When it is time to remove and replace the shingles on your home, doing most of the work yourself with the right tools can save you some money. By renting a commercial or heavy-duty air compressor, you can make the re-shingling work faster, easier, and cause less body strain. Here are some tips to help you select and use the right air compressor for your home roofing work.
Select a Compressor to Power Multiple Nail Guns
To replace the shingles on your roof, it can be helpful to use an air compressor-powered pneumatic nail gun. Pounding nails in manually with a hammer requires several impacts to secure each nail. A nail gun can fire up to 100 nails per minute.
When you are replacing the shingles on a larger-sized roof, you can use the help of several people to nail on the shingles and finish the job faster. With a commercial air compressor providing enough air pressure, you can run several pneumatic nail guns on one compressor. The compressor will push air into the tank, where it is stored and used by each nail gun. Then, as the air pressure is used and decreases, the compressor will switch on to refill the tank and keep optimal air pressure. This ensures each nail gun hooked to the compressor will always have full air pressure to insert nails.
Since you will be working outside, you can select a gasoline-powered air compressor to power the nail guns. Gasoline-powered air compressors are noisier and tend to give off gasoline fumes, so they are best used in a well-ventilated and open area. A gasoline-powered unit is also mobile and won't need access to a power outlet. This allows you to move it to a place in your yard, around your home's exterior, furthest from the roofing work.
Select the Appropriate Compressor PSI and CFPM
You can find a heavy-duty air compressor to provide above 150 psi (pounds per square inch) of power in a two-stage system compressor. This is ideal for completing a roofing job where multiple nail gun users will be continuously using the air pressure. If your air compressor does not provide enough air power, it will occasionally cause nails to be partially inserted into a shingle. This result will require the nail gun operator to have to stop and manually pound the nail in the rest of the way to make it flush against the shingle.
Also look at the air compressor's Cubic Feet Per Minute or Standard Cubic Feet per Minute (CFPM or SCFM). For a roofing job with multiple nail guns, you will need a higher CFPM. For example, for at least two nail guns operating at the same time, you will need a commercial air compressor that provides 4.4 to 4.9 SCFM. But to power up to five nail guns, you will need a commercial air compressor that provides 10 SCFM.
Adjust the Compressor Tank's Pressure
The pressure in your air compressor's tank should be adjusted to match the psi of your nail guns. For example, if the maximum psi indicated on the side label of each nail gun is 120 psi, adjust the tool pressure psi on the compressor's tank to no more than 120 psi. Raising the air pressure above a nail gun's maximum allowance can cause damage to the tool.
Next, adjust the tank output pressure according to how much pressure you need to fire each nail. If your nails are not inserting completely into the shingles, increase the tank output pressure by 10 psi. Fire another nail to make sure this corrects the lack of pressure. If the nail is still not entering into the shingles fully, increase the psi by 10 more and retest the nail gun's pressure. Conversely, if your nails are entering into your shingles too deeply, turn the psi down on the tank output pressure by 10 psi and retest the nail gun to make sure the psi has been corrected accurately.
Use these tips to help make your re-roofing work much easier by using a commercial air compressor. Check out a company like kruman equipment co. to find an air compressor.
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