A portable air compressor is a substantial investment and a standard in any garage where someone is a handyman or do-it-yourself kind of person. Portable air compressors have many applications and are extremely useful pieces of equipment. However, it’s important to spend wisely by finding the perfect air compressor to suit the needs of the individual. The size of the machine, its power, and its tank are all factors to be considered before making a purchase. With the internet as an invaluable tool, it is easy to research various brands and do comparison shopping before making a decision.
When it comes to size, there are three grades of portable air compressors: consumer, contractor, and commercial. Depending on your purposes and goals, you’ll want to choose the appropriate compressor for you. While consumer and contractor grade air compressors are portable, commercial grade compressors are very large and are going to be stationary. They are used in places with high demand for power and multitasking, like an auto body shop or manufacturing facility. A consumer-grade air compressor is for smaller projects around the house. They are perfect for inflating tires, toys, and sporting goods as well as running air tools that are small and require less power. Consumer grade air compressors are generally small in size.
There are many options such as a very small portable air compressor with the main function to inflate balls, tires, and rafts. They can easily be stored in a cabinet or under the seat in the car and they’re inexpensive, perfect if that is the only thing they are needed for at home. Go up in size to a hot-dog compressor, carried with a handle and somewhat resembling a hot dog, hence the name. These are used for small air tools such as staplers or air burshes. If you need to move up in size for more applications, such as running brad guns, nailers, and finish trim tools, the twin-stack compressor may be want you want. It is a heavier compressor at around seventy pounds, which has to be taken into consideration. For the largest in consumer grade compressors that are still portable, you can find portable single-stage air compressors that have a handle and wheels for easy transport. These are good for the person involved with larger building and home improvement projects with heavy duty usage of air tools. The power levels grow accordingly as you move up in size for each type of consumer grade air compressor.
For the person that runs many air tools at once or larger air tools, it’s time to consider the contractor grade air compressor. They can be carried or wheeled on a cart and are built with the needs of a contractor in mind, which may work well for you if you are involved in a lot of projects at home or perhaps run your own small business. When it comes to nail guns and roadside repair, these are the machines to do the job, slightly larger than the consumer grade. At this level, there are twin-stack air compressors with the advantage of storing more air and keeping it from running too often. They are at a manageable size but do weigh as much as eighty pounds which is a drawback even though they have the power to run various tools for home improvements. Move up a class in size and power to the portable single-stage compressors. These are stronger compressors but they will cost more. The largest portable contractor grade compressors are wheelbarrow compressors and they pack a punch. They are durable, have larger tanks with greater capacity, and more power for bigger jobs. They have a wheel and handle to make it easy to transport them at a heavier weight of as much as 300 pounds. You’ll need to be prepared with a ramp for your truck if you’re taking this kind of air compressor elsewhere. If it’s staying at home, you should have no problems wheeling it wherever you need to go.
You have the option of gas or electric when choosing a larger portable air compressor. Gas models cannot be used indoors due to emissions, tending to be noisy, heavyweights. Choose electric for lighter and quieter models.