which has a minimum free air delivery usage of 110l/m
ive got the pressure set to 6.2 bar like it suggests and even have the speed control set at about 3/4 on the sander.
however after 4-5 mins of sanding im running the compressor dry, its pumping at full steam and is still dropping to 3 bar by which stage the sander is useless and i have to stop to let it recharge.
My first thought is the compressor is faulty. so i timed it, from empty to 130psi it took 2.02 mins.
i went into supercheap and we started the display. it took 2.08mins so mine is obviously working normally.
Is it that the minimum air consumption is on the lowest and most useless setting or am i just somehow drawing to much air due to to much free play in the sander drive?
And much more importantly will that compressor happily keep up with a good gravity feed paint spray gun? as i can stop and wait for the sander every now and then but i dont want to pause painting the car halfway through each paint pot.
gunhand,
May 3, 6:14pm
You should be able to, well can, paint a car non stop with a 12cfm compressor no worries. However running an air sander will take a shit load of air. Even a 16cfm won't keep up when going hard with some air tools.
thejazzpianoma,
May 3, 6:22pm
In my experience cheap DA sanders are a scam. If the sander is cheap it just uses far too much air to cope with any off the shelf compressor from Supercheap etc. You either need a serious compressor, or you might find you can just get away with it if you get a "proper" serious brand DA sander.
Personally though, for home use I find a quality electric DA just makes far more sense.
Take it back and get a full refund, (on the compressor too if you want). What they have sold you is clearly not fit for the purposes so they must refund. It's time that places like supercheap started wearing the consequences of knowingly selling product that is unsuitable for the purposes their customers buy it for.
Best of luck with it. BTW. if anyone has managed to get a cheap DA to work properly with a cheap compressor, I am all ears. So far neither myself or anyone else I have spoken to about it has had any success.
thejazzpianoma,
May 3, 6:26pm
Also. while I think of it. It's my understanding that those CFM ratings are also a bit of a scam as well (in my opinion). As far as I am aware a lot of the cheap compressors "cook the books" by rating a free air delivery amount, which is absolutely pointless in my opinion as you don't run your tools/gun at 0 PSI.
It seems that under load a 12CFM Chinese junk compressor will tend to do no where near the air delivery that a proper brand one of the same rating will.
I hope you didn't pay full price for that Stanley. They are only a $500 compressor in my opinion, it's just a "Briscoes" type sales formulae. Stanley seems to be really hit and miss quality wise from what I can see, it just depends on how good the particular item from China they have slapped their brand on happens to be. I actually have a 1/4" Stanley socket set that I quite like (but then it did cost as much as a decent one), but I bought a stanley ball joint seperator that was an absolute joke. It was made of muck metal, snapped in two with barely any pressure on it and then proceeded to rust in the two days it was sitting in a dry car waiting to be returned!
Hope that helps.
johotech,
May 3, 6:37pm
That compressor is less than 7cfm. I doubt you will be able to spray with that one. $950 is a pretty high price for that size compressor.
I bought one of these continuous run compressors, which are much better suited to high volume & spraying.
I got a 12cfm precision air compressor in about 1997, it worked full time n a workshop for over 8 years panting, then it popped head, no real surprise considering. Head/pump was about $300 new and its still going strong today, although not in a workshop anymore. and I paid not much more than the one above. I have to 2 air sanders, one cheapy and one not so cheap. I can do short sanding duties no worries but any more and the 12 wont keep up, hence why I have a Rupes electric sander. But some may not be able to justify $500 to $1000 for such an item.
thejazzpianoma,
May 3, 6:45pm
AEG make some very reasonably priced DA sanders that are supposed to be very good (I haven't bought one yet but have narrowed it down as a preferred option when I upgrade).
I also wouldn't be surprised if your 1997 model compressor is closer to 12cfm than the Stanley. I know two people with the Stanleys and they don't seem to be particularly good from what they have said. Build quality didn't look too bad but performance was very lack luster.
gunhand,
May 3, 6:48pm
Guess it depends what you expect from one. Like everything, using a cheap one ($50 type) seems fine until you use a $500 type, then you say to yourself, ahhhhhhh, I get it now, lol.
thejazzpianoma,
May 3, 6:55pm
Absolutely, however from what I understand, just like with their very good AEG cordless drill kits out there, AEG seem to be very keen to prove themselves as a quality brand in our market and seem to be offering an almost trade quality product for not much more than junk Ryobi price.
I think it will likely be a good compromise, can only confirm once I have mine though. Aside from the good reviews, the spec when I compared them looked pretty good (in terms of action distance etc).
gunhand,
May 3, 6:58pm
AEG have always had a good rep. Never used any of their tools but have heard and understand they do a fine tool. But till ya have your own and judge it ya just don't know. I'd certainly buy AEG if I needed something.
gammelvind,
May 3, 7:13pm
Can't talk about that compressor but those DA sanders are renowned for using heaps of air. I see then in some of my customers shops but they all have large three phase compressors. A quality air DA like a 3M or Rupes might be able to run off a low volume compressor like the Stanley but not that cheap DA. You need something like this. http://www.amazon.com/3M-Random-Orbital-Sander-Air-Powered/dp/B005UDSQ5S
jason_247,
May 3, 7:20pm
yea i just looked online at a few different sanders with the same minimum air rating. many have a max air consumpton of over 380lpm so way beyond what most compressors con do.
I bought the compressor from a neigbour who was moving on to a smaller place with no garage. not sure what he paid but its had about a weeks use in the 5 months hes owned it and i paid $100. cant complain there.
thejazzpianoma,
May 3, 7:33pm
Score! Certainly can't complain about that at all, as crap as they are for $1000, for the tenth that you paid it's a ripper. Loads better than any $100 on sale non name direct drive. Good work!
My advice would just be to take the sander back if you bought it new though, and then put the refund towards the likes of the AEG above. It's in my opinion as cost effect as you are going to get in a solution that actually works. If you haven't bought your spray gun yet, check out your local automotive paint supplier. They often have cheap apprentice guns that are actually pretty good. Perhaps not as efficient with the pain but the finish is fine from what I have seen.
stevo2,
May 4, 5:22am
AEG used to be a very good tool . They were made in Germany and I have owned several over the years and have still got a hammer drill thats 20 years old. However nowadays they are handyman only tools made in China and only sold by Bunnings. I have had 2 150mm random orbital sanders, the first failed within a few months and was replaced, the second failed with the same problem (broken shaft) and was replaced and the third is making funny noises. They only do a few hours sanding per year. I have access to a Rupes sander for larger sanding jobs, that is 5 times the price but 20 times better.
thejazzpianoma,
May 4, 6:56am
Sure it's the 150 and not the 125mm?
I ask as Bunnings don't generally stock the 150mm and don't list it on their website, the 125mm is pretty cheesy and cheap. It's the 150mm I was going to get.
Thanks for posting this, it may well change my mind on which one to get.
grangies,
May 4, 7:18am
The 125mm sanders will cost you more, when it comes to buying quality abrasives. It all comes down to mass production, where the big quality brands like 3M and Norton etc produce a lot more 150mm discs for the industry.
gammelvind,
May 4, 7:45am
I got the 150mm AEG electric sander, I see Bunnings no longer stock it, only the 125. Worked very well for about a year, then it broke. Similar problem as mentioned above.
thejazzpianoma,
May 4, 11:17am
Thanks guy's, that is the model I was looking at, looks like you have saved me some hassle and expense. Guess it's back to the drawing board for me. Might go check out DeWalt's offerings at some point, feel free to comment if anyone has one of those.
Failing that might go secondhand as suggested above in a Rupes or possibly festool.
elect70,
May 4, 11:25am
I have same compressor bought it 3 years ago from SC , & using air sander it uses up the air within 5 minutes if using it continously . Not faulty compressor just not big enough , but it suits me for home jobs , SC cant be responsible for what you use it for .
thejazzpianoma,
May 4, 11:40am
They most certainly can be held responsible if they breach the fair trading act or cga. In my opinion their product specifications are as misleading as they come, so, "not fit for the purpose" as per the CGA and also Fair trading act "misleading conduct" are breached.
Have a read of their spec below and see what you think. It would be entirely different if they had a clear sign on the sanders explaining that the would not work properly with any of the compressors they stock and a minimum requirement of "X" is needed for them to run continuously
Not just picking on supercheap here either, they are not the only ones.
Here is there "application guide" which in fairness at least does have some good notes regarding duty cycle etc. However in my opinion the matrix is wildly optimistic. According to the chart the Stanley compressor should operate an air sander without restrictions. It would be a fair assumption in my opinion that an "air sander" would include those sold by supercheap, especially those of the same brand as the compressors as is the case with the blackridge.
As recall, the rule of thumb for air compressors is 1hp/3cfm, so a 3hp (2.2kW) motor is only 9cfm really. I run my "wellmade" gravity feed spraygun on my 3hp compressor, although my compressor is made by "The British Aerograph Co" so it is pretty old and hence the ratings are probably honest.
geoff_m,
May 4, 1:51pm
The other thing you can do if you need more air is set up multiple compressors in parallel into a large manifold from the tank outlets. Set the pressure switches to start at different pressures so they don't all start at once.
joanie32,
May 4, 2:06pm
Rule of thumb is hp x 4, or kW x 5.
thejazzpianoma,
May 4, 4:51pm
Sadly either "rule of thumb" is completely and utterly useless nowadays. It will do you more harm than good.
joanie32,
May 4, 5:12pm
Why's that?
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