Compressors - oil or oil free

D

DaveHerns

New Member
My old compressor dates back to 1984 and is getting to the end of it's life . Do I replace with one with oil or one without ?
I know how the oiled one works and those parts are still in good shape , What does the oil-free one use for piston rings and bearings? Would it go rusty in a typical garage? Are they quieter or noisier ? Screwfix have a good deal at the moment on oil -free or I can wait to see if I get an invite to VAT free Sunday at Machine Mart
 
Personally I'd go for the oiled one if possible, you just know the oil-free will be using plastic parts in there somewhere, ptfe pistons rings or something like that, on the basis that your current one has done 24 years of service, I'd get another the same !
 
That's what I thought .PTFE piston rings in a bore that's gone rusty is not a recipe for long life
All that's wrong with my old one is the regulator and the starting condensor has a few cracks which means it will go bang soon

I'll put it on E Bay !
 
Agree 100% - a non lube compressor is useful when you need oil free air for some special applications (instrument air or food prodcution for example).

Non lube compressors need to be run frequently to prevent the bores corroding as there is no oil to keep moiture in the air from condesnting on the cylilnder walls - if it's only being used occassionally then it could be more a liability thn an asset

For tools pumping tires and so on on the old faahioned cast iron job needs nothing more than a level check when you drain the tank and a very occsasional top up. If you're painting I woudl recommend a good filter in the system
 
Aldi are selling 25 litre 2.5 HP compressors , oil lubricated with a kit of basic air tools for £69.99. I don't think the supplies will last long

OK , so it may not be the best quality but it comes with a 3 year guarantee so they must have some confidence in it

I'l bought one as my early birthday present and I'll report further when unpacked

Also air ratchet kits and impact wrenches £14.99 each
 
Worth a punt at those prices, although I'm currently suffering repeated angle-grinder failure, due to buying cheap grinders. My last cheap one lasted a good few years, but the carbon brushes wore out and I can't find the spares that came with it, so I bought the cheapest grinder I could find which was £7.99 at Maplin ! Needless to say this has lasted all of about 1 hour at my hands, so I've now pushed the boat out and bought one from B&Q should have been £17, on offer for £11, looks better quality so we'll see how it goes. I must point out that I use 2 or 3 grinders at any one time, one with a cutting disc, one with a sanding disc and one with a wire cup wheel. I tend to swap between them every few minutes, so swapping discs isn't efficient :D
 
Can't you break them while they are still under guarantee ?

My compressor looks the same as the Wolf kit advertised for £99.99 in Practical Classics .Blue instead of yellow . I had to clean out the threads for the handle with a 5mm tap but otherwise so far so good
 
I followed these posts with interest. My compressore is one I bought from Focus a few years ago. I am sure it is not 'Oil Lube' and only 6 ltrs. It is OK for pumping up tyres and was OK for small panels only. Justtried to spay my roof panel and had difficulty, so maybe your comments about corroded bores etc was right. I like, Dave H. have just bought one of these Aldi machines. At £60 considerably cheaper than my 'Focus' machine (£99 with a vastly better spec.)
How is Dave ( and maybe others) getting on with their 'Aldi' machines? Can you reccomend?
 
I've not actually used it much yet . So far , so good .It does seem noisy compared to my old one which was 25 years old .However the new one is 2.5 HP and the old one 1.25 HP

I've recently bought an impact wrench with about 6 sockets for £14.99 .Looks the same as others costing twice as mch

My theory is that you have 3 years guarantee so the manufacturers must have some confidence in the product.
If it falls apart after 37 months, so be it

I have noticed that Machine Mart have reduced the price of their cheap range compressors , but they don't have 3 year guarantees

Dave
 
If your thinking of spending a bit more and want a good sized compressor, my mate just bought one of these , Tooled Up Link Sealey are a decent brand and it's at least £100 less than I paid for a similar spec one from Machine Mart ( albeit 16 years ago ! )
 
Very nice but it would be too big size wise and probably for the power supply in my garage Must be geeting to the size where the starting current would blow a 13 amp fuse
 
Yes, the one I've got is 3hp rated and blows 13amp fuses starting up in cold weather, I've replaced the fuse with a piece of 15amp fusewire. You do need a decent supply though.
 
I was going after an arc welder on EBay till I realised it needed a 16 amp supply
I suppose it would have been OK if I had never turned it up above ,say, 100 amp ?
 
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