Air Compressor gurus help!!

[10thAnnvCobra]

The answer to your problem has been explained in many of the above posts. You need more air flow to run an impact wrench. 2hp is not enough. The size of your receiver (tank) is also a concern. 5 gal is considered very small unless you are only running pneumatic nail guns. I'm confused by a 3/4" air hose. Air hoses are measured by the ID not the OD. perhaps you measured the OD.

Air tools are basically small air motors. They use a lot of air. The PSI against the surface area of the impeller = torque. The volume or flow (rated in CFM or SCFM) = speed. To run an impact or ratchet you need lots of both. There should be a tag on your compressor that will state the capacity. It will usually give 2 ranges: example 14 SCFM at 40 PSI / 9 SCFM at 90 PSI. Your air tools should have data sheets stating the air flow and pressure requirements. I'm sure if you compare the compressor data and the tool data you will see that the compressor is too small to adequately run the impact you have.

You need a larger compressor. Take what you have back to Lowes and explain that you need a larger one. Pay attention to the specs.

 

[Tractorman]

The CFM only matters on cycle times. For his car work he should be fine with the smaller compressor. For YEARS we ran a 1 inch impact off a Porter Cable Jet stream that only flowed 5 CFM at 90 PSI. You would break a nut or 2 free and have basically dumped the whole tank, and would take an eternity to fill back up.

Remove the regulator. It doesn't flow enough. And get a decent 1/2 inch impact. It will be fine for what you're doing.

 

[flyby763]

I'm in the same boat OP. My fiancé bought a compressor and tool kit from Lowes for me for Christmas on the recommendation of her dad and the Lowes employees and its like 5 CFM short of what the tools require.

 

[mbreaux05]

A cordless impact is the way to go. But get the new ones with the lithium batteries. I hardly use my compressor anymore. It's way worth it, especially at the track.

I have a 20V dewalt impact. Definitely doesn't break lug nuts on the car. Also wasn't powerful enough to undo bolts when I changed out my suspension.

 

[R.D.P.]

I have a 20V dewalt impact. Definitely doesn't break lug nuts on the car. Also wasn't powerful enough to undo bolts when I changed out my suspension.

Your Dewalt is probably a little more powerful than mine since mine is the old 12v nicad - yours is probably around 160 pound feet of torque based on the models I've seen. That IR Cordless I linked above is a whole other animal - 1000 pound feet of torque on tap in forward \ approx 750 in reverse. That thing should take the suspension off a Peterbilt assuming the numbers are legit.

 

[roy_1031]

I have a 20V dewalt impact. Definitely doesn't break lug nuts on the car. Also wasn't powerful enough to undo bolts when I changed out my suspension.

No offense but all the dewalt impacts I have used at work have all been trash. We switched to Milwaukee and my boss was skeptical on getting me a 1/2" drive cordless impact because the dewalt was so bad. I finally convinced him and we haven't looked back. At 550ft/lbs of tq it handles most the jobs I throw at it.

 

[mbreaux05]

Ok, now i'm frustrated... I returned everything I received for Xmas, and bought some different stuff. I spent about $150 more, and have less tools to show for it now.

I bought a 30GAL compressor that puts out 5.5CFM at 90PSI (campbell hausfeld for $429) I picked up a 1/2in impact rated for 250 ft/lbs that runs on 5.1CFM at 90PSI. I tried to break the lugs nuts on my car just now and... FAIL! They were torqued to 150ft/lbs, and it would not break them.

I spoke to a buddy of mine who works at car shops, and he told me I was crazy for buying something that big for my garage. He told me that they have to use a breaker bar to break lug nuts first anyway, then use the impact to quickly remove. This seems to defeat the purpose to me... I wanted air tools to break my lugs nuts and quickly remove. I also wanted it to be able to tighten bolts that were hard to reach and get leverage on. (when I installed all of my suspension, some bolts were hard to tighten due to their angles.)

So am I just wanting something thats not possible for less than $1000? Should I just go back to a 5 gal compressor and impact if I have to break my lug nuts by hand anyway?

 

[Tylerc]

your impact sucks, 250 is way too low. compressor is fine.

 

[STAMPEDE3]

I have almost the same set up with a $65 impact from autozone. No issues breaking lug nuts.

 

[mbreaux05]

I have almost the same set up with a $65 impact from autozone. No issues breaking lug nuts.

What's the TQ rating on your impact ?

Call me crazy, but I thought a tool rated for 250ft/lbs could break 150ft/lbs...

 

[STAMPEDE3]

It should.
Honestly I don't remember the tq rating on mine but also,
Is it set at 90 before you squeeze the trigger and dripping after or did you adjust it to 90 while squeezing the trigger?
I think mine is cranked to about 110psi static so it can maintain 90 once it starts drawing air.

 

[mbreaux05]

It should.
Honestly I don't remember the tq rating on mine but also,
Is it set at 90 before you squeeze the trigger and dripping after or did you adjust it to 90 while squeezing the trigger?
I think mine is cranked to about 110psi static so it can maintain 90 once it starts drawing air.

Yeah I cracked it to like 120 to keep 90 consistent... Still no dice.

 

[Tractorman]

You don't need a regulator on it. Just plum it straight. And don't get all worked up over compressor CFM! That matters much more for stuff like sand blasting, ect.

 

[jcthorne]

Yea but how big of compressor is on the motor home (cfm at X psi). I don't think that a cheap 5 gal compressor will give you the 90psi and X cfm needed.

Its a small 1.5HP electric compressor. Its not for air brakes, just utility use.

For short bursts, its plenty sufficient for an impact wretch. Works fine for air ratchets too. Would not work for air chisel or other high flow long duration tools.

 

[jcthorne]

Ok, now i'm frustrated... I returned everything I received for Xmas, and bought some different stuff. I spent about $150 more, and have less tools to show for it now.

I bought a 30GAL compressor that puts out 5.5CFM at 90PSI (campbell hausfeld for $429) I picked up a 1/2in impact rated for 250 ft/lbs that runs on 5.1CFM at 90PSI. I tried to break the lugs nuts on my car just now and... FAIL! They were torqued to 150ft/lbs, and it would not break them.

I spoke to a buddy of mine who works at car shops, and he told me I was crazy for buying something that big for my garage. He told me that they have to use a breaker bar to break lug nuts first anyway, then use the impact to quickly remove. This seems to defeat the purpose to me... I wanted air tools to break my lugs nuts and quickly remove. I also wanted it to be able to tighten bolts that were hard to reach and get leverage on. (when I installed all of my suspension, some bolts were hard to tighten due to their angles.)

So am I just wanting something thats not possible for less than $1000? Should I just go back to a 5 gal compressor and impact if I have to break my lug nuts by hand anyway?

The first compressor you had was fine. The impact you are trying to use is woefully inadequate. Get an IR 2131 or the Craftsmen relabeled version (600 ft lbs). You do not need the CFM on the tool on a continuous basis, the tool is only running short bursts. Quit listening to the idiots at Lowes trying to sell you the crap they stock.

 

[STAMPEDE3]

I disagree somewhat.
My impact is rated at 450 and does fine but even on my 30 gallon after about 4 lugs it will kick on and pretty much run continuous until l'm done with all 4 wheels.
My small compressor, similar to his will do 1 lug and then you have to wait for it to build up again to do another.
If that lug is tight it quickly runs out before breaking it loose.

Can it work? Sure if you have an hour to kill taking tires off.

For 1 flat it may be fine but I often do all 4 wheels at once while doing brakes or rotation.

 

[jcthorne]

I usually have no trouble doing all 8 lugs on a motorhome wheel before the compressor cannot keep up. Now if one is stuck good, sure, might need to wait for the compressor to cycle but it does not take long. With a good quality impact, 1.5hp and 2 gallon tank is fine as long as you do not need to wail on the lugs for a length of time. If you do, its likely you need a bigger impact wrench, not a bigger compressor.

Its the weights in the impact that apply the torque, not the air motor. Simple mechanical advantage.

All that said, a bigger compressor and tank are good things, I don't like waiting either in the home garage. The garage compressor is 5Hp and 33 gal.

Buy the way, if its not 240V its not really over 1.5hp