Is anyone using a Harbor Freight Pancake Compressor?

jimmywlby

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Is anyone using a Harbor Freight Pancake Compressor?

I just purchased a 3 Gal, 100 PSI Central Pneumatic compressor to power a HVLP spray gun for a video game cabinet restoration. I'm concerned that it doesn't have enough power to do a good job. Anyone else using one of these (or similar) compressors?

Thanks,
Jim
 
if you do not have a air compressor do yourself a favor and get something that is quality and a little bigger at least as a good one lasts forever and you may want to use it for other things. That is the absolute cheapest thing you could buy. Return it if you can.
 
Jigz-

Thanks for your help. The recommended PSI for my gun is 30 - 50 psi.
 
My general rule when it comes to Hong Kong Fooey Tools: If it plugs in and you intend on using it more than once or twice, leave it at the store.
 
Hold it!

I have a Harbor Freight pancake air compressor. I use it mostly for blowing off stuff in the garage and inflating tires etc.

While it'll provide air at 120-130psi, no problem, its drawback is the low VOLUME and FLOW RATE. I'd be very doubtful about using it for painting or sand blasting.

HVLP stands for HIGH VOLUME, low pressure. Pressure won't be an issue for HVLP with that compressor. CHECK THE CFM SPEC! HVLP guns likely take a fairly high flow rate (cubic feet per minute, CFM). The Harbor freight air compressor likely can't provide a very high flow rate. Check it before buying.

EDIT:

I just look online, it looks like it's rated for 1 CFM at 40psi, and 0.6 CFM at 90psi. I seriously doubt this will be sufficient for an HVLP gun. Look up what your gun requires for flow rate; I'd wager it's much higher than that.
 
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Look for a compressor that can match or exceed the CFM requirements of your gun, some like my Devilbiss Finishline 3 require 14+ CFM to operate properly and very few compressors under 5 HP and 80 gallons can deliver the CFM rating required for an HVLP gun to operate at its best.

Something like this would be better suited for a smaller compressor
http://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-EVO4014-Volume-Pressure/dp/B000Z991YC
 
Pancake compressors are good for light jobs (ex. filling tires, nailing, blow gun, ect). I have a Porter Cable kit of 3 nail guns and the compressor for around $300 and love it. Tho i wouldn't use anything smaller than a 20gallon compressor for painting. as others have stated it's about the CFM as well as the motor size. I have however heard of piggybacking 2 harbor freight pancake compressors and getting good results (i still wouldn't use/trust it for painting).
 
Thanks for all of the information!

DarrenF: My gun is rated at 4.2 - 7.1 cfm. I had no idea what that meant, but I do now!! I'm new to arcade/pin restorations and I'm learning as I go!
 
your compressor will not have enough. I tried it


You will need a large volume compressor to use a spray gun
 
My bothering to post this-- and your bothering to read it-- won't really amount to jack. I guess I just wanted to brag to someone other than my redneck friends here about Apple Springs.

I've been shopping for a compressor for over a year now. I wanted a 60 gallon, >= 120 PSI, >= 10 CFM compressor for painting arcade cabinets. I was initially suprised to find that $500 was going to prove the bottom-basement figure. 6 or so months ago I found, at Northern Tool, a refurbished one for like $399 or something like that. I posted a link to it on this forum. 2 weeks later, when I went to the site to buy the thing, it had been discontinued. So so on and blah blah...

4 or 5 weeks ago I was pushing my cart through Home Depot on a Saturday morning and spotted, at an end cap in electrical (ie half a block out of place), a Husky Pro compressor fitting the above specifications and with a big gawdy sticker on it that said, "Needs Green Tag" or "Needs Yellow Tag", I don't precisely recall. I noticed that it had a minor scratch (more like a black rubber residue) on its tank and that it wasn't in a box. I grabbed an employee and inquired. 20 minutes and 4 or 5 employees (leading up to, and including, the store manager) later I was at the check-out counter giving $249.99 for it. The story was that it was bought, taken home, and returned within 30 days. The purchaser reported merely that it "didn't work right". (HD has a 30-day all purchases returnable with receipt policy.) They sent it to their shop in Houston for diagnostics. It was returned to the store a week later with the official report: There ain't nothing wrong with this thing. Anyway, its listed new price was $549.99. I saved $300, got the complete warranty, and was able to wipe off the black rubber residue with 409. The thing is all hooked up in my new 'paint room' and performing like a nazi kuckoo clock.

I know that Husky Pro isn't THE BEST compressor on the market, but when I consider that I paid $99.99 for a 3 gallon Husky less than 2 years ago I feel pretty good about the whole thing. Like I said, this isn't going to help anybody (not anybody honest, anyway), but I felt like sharing. It does go to show that if you keep looking you just mind find.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...53&langId=-1&keyword=compressor&storeId=10051
 
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My bothering to post this-- and your bothering to read it-- won't really amount to jack. I guess I just wanted to brag to someone other than my redneck friends here about Apple Springs.

I've been shopping for a compressor for over a year now. I wanted a 60 gallon, >= 120 PSI, >= 10 CFM compressor for painting arcade cabinets. I was initially suprised to find that $500 was going to prove the bottom-basement figure. 6 or so months ago I found, at Northern Tool, a refurbished one for like $399 or something like that. I posted a link to it on this forum. 2 weeks later, when I went to the site to buy the thing, it had been discontinued. So so on and blah blah...

4 or 5 weeks ago I was pushing my cart through Home Depot on a Saturday morning and spotted, at an end cap in electrical (ie half a block out of place), a Husky Pro compressor fitting the above specifications and with a big gawdy sticker on it that said, "Needs Green Tag" or "Needs Yellow Tag", I don't precisely recall. I noticed that it had a minor scratch (more like a black rubber residue) on its tank and that it wasn't in a box. I grabbed an employee and inquired. 20 minutes and 4 or 5 employees (leading up to, and including, the store manager) later I was at the check-out counter giving $249.99 for it. The story was that it was bought, taken home, and returned within 30 days. The purchaser reported merely that it "didn't work right". (HD has a 30-day all purchases returnable with receipt policy.) They sent it to their shop in Houston for diagnostics. It was returned to the store a week later with the official report: There ain't nothing wrong with this thing. Anyway, its listed new price was $549.99. I saved $300, got the complete warranty, and was able to wipe off the black rubber residue with 409. The thing is all hooked up in my new 'paint room' and performing like a nazi kuckoo clock.

I know that Husky Pro isn't THE BEST compressor on the market, but when I consider that I paid $99.99 for a 3 gallon Husky less than 2 years ago I feel pretty good about the whole thing. Like I said, this isn't going to help anybody (not anybody honest, anyway), but I felt like sharing. It does go to show that if you keep looking you just mind find.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...53&langId=-1&keyword=compressor&storeId=10051

You found a great deal. Congrats! I bought my fridge at Lowes on the 'returns' aisle, similar situation.. Someone had it delivered, put some stuff in it, then decided it wasn't the finish they wanted (pebbled black vs the smooth they wanted), and returned it. I got it for a few hundred, marked down from $1100. It still had the styro blocks, blue tape, etc inside, just a few marks from drink cans. I think I hit the deal jackpot, but it happens. I did find that, at least at my Lowes, if they have a mark down price, they'll usually take even less. You just find whoever is over the dept and ask, will you take X instead..and often they just change the price with a sharpie.

I'll add that a pancake compressor is absolutely worthless for a paint gun. Don't anyone waste your time. You need the CFMs and storage to keep up. If you do much home renovation, trim work, build Atari style cabinets with the narrow crown staples, use a nailer to build a shed, then a pancake compressor is a must have for portability sake.
 
good deal. Husky is not the same as harbor freight cheapest compressor you can buy. I just want to put it out their that power tools are not like hand tools and can end up costing you more money in the long run. Especially if you end up ruining the project or wasting supplies trying to get it to work. Hand tools on the other hand do not have these trade offs.
 
There are TONs of threads about this in the forums. The biggest thing is the CFM capability of the compressor. Even if the storage tank is small as long as the compressor can hold up and you give it some time to cool down between coats it should not be a problem

And by the way WTF? "performing like a nazi kuckoo clock" is that like an italian race car, a swiss watch, or a japanese katana?
 
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