It looks like I am going to have to break down and buy an air compressor. My buddy told me last night he is giving me his spare Handy table lift and since it is air powered, I need a compressor. Does anyone have any idea what size I might need to power this lift?

 

Should be a CFM rating on the lift.

 

Go to Home Depot. I got one with a finish nailer to work on my daughters house for $99.00. Those type of lifts have a psi demand and don't use much volume at all. It was a HUSKY brand and use it for the bike tires too. it will reach 100 psi.

 

Or enter the following into google:
__________________________________________

I3468 Craftsman Air Compressor
______________________________________________

$200 bucks but in michigan

 

oops, n/m unless you have 3 phase, or a phase convertor

Try this one: $79 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...5206000P?mv=rr
or this $59: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...061224x0000002

 

I finally found a FAQ on the website. It said just about any compressor will work as long as it will make 100 psi. I've got a compressor in the race trailer....350 miles from here.

 

The compressor air tank volume determines how long the compressor runs. If you use air for any other projects, I would recommend the largest tank size compressor you can afford or feel like you need. The smaller the air tank, the longer the compressor will run to fill it up.

 

A small pancake compressor like this one will suit your purposes just fine. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ir+Compressors.

 

actually you got that backwards. with a small tank, the compressor will be able to build up pressure quickly. but, it will also lose pressure quickly too. so it will fill fast, shut off, drain fast, and then kick on again. so it will kick on more often, but for shorter periods of time.

but, yeah, you should definitely get one bigger than you think you need. i had a little 8 gal one that i got from harbor freight for 89.00 and when it died, i replaced it with a 25 gal from sears on sale for 299.99. this one has enough umph to run some air tools as well......

 

No - the smaller the tank, the sooner you run out of air, which restarts the pump.

Tank size determines how much air you can use once the tank is at full pressure before the pump has to come back on.

The CFM (cubic feet per minute) on the pump is determined by the volume of air the pump will produce at a given pressure.

Bigger tanks USUALLY come with bigger pumps, but there can be a large variance in pumps within a given tank size.

That said, you don't need a lot of volume for a bike lift, and most compressors will make the 100psi requirement.