Air Compressor for drying !

You're better off with a blower, will be cheaper. An open blowgun takes about 10HP to feed with compressed air, that is a 5.5HP gas engine, with a small receiver. Maybe it will keep up with what you are doing, maybe not. Is it worth $400 to find out? You could get an electric blower for half that, or a leaf blower for 1/8, or one of those hand blowers for even less.
 
Thank you for your post!

Can you point me to an electric blower to get an idea on which type to use.

And also, the main reason I liked about that compressor that it is gas powered since I use 240v in my country and for that price 400$ instead of 1229$ its really cheap and in the future I might buy some air tools.
 
Oh...that changes things, if you want a compressor for air tools, then that's a different story. It's just that's a portable contractor compressor, it has a small receiver (small amount of compressed air storage), which is kind of backwards for what you are trying to do with blowing off the car.
 
I will mainly use it for blowing and maybe in the future I will use air tools too.

For drying a car what would you consider a good receiver?
 
This could be a really involved discussion. That compressor puts out about 10SCFM. That's perhaps a third of what you need to supply high pressure to a blow nozzle in an industrial environment.



I bought a cheap little Sears electric compressor to do what you want to do, and found that I could only get a really short amount of blowoff time (perhaps 5-10 seconds)before I had to wait for a minute or more for the tank to pump back up. Maybe with the compressor you linked you'll only have to wait 10 seconds, or 8 seconds, or maybe you will be able to get a continuous stream of 10psi air which won't blow out the cracks, or maybe you will get 25psi and it will.



A 1/4" open blow line takes 10HP to maintain...your performance at your nozzle will depend on the interplay between the compressor and your storage volume. Will it do what you want? Yes, you will be able to blow out your cracks. Will you be able to do the entire car without stopping? I don't know. The pictured compressor looks like it has perhaps a 5 gallon receiver. A fixed (non-portable) compressor might have a 40, 60, or 80 gallon receiver.
 
Yeah I do but it does not blow that good. I thought about getting the Master Blaster which got 8HP but it still 300$ so I thought why not go with a compressor.
 
I've always used a compressor. Works perfect. I have a medium sized craftsman for mobile uses (little overkill but I originally didn't buy it for detailing either) and then at the shops I've always had a commercial upright. I personally think a compressor is a absoulte must have for interior work anyways. So it just does double duty when getting all the wet out of the cracks and crevices as well.
 
Pats300zx said:
I would just get a leaf blower. It would be cheaper and would probably work better than a compressor...
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A leafblower with an AirWand is one of my favorite detailing tools, but note that Eliran needs something in 240v.



I use the AirWand for getting most of the water off and the compressor (I have a big two-stage unit) for the nooks and crannies. Drying with just a compressor is, IME, an exercise in frustration as the airstream is too tightly focused to dry large panels efficiently.
 
I have an 80gal compressor that I use for blowing out the cracks, which is much better than using a leaf blower. It's also a must for interior detailing. However, a leaf blower is much better for actually drying the car.
 
ABQDetailer said:
This is what I'm putting in my new garage:



FREE SHIPPING — Ingersoll Rand Electric Stationary Air Compressor — 3 HP, 10.3 CFM @ 135 PSI, 230 Volt, Model# SS3L3 | 10 - 30 CFM | Northern Tool + Equipment



10CFM @ 135psi. Sounds good to me. :)



I agree compressors are great for blowing out cracks and stuff but not for drying off big panels of the car. I'd do a leaf blower for that for sure.
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I got the same one but with the 80gal tank! Great air compressors! :2thumbs:



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I use our air compressor daily to dry nooks an crannies of a car, but I could not imagine not having one for cleaning interiors. It's a must have.
 
I think the OP has two separate needs:



1. An air compressor with blow gun to "blow out" tight spots (map pockets, between seats, vents, etc.)

2. A way to dry interiors after shampooing them.



The first can be accomplished with any 110v air compressor. Spend $225 at Sears and you'll get a great compressor for personal or small shop use.



For the second, just leave one window down 1", all other windows closed, and the heater on full blast (pointed at floor and vents) for 30+ minutes or until dry.



Just use the car's heater! If you get browning, it's because you had excessive chemicals in the carpets. Rinse the carpets again, then dry again with the car's heater.
 
Thanks you all guys for the support!!

As Accumulator said I do need something in 240v but dont mind to get something in 120v as long as it will support 50hz as well as 60hz.

Does someone know if the Craftsman 16gal wet/dry vac with the blower is 50hz as well? and what 331 Watt rating means?
 
JohnKleven said:
I use our air compressor daily to dry nooks an crannies of a car, but I could not imagine not having one for cleaning interiors. It's a must have.
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What do you guys (Jakerooni and JohnKleven) use your compressors for when doing interiors? Blowing dust our of vents? Blowing crud our of cupholders? What else.



I just recently bought a small air compressor and really haven't been using it much for my interior. I must not be thinking of jobs to use it for because I have seen others talking about using their air compressors when doing interiors.
 
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