Compressor Advice Please

Markil

Greetings All,

My son-in-law and I are getting ready to build a large garage. (30x40,
10' walls with attic trusses 10/12 pitch.) We have tolerated the small pancake compressor as long as we can.

What make and size would you recommend for running two framing nailers simultaneously. On the last job we were on the roof having to slow down and wait for the compressor to catch us.

We work in eastern NC. The weather is moderate.
Would prefer electric, but can go gas.

Thanks

JustaFramer

Rol-air or old non dewalt emglo or a Jenny as they made all the old emglo parts any way. 8 gallon wheelbarrow type.

sendres

Your framing nailers will have a required SCFM rating which tells you the max air requirement. So add them together and that is the size of compressor you need(ussualy around 3-5SCFM each). Personnally I think it's slightly excessive and you could get away with about 60-75% of that number with a decent sized tank (8gallaon or larger like suggested). After all how often are both of you nailing at 100% capacity for more than a few of minutes. Typically it's layout a wall, nail it all, raise it. Unless you have a crew running, dedicated to nailing 100% of the time. That has worked for me.

Have fun

BAREIN

Spend a little money and get a good one like a Rol-Air bought a tank for one last year that was over 20 years old, You can always get parts for them, anything bigger than a pancake will work for 2 framing guns. Just remember its not the size of the tank that makes a powerfull compressor, I see alot of people make that mistake

A W Smith

I have a pre-dewalt Emglo air mate


I reccomend the Jenny as the new dewalt/emglos are now made in mexico

http://www.contractortalk.com/f40/best-air-compressor-what-your-favorite-31029/

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Al Smith
http://www.awsmith.com

2ndGen

I've always used DeWalt and have had no problems with them up here in the N.E..

My current model is so quiet that I thought it wasn't functioning correctly, but it worked flawlessly for very highspeed roofing work (cycling 4-5 nails per second). It's oiless and maintenance free.

My smaller DeWalt ran 2-3 roofing guns at full speed with no problem.

Good luck with your choice.

DEWALT D55146

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-D55146-.../dp/B000HZJLV2

buildenterprise

That Dewalt shown above is the very one I've got my eye on, it's $349 at HD also.

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troubleseeker

For such a small size, compared to the typical wheelbarrow compressor, this model is a real horse. I don't think you will have ny problem with two framers, even with both going full out.

2ndGen

I highly reccommend it.

But again, it's so quiet,
you might think that it's not working!

200 PSI...nice to know it's there even if you never need it.



By the way, I just had one of my guys overtighten and break the regulator knob for the air pressure inlet.

I bought the compressor about about 10 months ago.

I took it to my local DeWalt repair center and no questions asked,
they told me that they'd call me when it was ready in a couple of days..."no charge".
And, if I happened to be doing a job where I needed a compressor,
they would've given me one to take home while mine was being repaired.

You have to love that as a contractor!

Mike772

I currently own an older DeWalt. It looks similar to the one pictured above, but doesn't have 200 psi in the tank and it has oil, not oil-less.
I have no real complaints with the model I own. It runs 2 framing guns just fine. Even 3 framing guns at times. The only minor complaint is the pressure. I wish I could get more out of it for nailing off LVL's, it just doesn't have the power. And for some reason, my sheathing staplers need air. Not in quanity, just pressure. So that is the reason I was thinking about buying this other compressor (pictured above) would be for the higher pressures. The wheels seem like a nice feature too. Oh I should add that DeWalt has it right with the tank drains, a ball valve. No more torn fingers trying to loosen that stubborn petcock valve and breaking it with a plyers or a hammer claw.

2ndGen

Ah yes...wheels.

It has a long handle that telescopes out of the frame (along with the very convenient short handle) a lot like rolling luggage. Plus, you can stand it in an upright position when for storage.

It's a breeze to get around. The model I had before my current compressor was the D55155 which was also pretty flawless...except, minus the wheels.

tyler durden

mac 2400 @amazon for 249.00

I have this and it is the best, so quite.
see the reviews

don imus

I bought the Dewalt D55155 like the one above. I really like the compresser except after a few months the bolts that hold the assembly to the frame must have come loose and eventually sheered the heads off of two of them. I'm going to have to tap/die them out.

In the meantime I've switched back to my 8 year old Hitatchi EC-12

I have tons of Dewalt cordless/corded tools and this is the only thing that has ever given me any troubles.

2ndGen

I had the same problem with bolts loosening.
It vibrated a lot.

The newer Compressor seems to be based on the 55155.
Maybe they worked out the quirks.

But vibrations or not, I loved it. I'd still have it if I didn't have to leave it behind in Arizona. I lost it, but damn, it was great. I'd just flick it on, get to work and come down and flick it off.

But my new DeWalt doesn't vibrate anywhere near as much.

Jason Whipple

I have the gas powered Dewalt (8 gal). I've had no issue's with it at all. What seems to be the major complaint?

OP- Don't get that tiny little dewalt they keep showing you pictures of. It can't recover quick enough for two framing guns and will defiantly leave you waiting with two siding guns. They might be OK for trim or something light, but nothing else unless your work day is like a walk in the park.

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Historic House Restoration, Cincinnati, Ohio
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2ndGen

Hi Jason,

Has this been your experience with them?

I'd dare say that roofers cycle guns faster than any other trade (about 4 nails per second X 3 guns = 12 nails per second potentially). I've never had a problem with my compressors.

I agree without a doubt that DeWalt's 8 Gallon compressors are ideal for production work (and we only use the gas powered one's here), but we don't just plug 3 guns into them.

Question:

Which guns consume more air?

Framers or Roofers?

And, at what rate?

We could compare nail for nail, but since roofers easily out nail framers and in more rapid succession, how do we measure it?

mdshunk

The unit of measurement would be CFM per Nail Minute, but that would take quite a bit of work to come up with a chart.

Jason Whipple

I really think it depends on the crew and there pace. While the roofer definitely pulls the trigger more often, the framing gun requires more volume.

My experience in choosing the compressor I have came from running a very large siding project last year. The smaller ones like you pictured seem to not keep up with two guys. I have seen them used to great success on other projects.

As far as gas powered. I like it a lot on large jobs because there is always power problems when 500 guys need it. Even on smaller jobs I tend to use the gas powered because I don't want to keep tripping breakers when two saws and the compressor goes on at the same time on a siding job. We've gone cordless for all of our framing and finish guns so there is no need for a smaller compressor now.

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Historic House Restoration, Cincinnati, Ohio
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2ndGen

Generally, the roofer holds the trigger down consistantly bump fires it.

The volume thing sounds about right.

I believe that the average roofing gun needs half the pressure to drive a nail (max, 1 3/4" vs max 3 1/2"),
but being that one can drive (realistically speaking in real world performance conditions)
4 nails per second for a good 30 seconds straight
(laying down a bundle of shingles under the right conditions),
how does that compare with production framing?

How often does a framer during the course of a framing job nail more than 3 nails in rapid succession (less than a second) for an extended period of time?

I ask because I honestly don't know.

For large production jobs (500 squares), I can't see using anything less than an 8 Galloner (my word! LOL).

But say 3 guys on a 30 to 50 square roof, the 4 gallon is suffiecient.

I had to get a DeWalt. I would (by myself) wear down anything else. Once I have a gun in my hand, I just bang away. My crew would have to yell at me to come down at lunch. I just loved it.

I had one GC tell me that all he heard all day was his compressor recycling. He thought it was leaking air. I told him the only air it was leaking was all the air I kept draining out of it with my work. He said his guys never worked that compressor so hard!

LOL!

I told him that after me, his compressor needed a cigarette!



I guess that means I owed his compressor dinner or something!



Oh crap...I can't wait for my next roof job! I'm gettin' the itch again!

A W Smith

when sheathing.

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Al Smith
http://www.awsmith.com