Has anyone tried Fortress air compressor?

[Sagebrush Steve]

I know I will regret posting this, especially after reading about @Fossil-Hound‘s 60-gallon behemoth, but has anyone tried Harbor Freight’s new ultra-quiet Fortress air compressor?  I would only be using it for air abrasive work (probably with a Paasche AECR or similar), not air scribes, so I don’t need gigantic capacity. (Sidebar: I know I would not have the ability to ever use it with scribes in the future, no need to lecture me about that.)   Green River fish and Wheeler Range trilobites are the kinds of things I would use it for.  I have already built my blast cabinet.  I don’t have a lot of room and I really like the idea of it being quiet.  The reviews I have read so far make it sound much better than other brands but I’d like feedback from someone who has really used it if possible.  Here’s a link to the one I’m looking at: https://www.harborfreight.com/2-gallon-12-hp-135-psi-ultra-quiet-oil-free-professional-air-compressor-64596.html

 

[caldigger]

Not familiar with this, but in my opinion "ultra quiet" and "compressor" don't go together. 

[Fossil-Hound]

@Sagebrush Steve it really depends on the PSI and CFM your tool requires. I know with my CP9361 which uses 90 PSI at 10 CFM this compressor might not be able to keep up. I would probably be able to prepare the fossils in 20 minute increments then wait a few minutes in between preparation. I think most micro air blasters would be similar but you might want to reach out to @Ptychodus04 or @Kane about this as they reported having slimmer profile compressors (unless they upgraded). As @caldigger mentioned that one I just bought is an absolute behemoth but I had to get it because I'm preparing in 3 hour intervals or more and preparing for roughly 10 plus hours a week so I really wanted it to stand the test of time. It's loud though. The compressor produces roughly 82 decibels and the scribe adds another 81 decibels. When the two are working in unison the garage gets very loud but the compressor usually only runs a few minutes at a time and then shuts off while the scribe is on most of the time. Last night I had the compressor on and did a sound test by walking outside. You could barely hear it. Our garage walls are about 11 inches thick (very thick) and the sound reverberates off the walls and cars and gets dampened in the process. The compressor is expensive (about $550) and takes up 2 square feet (not to bad) while it sits roughly 6 fit high. I really like the space efficient design. That smaller compressor will probably do the job. What I would do is buy it and test it out with your air tools and see what kind of noise it produces. I've tested the noise levels on mine and while it's very loud in the garage you can barely hear it inside the house and outside. Should be a really fun winter preparing all these new fossils.

[Kane]

My 3 gallon tank kept cycling even just using the Paasche at less than 50 PSI. I would go with 10+ gallon tank. It will be noisy, but it depends who it bothers (if just you, headphones and your favourite music should do ).

[Fossil-Hound]

4 minutes ago, Kane said:

My 3 gallon tank kept cycling even just using the Paasche at less than 50 PSI. I would go with 10+ gallon tank. It will be noisy, but it depends who it bothers (if just you, headphones and your favourite music should do ).

@Kane wow 50 PSI so you'd probably be using 6 CFM (just a guess). So how long would you have to wait in between prep sessions for your pressure to go back up to a working range for your Paasche? How many minutes could you go before cycling? Mine kicks in roughly every 20-30 minutes for about 5 minutes at a time. Not too bad at all. I need to finish sealing all the pipes with plumbers tape then it should really be efficient.

[Kane]

9 minutes ago, Fossil-Hound said:

@Kane wow 50 PSI so you'd probably be using 6 CFM (just a guess). So how long would you have to wait in between prep sessions for your pressure to go back up to a working range for your Paasche? How many minutes could you go before cycling? Mine kicks in roughly every 20-30 minutes for about 5 minutes at a time. Not too bad at all. I need to finish sealing all the pipes with plumbers tape then it should really be efficient.

I've retired my 3 gallon when I upgraded to the 20 gallon.

The 3 gallon would kick in every five or so minutes. The CFM was 2.0, and my current 20 gal is 3.5 CFM. 

 

I would never have to wait, per se, as there would still be pressure enough to blow the Paasche while it kicked in. Technically, you shouldn't run a Paasche higher than 50 PSI (although I've run it as high as 75 for matrix landscaping).

 

The current 20 gallon kicks in every 15-20 minutes, and that's with running scribes as well which are very demanding at 100-110 PSI. 

[Fossil-Hound]

53 minutes ago, Kane said:

I've retired my 3 gallon when I upgraded to the 20 gallon.

The 3 gallon would kick in every five or so minutes. The CFM was 2.0, and my current 20 gal is 3.5 CFM. 

 

I would never have to wait, per se, as there would still be pressure enough to blow the Paasche while it kicked in. Technically, you shouldn't run a Paasche higher than 50 PSI (although I've run it as high as 75 for matrix landscaping).

 

The current 20 gallon kicks in every 15-20 minutes, and that's with running scribes as well which are very demanding at 100-110 PSI. 

@Sagebrush Steve so there's your equation. That 2 gallon will probably recycle every 3-4 minutes at least if not more since your CFM might be higher so that compressor may end up running continuously and might not have enough power to supply your tool. You'd probably only get to prep for about 5-10 minutes at a time then wait for the pressure to equalize again. A 20 gallon really isn't that expensive. You'll probably be looking at paying roughly $300 USD with a much higher decibel rating but the rating would probably not climb above 70 (really not bad). @Kane I was talking to @Malcolmt about this subject as it's an important one. I believe his rule was that with trilobites and prep in general (fish, trilobites, etc.) you want at least 20 gallons or more to not overwork the compressor. I went all in with my behemoth because it was the cheapest two stage sixty gallon I could find on the market. Ingersoll Rand has a comparative model for roughly $1100 USD. The hardware and mechanics are higher quality than Kobalt but I payed the extra $100 USD for an extended two year warranty so that the warranty was bumped up to a grand total of five years (half a decade). It's a behemoth though. Somedays I wonder if I should have gone with a smaller 20 gallon and that way I'd have money for a PaleoTools Micro Jack 4. 

[Kane]

6 minutes ago, Fossil-Hound said:

@Sagebrush Steve so there's your equation. That 2 gallon will probably recycle every 3-4 minutes at least if not more since your CFM might be higher so that compressor may end up running continuously and might not have enough power to supply your tool. You'd probably only get to prep for about 5-10 minutes at a time then wait for the pressure to equalize again. A 20 gallon really isn't that expensive. You'll probably be looking at paying roughly $300 USD with a much higher decibel rating but the rating would probably not climb above 70 (really not bad). @Kane I was talking to @Malcolmt about this subject as it's an important one. I believe his rule was that with trilobites and prep in general (fish, trilobites, etc.) you want at least 20 gallons or more to not overwork the compressor. I went all in with my behemoth because it was the cheapest two stage sixty gallon I could find on the market. Ingersoll Rand has a comparative model for roughly $1100 USD. The hardware and mechanics are higher quality than Kobalt but I payed the extra $100 USD for an extended two year warranty so that the warranty was bumped up to a grand total of five years (half a decade). It's a behemoth though. Somedays I wonder if I should have gone with a smaller 20 gallon and that way I'd have money for a PaleoTools Micro Jack 4. 

Well, setting up a lab is a pretty costly endeavour as you've since discovered. Sometimes we have to go with second best in order to afford some of the other toys, and then replace the second best with better in future years. In the end, even the top of the line equipment will have to be replaced at some point. For me it was also a question of space; those who have been at my house know my area is a bit too crowded to accommodate a 60 gallon beast. But I'm pretty happy with the setup I currently have, even if it took a few years to get to this point.  

[Fossil-Hound]

4 minutes ago, Kane said:

Well, setting up a lab is a pretty costly endeavour as you've since discovered. Sometimes we have to go with second best in order to afford some of the other toys, and then replace the second best with better in future years. In the end, even the top of the line equipment will have to be replaced at some point. For me it was also a question of space; those who have been at my house know my area is a bit too crowded to accommodate a 60 gallon beast. But I'm pretty happy with the setup I currently have, even if it took a few years to get to this point.  

Well at least your spouse doesn't yell at you if you put big slabs of shale in your yard to naturally weather. 

[Kane]

4 minutes ago, Fossil-Hound said:

Well at least your spouse doesn't yell at you if you put big slabs of shale in your yard to naturally weather. 

No, but I'd get a nasty letter from the condo corporation.  

[Ptychodus04]

The cheaper/smaller compressors are actually much louder than the larger/more expensive ones. My 21 gallon (oil lubricated) Harbor Freight model easily drowns out my dust collector running at 65 dB. I’d put the compressor upwards of 85-90 dB.

 

I’m much happier with it out of the lab all together. When I used a smaller compressor and a cheap abrasive setup, I felt that it used more air than my Aro.

 

As has been said earlier, it’s all about the CFMs. Most every air compressor made will reach the desired PSI but it takes a special mechanical friend to push the CFM these tools want.

[RJB]

Bite the bullet and get a bigger one.  and good luck

 

RB

[Steve D.]

Super interested in this thread. My collection and prep is Upper Ordovician and I know jack about scribs, abrasion tools...etc... BUT I want to invest in a system through recommendation. Any advice on a unit or a standard set up plan for someone looking to upgrade? I have a possible rostroconchia that needs to be 100% identified! 

 

As well as about a thousand hash plates that need trilobite extraction

[Mark Kmiecik]

I have experience with compressors both large and small and over the years the most important thing I've learned is that if they cycle too frequently they stay hot which leads to premature failure but usually shortly after the warranty period is over. I would suggest the largest volume possible combined with higher quality even if it means going a bit over budget and you'll be satisfied in the long run.

[Steve D.]

Any specific models you recommend?

[Mark Kmiecik]

16 hours ago, Steve D. said:

Any specific models you recommend?

Any major brand will do. You want to get a mid to high-end, with more capacity than you need. The less it has to work to keep up with you the longer it will last. You don't want the off-brand cheap stuff. Tell the guy at the hardware outlet what you need and they can usually recommend something that won't let you down.