Portable Air Tank - Question on usage

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I have a small compressor like the following pic. The specs state that it has a 100% duty cycle.

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Occasionally I need a large volume of compressed air.

Can I buy a portable tank like this and fill it up with that small compressor?

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Yes, a compressor is the only way to fill an air tank. You need the air chuck that's used to fill a car's tires.
 
You can, but you'll wear out the little air compressor faster because it's being used more. It might be slow.

But I definitely see the need for portable tanks, I have three of them!
 
A portable air tank like the 5 gal is OK, but I'll often use a 10 gal, enough air to top up all tires.

These tanks are only effective at transferring air when they are well above the tire you're filling.

A tank depleted to 40PSI is very slow when trying to get a 25PSI tire up to 32PSI, etc.

Surprise: The large fitting on the tank typically has an ID for air that's only
i/8" !!! So it fills and discharges air way slower even under ideal conditions!

If found that out a few years ago where I ripped off the old fittings and fitted a T fitting
and 'M type' QCs so I can put a storage tank it inline with my air line and close to my impact
wrench for suspension work, ie, to make sure there's lots of air when cranking hard on the wrench.
 
BTW, I'd rather have a bigger compressor + motor on a smaller tank for portability
then stores that sell smallish compressors/motors on 60 gal tanks to fake out some customers!
 
Thank you for the comments.

I was hoping to use the portable tank to blow out the sprinkler system later this year, but after watching some videos on the topic, I think I just need to buy a proper upright 25 gallon compressor.
 
It also depends on your wiring. If you have a typical 15 amp, 120 volt plug most compressors from $100 on up will make the same amount of air over the same amount of time. Some just have bigger tanks.
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Max continuous HP from a 120v/ 15 amp outlet is a little under 2, so anything "rated" higher is a lie.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino


Max continuous HP from a 120v/ 15 amp outlet is a little under 2, so anything "rated" higher is a lie.


Right but they all lie.

115v will get you around 7.5cfm max. in most cases.. you need 230v to get a real compressor.

Even a cheap husky 230v will do 11.6cfm@90
 
I use a small truck air tank...even has a nice handle. I used to take it when I was trials riding, for pressure adjustments and the odd puncture. A bigger tank makes more work for a small compressor to fill, and in use may never shut off.

 
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