What weighs more; 500 lbs. of lead, or 500 lbs. of feathers? It’s not a trick question, and because lead is perceived as heavier than feathers, often the answer will be…” the lead”. Of course, 500 lbs. of anything weighs exactly the same as 500 lbs. of anything else. So, what’s my point?
Let’s change the question. What generates more force: 100 PSI from a 200 horsepower compressor, or 100 PSI from the $199.00 do it yourself home compressor? Answer: 100 PSI is 100 PSI, and regardless of the size of the compressor, it’s the same force.
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The difference between the massive 200 HP unit and the home compressor is only the speed with which that compressor can deliver that 100 PSI.
The home unit will have 100 PSI available for only a couple of seconds using an air drill, and then the little compressor will kick in, and take quite a bit of time to come back up to full pressure. You stop using the air drill and wait.
The same air drill plumbed from a 200 HP compressor will run much, much longer before that big unit has to kick back in to bring the mains back up to pressure.
My point is, if you aren’t in a hurry, or trying to do so big a job that you might actually wear out the little compressor, for most of us home DIY types a little low-cost compressor will do just fine in generating equal force to the industrial compressor; just taking a lot longer to regenerate it’s pressure.
This summer past we air nailed shingles on a car port roof with my little unit. Nice thing about that little guy too, I could drag it right up onto the roof with me. Nope, I couldn’t nail continuously. But then, it was mighty hot, and the beer was nice and cold, so I had to break every now and again! 🙂 Happy Days!
Once you get yourself a home compressor, you’ll wonder how you ever did without it.