My 30 gallon craftsman non-oiled died after about 15 years of infrequent use - mostly spraying off sawdust, nail guns, filling pool toys/tires, and for a couple years HVLP finishing (I just never really mastered that, but I'd like to try again). I kept it under pressure all the time because when I needed it, I needed it - didn't want to wait for it to pressure up. Anyway, I was pretty lax about draining it and it simply got to rusty inside for me to consider it safe. Although it served me well, I grew to hate it because of the noise - it was by a factor of 2 the most annoying, loud, probably dangerous tool I've owned. Anyway, I've been researching this forum and the net quite a bit and pending your advice have pretty much settled on an Industrial Air 30 gallon oiled belt drive:
http://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Air...air+compressor
Edit: Amazon's specs are wrong on several accounts this is a better link to specs: http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/...sor/p3703.html
Almost unanimously positive reviews, and free shipping/no tax on Amazon fuel my thought process. Any thoughts on this compressor or other ideas?
Finally, the death of my Craftsman was my lack of attention to draining it - it was just such a PITA. It was, and will continue to be permanently mounted on a shelf roughly 5' high and all I could fit under it to catch the water was one of my wife's cookie sheets. Always a mess. I'm considering replacing the drain valve on my new compressor with brass pipe fittings terminating in a valve (will a simple ball valve work?) that I can easily open to drain the water accumulation into a bucket or something similar. Anyone done something like this that can offer advice?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and opinions.