Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

C-aire compressors.

Derek69SS · Founding Member

Great quality! That's what I'll be buying when I have room for a big one.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Was looking at a Champion advantage series..

80 gallon vertical tank. 230V single phase 7.5HP motor, air cooler, auto tank drain. low oil monitor.

Got a quote from C-Aire .. Just about $100 more with the tax to buy local.. Just cant get the low oil monitor.

also called Cast air in Eden Prairie.. Their version was about $500 more..

Chris R · 2K+ Club

I worked in a shop that had a C-aire compressor and it was a nice compressor. I have always heard good things about them from others as well.

John D · 2K+ Club

I've got a Cast-Air unit. V-twin, 6hp, 80gal., vertical, 220V.

Some things to look at regardless of make or model:
- Are the connecting rods aluminum (no bearings) or iron with inserts & bushings
- Bearing inserts or roller bearings on the crankshaft.
- What's the compressor RPM at rated CFM - lower is better - 900's good, 700's best
- Site glass for oil level monitoring

The other thing is NOISE. I can stand 5 feet from mine running and hold a conversation at normal volume.

Lost in the 60s · President

Tony Hoffer wrote:

Was looking at a Champion advantage series..

80 gallon vertical tank. 230V single phase 7.5HP motor, air cooler, auto tank drain. low oil monitor.

Got a quote from C-Aire .. Just about $100 more with the tax to buy local.. Just cant get the low oil monitor.

also called Cast air in Eden Prairie.. Their version was about $500 more..

With a sight glass, the monitor isn't necessary. I have watched the level in my IR for 10 years and it never goes down. I change the oil every 3-4 years with IR synthetic and so far it doesn't loose any.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

This is the C-aire unit..

http://caireinc.net/catalogs/WC510822-95V3 Fact Sheet.pdf

This is the Champion..

http://www.compressors-champion.com/vr7f8.cfm

I think Im linking the C-aire more.. its a three cylinder pump and runs at a lower rpm

Lost in the 60s · President

If those 2 units are only $100 apart, there isn't ANY debate on which I'd get. C' Aire has it hands down. That's a lot more compressor than any hobbyist would need unless you're running a blasting cabinet for long periods of time like I do.

The Champion seemed to take pride in the "bucket high drain valve". If that is the only tank drain, I'm not impressed.

Lost in the 60s · President

Derek69SS wrote:

Great quality! That's what I'll be buying when I have room for a big one.

Buy a small storage shed and put it outside..... emote.img?ID=15270

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Im buying a blasting cabinet.. that why the BIG compressor..

Lost in the 60s · President

Tony Hoffer wrote:

I'm buying a blasting cabinet.. that why the BIG compressor..

kinda figured that's where you were going with this.... emote.img?ID=15266

John D · 2K+ Club

Are you going "Jamie" sized cabinet, or something like the one I've got??

Using the "big but still hobbyist sized" cabinet my compressor will kick on and run pretty much constant while I'm blasting (and easily maintaining 90psi), but within a minute or two (after stopping blasting) it will shut off - and be at 125psi tank pressure again.

The 3-cylinder job (IMO) is overkill for a home hobbyist/tinkerer. I'd step down one level of machine and use the savings to buy the install kit.

The oil monitor isn't a big deal. If you're anything like me and a machinery nut... after laying down nearly a G-note on a tool... you're going to watch the dang oil level, and be aware of maintenance. The auto-oil shutdown is for shops who stick the thing in a maintenance closet and don't think about it until it breaks.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Im thinking about this one..

http://www.tptools.com/p/2567,54_979-Super-Cab-Abrasive-Blasting-Cabinet.html

When you are doing 4 foot long pieces of snowmobiles it only makes sense to have something big enough to hold the part..

John D · 2K+ Club

Yup... "Jamie" sized

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

John D wrote:

Yup... "Jamie" sized

Well Ive thought and rethought this... and I think Tim Allen was right...

If Im going to do this.. Im going to get something that should last my lifetime, be able to do most anything Ill ever want to do, and hold its value since all the stuff I drag home is the closest thing to inheritance my kids will ever see..

Chris R · 2K+ Club

If you locate the compressor outside in some sort of storage unit. Even insulating it leaves you the risk of below freezing temps but the neighbors may not like the noise. The condensation involved will always be an issue no matter how often you drain it. Hopefully that compressor doesnt run loud enough to make you deaf and leave it inside the garage.

Are you going to use that cabinet enough to justify paying 2 grand plus on it?

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Probably not...
Looking at what ding dongs are paying for stuff on K-bid and evilbay I figure they should hold at least 50% of their value no matter how long I have it .. With the price of gas going up and my available time going down... It shure would be nice to be able to do this stuff at home at my leisure....

Im in the hobby for the fun of it..Hats off to those that can profit from it.. But for me when it becomes a job the fun goes out of it..

John D · 2K+ Club

You can stick it in the corner of the garage, partition it off with a couple of "dummy" removable walls (with open face 'glass insulation on the inside), and pipe the air intake up into the attic.

Just by running the intake pipes up, and relocating the intake filter(s) into my garage attic cut the noise level down 50%

frank · Active Member

i have c-aire, remeber the bigger it is the less it works and the less water. put flex line right off the unit then run 3/4 copper around the ceiling at lest 50 feet because the water vapor will take at least 50' to turn back into liquid then you can run drip legs down to catch water. come off side of drip leg and elbow back up for air hose attachment. water will run down, air will go up. ball valve at bottom. i never get water in line.

frank · Active Member

cheetah auto on county b and lexington carries c-aire

Lost in the 60s · President

frank wrote:

i have c-aire, remeber the bigger it is the less it works and the less water. put flex line right off the unit then run 3/4 copper around the ceiling at lest 50 feet because the water vapor will take at least 50' to turn back into liquid then you can run drip legs down to catch water. come off side of drip leg and elbow back up for air hose attachment. water will run down, air will go up. ball valve at bottom. i never get water in line.

Copper is too danged expensive so I have 65' of black iron with 2 drip legs and ball valves.... emote.img?ID=15282

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

If I do pull the trigger on this.. Maybe Ill have to have a club project plumbing party.

bowtie · Secretary

frank wrote:

cheetah auto on county b and lexington carries c-aire

They're still around??? Never been in there, but used to drive by it a lot when I lived that area.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

bowtie wrote:

frank wrote:

cheetah auto on county b and lexington carries c-aire

They're still around??? Never been in there, but used to drive by it a lot when I lived that area.

Motorparts In South St. Paul is also a distributor...I just called the factory direct and got a quote on how Id like it built.

Dave Seitz · Mega Poster

I plumbed my shop in a day with copper and I used to do it at work all the time. So let me know when you want to do it and we can knock it out in a day. At least you do not require that I solder with a Nitrogen Vacuum being pulled on it. Copper is expensive but worth it IMHO.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Dave.. What are the dimensions of your cabinet?

The one Im looking is 58"W, 34" Xtra-Deep, 28"H in the work Area .

frank · Active Member

cheetah will be around till he retires,than his son most likely will take over. he is pretty popular. builds lots of engines. he is even going to dragstrip again.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

Frank. What are the specs on your compressor and do you mind if I ask how much you paid for it?

frank · Active Member

i think 1500 its the 7.5 80 gallon. mine is 10 years old. by the way al cheetah will have his willie's at gopher state this year. he goes to the drag strip with us, you should see this thing in action. its like the one(replica) he won the winter nationals in, a long time ago. before he moved to ca and used a funny car. more on c-aire -tag is worn off but says 24.5 free air @150psi --32.6 cfm displacement. it is single piston

-- Edited by frank on Saturday 26th of February 2011 04:15:34 PM

frank · Active Member

how do you add video?

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

all you can do on this board is copy and paste the URL address....
put brackets with "url" in them like this on either side of the address.

[ url] www. address [/ url]

SShink · 3K+ Club

frank wrote:

how do you add video?

Winston put one on the camshaft question post from Utube.

It has a [video=http://www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] URL. I don't know if he copied and pasted it directly from Utube or not.

I don't have any problem copying and pasting URL as active links, but others have said they can't do it.

ron fuller · Active Member

I built my own with a cast-air twin compressor 5hp with 18cfm. Low rpm is so quiet it doesn't scare the kids where it fires up. I had all the parts and just bouhgt the pump.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Pulled the trigger on the compressor.. They are waiting on pumps.. should be able to have assembled by Mid April

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

After much passing of time I finally wired and started up the compressor.. Have the cabinet in place and the Vacuum/dust collector hooked up and vented outside.. Next on the agenda is plumbing the air lines.

Lost in the 60s · President

Alright !!! Does the warranty on the compressor start now....

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

The big push to get the lines in and soldered will start Friday/ Saturday . If you are bored to tears on the only two nice days this week.. swing by.

Tony Hoffer · Moderator

Amazing the amount of views this thread has.. The search crawlers must have found this one..