'upgrade' my air compressor? clueless in Colorado!

[ray1970]

What’s the cfm rating on the compressor? That’s usually more important for running air tools than the hp or tank size. My compressor is a 7hp, two stage, with a fifty gallon tank and it’s marginal at best for running impacts or blowing out sprinklers.

[DenverGP]

My compressor is a 7hp, two stage, with a fifty gallon tank and it’s marginal at best for running impacts or blowing out sprinklers.

For most uses of an impact, the CFM isn't as critical since you aren't running the tool continuously. My single stage 30 gal, 3hp compressor handles my 1/2" impact just fine. The thing that improved the performance of my impact the most was a compressor with a higher output regulator letting me run the impact at 150psi. It'll knock off most things in one or two "ugga duggas", where it needed to bang on the bolts a lot longer at only 100psi.

For something like a die grinder, where you run it more continuously the CFM becomes more important, and I've got to stop and wait much more frequently for the tank to re-fill.