What Size Air Compressor for Framing Nailer?
Based on the source of power framing nailers can be categorized into 3 categories – pneumatic framing nailer, cordless framing nailer, and brushless framing nailer. Only the pneumatic framing nailer requires an air compressor to operate.
The pneumatic nailer is the most powerful framing nailer and so it is favorite to the professional nail gun users. The air compressors are available in various shapes and sizes. This variety arises a difficulty to choose the right air compressor.
From my experience, I can understand that confusion or difficulty to buy a particular tool or product arises when you lack information about that tool and cannot relate the features of that tool with the necessity of your project.
The most common problem people face to buy an air compressor is related to the size of the air compressor. Since you also have searched on the same topic I guess you are also in the same problem.
We have crafted this article to answer this question – “ What size air compressor is best for framing nailer?” I hope that you will get a satisfactory answer to your query after going through this article.
Table of Contents
Key Indicators of an Air Compressor
There are two key indicators of an air compressor – one is CFM and the other is HP. CFM means cubic feet per minute. CFM is used to measure the velocity of airflow into or out of a particular space. On the other hand, HP means horsepower which is defined as the rate at which the work is done. The unit HP is used to measure the output of an engine.
You have to calculate the CFM and the respective HP to choose the right air compressor for your nail gun.
How to Calculate the CFM for Framing Nail Gun?
The manufacturer recommends CFM for the pneumatic framing nailer in the manual. When you will read the manual you will find it. You also can determine it by following the 3 steps stated below.
3 Steps to Calculate the CFM for Framing Nail Gun
Step 1: Figure out the highest CFM number of your pneumatic nailer
Step 2: Divide the highest CFM number by 1.5
Step 3: The result you have got is the average CFM required for your nailer. The CFM requirement for the best framing nailer is 4.0.
How to calculate the HP for Framing Nail Gun?
You may think that the more horsepower the compressor is, the more powerful the motor is which is not right always because the HP is not the only indicator of how fast the compressor will work.
For instance, two cars with the engine of the same horsepower may not have the same highest speed and mileage.
The manufacturers sometimes rate the compressor with the brake horsepower or peak horsepower and sometimes by the operating horsepower. For framing nailers, it is safe to stick to 5HP -10 HP compressors if they come with essential CFM and PSIG (Pressure Square Inch Gauge) requirements.
Types of Air Compressor
In a broad sense, the air compressors can be categorized into 2 kinds – one is portable air compressors and the other is stationary air compressors.
The stationary air compressors can produce an ultra-high amount of compressed air. They require a powerful energy source and the usual output of these air compressors range from 30 to 1000 CFM.
On the other hand, the portable air compressors are not as powerful as the stationary air compressors. You can take it from one worksite to another as they are lightweight. They can contain 4-15 gallons of compressed air in the air tank. The portable air compressors are good for semi-heavy tasks such as nailing.
Final Thought
It is a hectic task to select the right size of the air compressor by dealing with the facts and calculations. If you are new in this field and not feeling confident to deal with the calculation and the other necessary facts either you can take help from the expert or you can do your study beforehand.
Price is an important fact that you cannot deny. Since the air compressors are a highly powerful machine you have to pay a good amount of money to buy one. If you are not going to make living from it rather you are a hobbyist mechanic I would recommend you not to spend a lot on it.
