air compressors

[jimgrms]

i was at home depot and found a husky compressor today a husky 120 volt 2 amp .75 hp with a 2 gallon tank and will pump up to 100lb pressure

' knowing that i would need a 800 watt surge inverter i was wondering if this would be viable to use as a trail compressor ' the price is 70 $ and a inverter is around 65 or so
and the pos i got now was 50 and takes a hour to pump a tire or seems to. this compressor was made to power a brad nailer
. any one have any expertise with air compressors ???

 

[old_man]

800 watt surge isn't large enough. You need about 1kw continuous with a 2kw surge.

 

[jason_h]

It needs to be that big for 2 amp (2x120=240w)? Must suck up a lot of juice when it kicks on or something? I was thinking about something similar, but I was hoping I could use the 400w inverter I already have...

I'll have to check that HD one out. Costco has one similar but it's over $100.

 

[jimgrms]

It needs to be that big for 2 amp (2x120=240w)? Must suck up a lot of juice when it kicks on or something? I was thinking about something similar, but I was hoping I could use the 400w inverter I already have...

I'll have to check that HD one out. Costco has one similar but it's over $100.

Looked at the costco one and never heard of the maker and a .75 hp motor draws a lot of current to start proably could get away with 800 watt surge but not 400

 

[old_man]

It needs to be that big for 2 amp (2x120=240w)? Must suck up a lot of juice when it kicks on or something? I was thinking about something similar, but I was hoping I could use the 400w inverter I already have...

I'll have to check that HD one out. Costco has one similar but it's over $100.

You said it was a .75 hp motor. A horse power converts to 746 watts. That means about 500 watts continuous. The problem is that start up currents are many times higher. You can also figure that an electric motor is probably 50-60% efficient. If you don't think so, put your hand on the motor after it has run for a while. All that heat has to come from somewhere. So 1000 watts continuous is marginal.

As for my qualifications, I have been a working electrical enginner for 35+ years.

 

[jason_h]

I guess maybe the 2A specification isn't quite accurate then

I'll have to check the specs on my inverter. Don't remember if it was 400 continuous or surge. Definitely can't start a hair dryer though, lol.