Making the Right Choice for a Portable Air Compressor

A portable air compressor is one of the must-have appliances that you need around the home. There are so many uses for a portable air compressor. If you have kids with bicycles then you know just how important it is to be able to fill their tires with air when you need to. The list of uses for portable air compressors is endless around the home.

Portable Air Compressor Choices

You’ll find that on the market there are two main choices when it comes to purchasing a portable air compressor. You can purchase those with a cast iron cylinder or those with an aluminum cylinder. They will differ in price with the aluminum cylinder models being at the low end.

Aluminum Cylinder Compressors

As mentioned before, aluminum cylinder compressors are on the low end of the price scale and they have other attributes that differentiate them such as:

• Low maintenance (no oil required; cleanup is easy)
• Short life
• Expensive to repair

You get the advantage of low maintenance but the tradeoff is that their lifespan is shorter.They are not intended for hard use.

Cast Iron Cylinder Compressors

In contrast, portable air compressors with cast iron cylinders have attributes opposite of the aluminum ones such as:

• Need fewer repairs
• Have a greater degree of durability (longer life)
• Need oil to operate thus can be messy

They are intended for more and tougher jobs but you will see that they have numerous happy customer reviews. For example, Dewalt and Makita compressors have a long list of customers who have been happy with them for several years.

Which Type is Right for You?

The simple solution to determining which type of portable air compressor is right for you by asking yourself how often you will use it. If only using it for the occasional flat bicycle tire then aluminum will suffice. However, for major home improvement projects where you may need to spray paint or other chemicals, you will be far better off in the long run purchasing cast iron.