Why does my 10 CFM compressor run all of the time?

[fordman]

try turning down the max psi for the tank. that might help it catch up faster. if you are regulating it down anyway. and had the max set at 100 it might work less to keep that psi. i am just guessing . dad gave me a new one this summer because i am an idiot to my family i guess would be the best way to describe it. it is set at 100 right now . i was doing a roof with a roofing gun and it would kick on and off for me. i dont know the gallons or horse power right now but its medium sized it sits abotu waist high maybe taller. it is a portable upright compressor.o rmaybe you need to take more break and not run continuosly. i dont know how you were running the grinder. i'm guessing again.

[Ranchero50]

Air grinders are air hogs. For my 90` grinder I set the line regulator up to 60psi for porting work and it save the tool and the compressor. When doing DA sanding I just sand til the sander stops then take a couple minute break to let the compressor catch up. It's not good to run them hard all the time. My Craftsman professional grade blew apart twice, a complete POS design. Cost $140 to rebuild the first tiem and the second time it turned into a starage tank. Got about two years out of it each time...

Jamie

[averagef250]

Like Jamie said air grinders use a lot of air. I think HF's 4 CFM is pretty conservative. My first compressor was a 5HP Devilbiss oilless. What a pile of junk. Blew that thing up several times, had a spare set of pistons/rods/cylinders on hand when it did, then I sold it. I'm on my second 5HP pressure oil compressor and it's night and day what it will do compared to the oiless ones. The Kellog one I have now will hold 80 PSI no matter what I'm doing (wide open 1/2" line even) so I'm pretty happy with it. If I learned anything buying a compressor it's that the ratings on the tag don't mean much on newer ones. I look to see that it has an oil pressure gauge on it, that the compressor is really, really heavily built and the motor is rated for 100% duty. I've never taken it easy on a compressor I've had, I let it pump it's heart out until I'm done with the job. Have no idea how old the Kellog is I have now, but it was in a service station for atleast a decade before I got it and it still goes pretty well.

[dantheman71]

I agree with Fordman, that max pressure seems too high. I have a 60 gallon as well and it cuts out at 125-130psi. I would bet that if you just drain the tank down and watch it build pressure without a load on it, that last 10 or 15 psi takes a long time to get to. Once it cuts in it wouldn't take much of a load to keep it below 140psi. You will probably never need that high of pressure anyway.

My

[HOWDY69]

Thanks for the feedback. I will try reducing the tank pressure when I get home next week.