was thinking of air compressor,but what about a vac with blower

Q

quamen

New member
Im torn between getting an air compressor or a vac with a blower on it. Anyone give me some info on advatages/disadvantages on this idea? I have the room on my trailer for one, so that is not the case. I really dont know how each compressor operates at a different noise level which is a concern. I was looking at harbor frieght and i see some i like, about 8 gallon for 100 bucks which doesnt seem bad, but some say it is big enough others not. I dont want the thing to keep kicking on after after burst of air?



Plus i want to get one just for detailing, so i dont want to go to big or to small. Someone replied about the Makita which looks nice, but I was thinking somethign cheaper but i dont know if it will work as well.
 
I have started using my Rigid 4gal/5~hp vac as a blower. It works pretty nice to blow out all of the cracks and to dry off the rims/tires. It doesnt push a TON of air though. I would think that you might want something a little bit more powerful for your own use. I dont know what type of vac you were considering though.



For an air compressor, you could also use it to blow out the interior vents and so on. If you wanted you could even have a tire pressure check service. A compressor would definitely put out a lot more power, but it would be a little bit more concentrated to one spot and you might run out of air as you are going.



Well those are some random thoughts of mine. I hope they help :D
 
I use the trusty old 6hp shop vac. It sucks. It blows.



As a plus, on not-so-warm days, the high-velocity air is warmer than the ambient air temperature. Every little but helps.



I use a reducer nozzle to increase the terminal velocity of the expelled air stream. One nice thing about the vac is that the outputted air velocity is not fast enough to damage anything. The vacs also have many tools available. I use mine on the Checy pick-em-up and the extensions are handy for reaching the spots in the middle where my short pudgy arm has trouble reaching without the assistance of the add-on tube the nozzle is shoved upon.



I like my shop-vac. Better tha a woman 'cause it never talks back.



Yep.
 
The good thing about a compressor is that it has other uses, inflating, air tools, spraying, etc. The down side is that they are generally meant for high pressure/low flow. A blower (leaf, vac, etc) is a high flow/low pressure device and better matched to air drying.



A compressor will certainly work well (at least for short periods) but unless it's a pretty big one it will always be playing catch-up.





PC.
 
the other pc said:
The good thing about a compressor is that it has other uses, ...
Click to expand...



Tire inflation being a primary target and a good reason to prompt me to seriously consider the addition. Also it just seems that a blow gun at the end of an air hose is going to allow you to work smaller areas much more easily and be more precise in directing your air.
 
I have both, I have this great air compressor, it is small but packs lots of power. I also have wet dry vacs that can switch to blow.



The air compressor really gets into the belt molding and around the cracks to blow out all the water, but it runs out of air quick. The wet dry vac makes more of a mess and blows the water all around the car.
 
I like the air compressor more. You won't be able to blow water off the whole car with it but you can certainly get behind trim, etc. with it.



It's also great for other jobs too like blowing out your buffing pads, blowing out air vents, blowing compound/polish/wax dust off already done sections, etc. Can also use it around the house too if you get a nail gun. I also like having it for when I work on my vehicles so I can have an impact.
 
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