[BMWMusician]

Hi everyone,

Wondering whats a good take on a air compressor for walnut blasting. Will this suffice:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Porter-C...2002/203162815

Or would I have to look into one like this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/26-gal...sor-68067.html

[slinkygn]

I'd go with the second. That first one is probably too low CFM for blasting purposes. The second one is a little smaller than the one I used, but as long as you're using a pressure blaster I would think it would be fine.

[BMWMusician]

My family went ahead and got me the first one:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Porter-C...2002/203162815

Am I SOL? I mean on the positive I got it for free, but what would you suggest I do at this point (sell and try to get another one)?

[bluewater328]

Originally Posted by BMWMusician

My family went ahead and got me the first one:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Porter-C...2002/203162815

Am I SOL? I mean on the positive I got it for free, but what would you suggest I do at this point (sell and try to get another one)?

Well, Home Depot has a great return policy.

So avoid hurting peoples' feelings by trying it out. If it works, GREAT!

If it doesn't return with your best Tim Allen grunt and trade up for a bigger one.

[slinkygn]

And if you don't want to spring for the nicer one -- worst case, it'll just take longer.

Dig up the spec sheet buried in the manual for the one you got, and find what it says for "duty cycle." That's how long it can be running vs not. So if the duty cycle is 50%, if it runs for a minute it needs to stay off for a minute before it kicks back on.

When you're blasting, it's probably going to want to kick on a *lot* to re-pressurize your blaster tank. Keep an ear out, and make sure it's not exceeding its duty cycle. Otherwise you'll have a nice crispy but not very functional compressor in a short while.

And do *not* even bother trying it with one of those gravity blasters. You'll need the stored pressure of a pressurized media blaster to do this job with a compressor that small. You'll be tearing your hair out otherwise.

All that said -- I don't know that I've seen a forum post anywhere with someone trying it with a compressor that small. Who knows, it may be pretty tolerable. Might be worth a try! I'd be interested to find out how it goes.

[ethanbw]

Originally Posted by BMWMusician

My family went ahead and got me the first one:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Porter-C...2002/203162815

Am I SOL? I mean on the positive I got it for free, but what would you suggest I do at this point (sell and try to get another one)?

Did you end up trying with the pancake compressor? Curious to heat how it went for you.