Iv been looking around for a new air compressor, we currently have a 20 Gal Husky with 1.5 horse, When i try to Spray a car or even worse, sand blast some rust It does not keep up at all. I dont do a ton of sandblasting or spraying but Id like a compressor that can handle both easily. Will a 60 Gal compressor with 5 - 6 hp do just fine or should I spend the extra 300 or so to get an 80 gal? Im having a hard time deciding.

 

I had this same question last week and talked to a guy about it. Im looking at purchasing one too and he said one thing to look at with your compressor keeping up with your tools is the cfm. A lot of tools use around 9 or a little less cubic feet per minute so the higher cfm rating, the fewer problems you will have with your compressor keeping up. I was only looking at hp and gal size and knew nothing about cfm (im new to the whole compressor thing as you can tell). I hope this helps.

 

I have the husky 60 gal. I use the everloving dog snot out of it and it does fine. It runs constant with my DA sander, but for the rest of it, it is no problem.

 

yup, it's all about the CFM, CFM, and CFM, which all has to do with the pump. They could put a large pump on a 20 gal tank and it would still out perfom a larger tank with a smaller pump. At least after the first time the pump kicks in.

 

true, but if you know you have a small pump, getting a big tank will act like a bandaid.
if you were me, you'd get the biggest tank you can afford or have space for, whichever comes first lol...
that being said, if you have the choice between bigger compressor and bigger tank for about the same $$$, get the bigger compressor.

 

No matter what you choose a bigger tank will help. you need to look at the compressor. what cfm recovery it has at 90 psi. Also hp. single stage or two stage. If you can afford a two stage that is the way to go.

 

If you're buying a new one, get the CFM rating you need.
Then if their is a choice, go with the bigger tank.

And if you really beat the out of it
go one step larger. It's taken me a LONG time to mentally
accept this, but stop trying to cheap on tools that you use
a lot. If it takes longer to budget the greater expense, just do it.
In the long run, it WILL be worth it.

 

there is a phrase that comes to mind
something like that at least