity feed gun for a short time... here is where time comes in. if you have it-wait a minute and go again. Or store --like Zub said some air in a larger tank (your bus) and paint longer. You have a large compressor-fuel might be cheaper than the huge compressor required for just one or two jobs. My opinion only. happy bussing... Bob
A bottle of 3M fast cut and a buffer will about any paint job look good I saw some nice looking paint jobs done buy owners with small compressors and the 19 dollar cup gun but you need to know something about paint not my why of doing it I let Mike Wilson do it your budget tells you what you can do.
Nothing gained if you don't try and just reading all she wants is something simple, economical and will work for her and she was on the right track IMO now she has no idea lol
good luck
Welllllll, one would hope she would practise a bit before slopping paint on her Bus. Yeah, you want it to look good, you pay the bucks. $10K dont buy much these days though, and if they dont prep the aluminum and stainless properly its gonna peel the first time it sees the bidness end of a pressure washer. Or a good rain, depending...
Reading is the key. The internet is wonderful at learning how NOT to do things. Do you know that until after WW2, cars were all mostly painted by hand with a brush, and rubbed out between each coat? That spray painting was considered cheap? Crude? That Rolls Royce brush painted all their cars well into the 1960's, and only changed because brush painting was then looked upon as crude?
They would brush on about 60 coats of lacquer, hand sanding between each coat. Thats what gave those cars that deep wet look. After all those coats and coats of paint, the clear would go on, sometimes more than 10 coats. All hand rubbed between coats. So like Clifford just eluded, you can cover a world of sins with D/A buffer and some rubbin compound. Its all doable if you have the time and patience.
And really, you want at least a 5 HP compressor, preferably two stage, and yeah, 240 volts.
Quote from: luvrbus on September 01, 2011, 07:01:07 AM
Nothing gained if you don't try and just reading all she wants is something simple, economical and will work for her and she was on the right track IMO now she has no idea lol
good luck
;D ;D ;D Yup! Im kinda lost right now haha!!
I will tell you guys though, before I spend 10 grand or whatever HUGE amount of money like that on superficial LOOKS..... well, I would much rather keep it looking like a bus forever then do that. And yes I would not tackle the paint unless I first proved to myself that I could do it and had the right equipment. As for the ladder that someone mentioned earlier or scaffolding. Yes I have priced scaffolding and Im on the lookout for a good deal on it just for working on the outside upper half of my bus for other things because I want to reach all parts of the bus easily when I start working on it again. However as for painting it, someone in another thread had said they road around the bus in the back end of a pick up with someone else driving. They just sprayed from the back of the truck, which I thought was cool.
no reason to spend a lot of money on scaffolds. Make your own from scrap.
http://users.cwnet.com/thall/fredhobe5.htm (http://users.cwnet.com/thall/fredhobe5.htm)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fusers.cwnet.com%2Fthall%2Fimages%2FFred_Hobe_rolling_scaffold02.jpg&hash=b443b3d2a99c368c4486d0e3024f8a5f88341fb9)
Why not just rent a electric self propelled lift for about 400 a month push buttons and never have to get off it to move as you guessed I am lazy.
I have the scaffolding but never use it to much trouble you can come it Teresa when you are ready
good luck
Here is one from that same Craig's list.
http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/2570629716.html (http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/2570629716.html)
A bit rough looking but Emglo is a respected brand and like our buses, it may only have 60,000 miles on it.
Here is a trick.
Assuming the seller has it set up to test, run it up from empty and see how it sounds and how long to fill the tank. After it's full, slowly open the tank drain and see what comes out. There will be a little oil but mostly water if it's in good shape.
It's too big for a take along in the bus, but if it's in good shape, would make a good shop compressor for working on the bus.
happycamperbrat,
I have a 3.2HP 60-gallon compressor, scaffold, and a 100' hose, but not yet a dryer/filter, here in Phelan. I plan some "trial runs" with a cheap Harbor Freight gun on the dinette, cabinetry, etc before tackling any big stuff. My Gillig already has decent blue paint, but I want to "get the yellow out" of my Crown soon, even if it is only primer. I am aware that preparation is crucial and of the pitfalls of outdoor painting . . . If it is windy, I guess one simply waits for a better day. Neither does my budget permit a $10K paint job, so the 10'-20' rule will probably have to do.
Quote from: Len Silva on September 01, 2011, 11:13:52 AM
no reason to spend a lot of money on scaffolds. Make your own from scrap.
http://users.cwnet.com/thall/fredhobe5.htm (http://users.cwnet.com/thall/fredhobe5.htm)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fusers.cwnet.com%2Fthall%2Fimages%2FFred_Hobe_rolling_scaffold02.jpg&hash=b443b3d2a99c368c4486d0e3024f8a5f88341fb9)
Ive seen this and have given serious consideration to making it out of metal as wood just does not last long in the desert.
Quote from: luvrbus on September 01, 2011, 11:23:01 AM
Why not just rent a electric self propelled lift for about 400 a month push buttons and never have to get off it to move as you guessed I am lazy.
I have the scaffolding but never use it to much trouble you can come it Teresa when you are ready
good luck
haha!! I thought about putting something on the back of a golf cart lol. But my big suburban just might do the trick too lol Lazy is nice :) Thanks for the offer of the scaffolding, Im not sure when I will ever be out to Az though, when I get away I usually like to go to trees and water and green lol
Quote from: Len Silva on September 01, 2011, 11:29:08 AM
Here is one from that same Craig's list.
http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/2570629716.html (http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/2570629716.html)
A bit rough looking but Emglo is a respected brand and like our buses, it may only have 60,000 miles on it.
Here is a trick.
Assuming the seller has it set up to test, run it up from empty and see how it sounds and how long to fill the tank. After it's full, slowly open the tank drain and see what comes out. There will be a little oil but mostly water if it's in good shape.
It's too big for a take along in the bus, but if it's in good shape, would make a good shop compressor for working on the bus.
Thank you for the suggestion and effort! As YOU very well know, I got a million things I am busy on right now :-\ And these things have to be done before I can resume serious work on my bus or else mom will get mad at me and put me in time out or something!
The ad you show is for Bakersfield which is 150 miles away from me, though yes it is on my CL area..... argh! The $400 one I showed is here local. I will keep an eye out though, God knows I got time. I did decide to keep the little one so I can do my other projects around here and I suppose it will serve it's purpose until I can find a good deal local and hook something up because I still like the idea of tying it into my compressors on the bus.
Quote from: GilligCrown on September 01, 2011, 11:57:40 AM
happycamperbrat,
I have a 3.2HP 60-gallon compressor, scaffold, and a 100' hose, but not yet a dryer/filter, here in Phelan. I plan some "trial runs" with a cheap Harbor Freight gun on the dinette, cabinetry, etc before tackling any big stuff. My Gillig already has decent blue paint, but I want to "get the yellow out" of my Crown soon, even if it is only primer. I am aware that preparation is crucial and of the pitfalls of outdoor painting . . . If it is windy, I guess one simply waits for a better day. Neither does my budget permit a $10K paint job, so the 10'-20' rule will probably have to do.
Are you interested in selling or loaning?
I was thinking when the time comes you might consider doing it here, assuming you too must do it outside. The compressor is immovable. BTW, is it not exactly legal to paint vehicles outside, in California?
Quote from: GilligCrown on September 02, 2011, 11:08:07 AM
I was thinking when the time comes you might consider doing it here, assuming you too must do it outside. The compressor is immovable.
hmm, I might very well take you up on that!! Thanks!!
Quote from: GilligCrown on September 02, 2011, 11:08:07 AM
BTW, is it not exactly legal to paint vehicles outside, in California?
I dunno........ everything is illegal in Cally so maybe?