What size tank and how powerful of an air compressor should I get for using air tools (enough to use a 700 ft/lb impact wrench for a while) and I want to have enough overhead to have a good setup for doing some painting (no idea even what tools to buy for that....). How about some input?
~Tom

 

All depends on what you are wanting to accomplish, and how much damage ya lookin to do?

 

Grab a copy of the Sears Craftsman Catalog. It's free!! Just ask the sales person for one.

Sears gives their compressors # star ratings. And in the catalog, there is a nice little table that tells you what # star compressor you'll need to run a type of air tool.

 

To run a 700lbs/ft torque wrench you'll need a fairly large compressor. If you plan on running any (sic) rotary tools, ie die grinder(for porting or sanding), or a sander, even a small 1/4 in. wrachet anything smaller than a 30gallon will be cutting it close. It will power the tools but stay running constantly. And for what Sears charges for a 30 gallon Craftsman compressor(about 300 bucks) you can buy a 60 gal upright from home depot for about 75 bucks more and power a whole automotive shop. You'll need to run a 220 power outlet but trust me, if you plan on doing any heavy duty removal and reinstall on the car/cars you'll be glad you have a big compressor. I made the mistake of going with the 30gal sears and it ran ALL the time(annoying). My Husky 60 gal only kicks on every once in a while on small projects(turbos off) but more often when I'm running my die grinder alot.
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