California Air Tools Reviews / Compressor Recommendation

[DerStig]

Interested in buying their 2HP 15 gal unit.

Reading the reviews online I am very confused.

- Amazon reviews are very negative 3-4 reviewers citing sparks and fire (very bad!)
- Home depot reviews are very positive

Extending my research to their other models, they seem to have consistently very negative reviews in Amazon citing:

- Shipping damage
- Quality control issues
- Customer service being not responsive
- Incorrect specs

Whereas homedepot reviews are again mostly 4.5-5 stars and all positive.

Personally I have gone through 2 of their compressors with issues and returned the last one so the Amazon reviews reflect what I have observed.

I am considering them even after all of this because they have very low noise rating and claim to have a motor which dont need to be services for someone like me who wont use this unit heavily.

My requirements are:

- $500 budget
- Low noise
- Over 150 psi
- Over 5-6 CFM at 90 psi
- Over 15 gal

If you have any other suggestions let me know. I found similar unit industrial air 15 gal 225 psi, what does everyone think of that?

 

[LXCam]

Why in the world would you go with someone whom yourself said you've already returned two units. Based upon what you said for reviews the least of my concerns would be the decibel level verses someone elses product.

 

[Kaizen]

If I find a site that has all positive when others are all negative I believe one of them is editing or adding their own reviews. Amazon is by far the most telling so I would not try them again. Fire??


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[firworks]

I don't own one up in the spec range you are wanting but I do have one of the CAT 5510SEs and I like it quite a bit. I've never had to get customer service though so I have no idea if that is any good. The one I have seems pretty well built / put together and is super quiet.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I will confirm "shipping issues". I got mine from Amazon for more than 50% off because it needed repairs. Admittedly, I have not worked it hard, but I like the size and quietness. Most of the part were cheap Chinese parts to begin with so that is what I bought on eBay.


Anyone doing any repairs on a CAT compressor, watch out for pipe sealant that they use ! The stuff is like epoxy ! All joints should be heated briefly with a propane torch BEFORE you attempt to loosen them. If not something will fail !!!

 

[DerStig]

How is industrial air's oil less compressors? Seems like 100% duty cycle and 78db. And its 225 psi.

 

[Carroll B]

Lowe's had their 60 gallon, 3.7 hp, 11.5 cfm @ 90 psi on sale before Christmas for $429. Normal price is $499. Don't know if that one would be too big for you. I bought one, and got a military discount on top, so with tax it only cost me $392.

 

[HotelMike]

I've had their 2 gallon 1HP unit for three years now. Bought from Amazon. I love how quiet it is. I mainly use it for light duty; blowing off the floor, filling balls and tires. I also run it for straight for an hour filling up a kids inflatable pool etc. One of these days I'll hook up an extra tank.

 

[LMS]

I bought the 2hp 10gal upright about 6 months ago. Like many, I had smashed parts I had to have replaced via warranty, but I've been happy with it so far. Very light duty usage so far though. Low noise level is great.

 

[JimH74]

I also have their 1hp, 2 gal unit. Bought from HD. I had read all the reports about damage with Amazon shipping. When I picked it up, it was double boxed and absolutely no issues. It does what I need it to do. It's real quiet, and its light weight. I think about 35 pounds. I may still build a cart for it; both for mobility, and increasing the height. Overall, I'm pleased.

 

[Citation]

I will confirm "shipping issues". I got mine from Amazon for more than 50% off because it needed repairs. Admittedly, I have not worked it hard, but I like the size and quietness. Most of the part were cheap Chinese parts to begin with so that is what I bought on eBay.


Anyone doing any repairs on a CAT compressor, watch out for pipe sealant that they use ! The stuff is like epoxy ! All joints should be heated briefly with a propane torch BEFORE you attempt to loosen them. If not something will fail !!!

I know this thread is a bit old but quoted for truth!!!!

I just acquired an aluminum tank CAT compressor because the thing leaked like no body's business around the regulator. That turned out to be because an o-ring like lip seal inside of the regulator was installed upside down at the factory. Not a hard fix once I realized what was wrong. So then I decided to push my luck and fix a minor leak were the pressure switch screws onto a boss off the tank. It was the sort of leak that would cause the compressor to cycle every hour or so if left on. Not a huge issue but I like my compressors to hold air when I'm not using them...

Anyway, since I didn't have a torch I used a hot air gun set to something over 500* and got the joint way to hot to touch. I then unscrewed the thing only to find that the threads on both parts were now seriously messed up!

Sadly I think CAT compressors are great little pumps **** parts that would otherwise be seen as "Chinese junk" with all the negatives that implies.

I think I got everything back together with some epoxy. We'll see when it all sets up and I pressure test it. If it fails again the next repair will require real surgery.

 

[Abeo]

Lowe's had their 60 gallon, 3.7 hp, 11.5 cfm @ 90 psi on sale before Christmas for $429. Normal price is $499. Don't know if that one would be too big for you. I bought one, and got a military discount on top, so with tax it only cost me $392.

+1
I got mine for $510 CDN (tax in) when it was on sale. Yes, it's big and requires 240V, but it's fairly quiet, and fills the 60 gal tank fast (and doesn't cycle that often). You have to plumb in your own regulator.

 

[CSRPenFab]

I've got the twin tank aluminum model from Home Depot, and I had no shipping issues. I've had it for two years no with no problems.

 

[dogdog]

Lowe's had their 60 gallon, 3.7 hp, 11.5 cfm @ 90 psi on sale before Christmas for $429. Normal price is $499. Don't know if that one would be too big for you. I bought one, and got a military discount on top, so with tax it only cost me $392.

Side question....
I have been eyeing on that Kobalt compressor..... how is the sound for the compressor.... but I really wanted a quieter than my current craftman 30 gal oil-less (which is a Devilbiss rebrand) ....

 

[jcthorne]

I've had the 5510 CAT for a few months now. Got it for $120 from Amazon and it arrived in fine condition, certainly better than most other chinese sourced tools I have seen over the years. Its quiet, runs well and does not leak. Plenty of air for my Bendpak lift with jacks and for other shop uses. I converted most all of my tools to Milwaukee FUEL line years ago so no need for a big noisy compressor sharing my shop with me.

 

[Abeo]

Side question....
I have been eyeing on that Kobalt compressor..... how is the sound for the compressor.... but I really wanted a quieter than my current craftman 30 gal oil-less (which is a Devilbiss rebrand) ....

It's much more muffled than my previous oil-less, and it's at a lower frequency too (which makes it easier on the ears). It makes it harder to hear the music in my shop, but I don't have to leave the shop while it's running. It's about the same level as an electric sander.

 

[Citation]

For the Kobalt I would look at intake muffler options as well. Its pretty crazy how much noise can come through the intake. My CAT compressor came with the muffler off in the box. The thing wasn't as quiet as I recalled. Then I put the air filter on. Big difference. Then I put the chintzy looking plastic tube into the air filter housing inlet (wondering why they included such a cheap looking part). Yet again a noticeable decrease in noise.

The impact of that little hose makes me want to try a similar hose on a larger filter like that on the Kobalt. Alas, neither the 80 gallon I helped my father install nor any of the other parts I hope to use for my future garage compressor would accept a simple hose add on.

 

[FJ 432]

Zoro currently running 25% off air compressors today only:

code: PNEU24U

Ordered California Air tools 2HP 10 gallon for 335.00 with free shipping.

 

[firworks]

The little California Air Tools compressor saw some action today. Girlfriend called me with a flat tire out in town. It mysteriously "slow leaked" all the way to completely flat from "full" in the short drive she was making home from getting her hair colored.

I stopped by to look at it before heading home to get tools. Since it looked like the bead was still set I was hoping I could air it up enough to get it home as she was only probably 5 minutes from our house. I filled the 5510SE all the way up and threw it in my trunk. I mentioned it in my video review but probably my favorite feature on it as stupid as it sounds (besides how quiet it is) is the nice front and rear handle. Makes it very portable and easy to carry around. My old compressor had one long handle on the front and that was for wheeling it only. If you carried it by that it would swing around and bash you in the knees constantly.

View media item 68040
Sadly, as soon as the sidewall started to raise up it revealed a gash just blasting out air.

View media item 68041
Thus, it was donut time.

 

[Kaizen]

Where is your video review?


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[firworks]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1zkkLSiBv4E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

In there around 5:56 there's a sound comparison between the CAT5510SE and my old oilful compressor that's pretty impressive.

 

[ishiboo]

Mine is SUPER QUIET and that fact is awesome. Looks reasonably well made. I didn't consider the specs though, I thought any compressor can run a finish nailer. Unfortunately since it has a 120psi maximum tank pressure, and cuts on at 90psi at the tank... it doesn't have the oomph to run nailers when it starts getting to the 90psi level and the nailers are requiring 110psi to set correct depths. This is for oak and hickory, if you're working with pine and filling tires it's probably fine.

Just something to consider. I had to go back to my Bostitch pancake for nailing indoors, screaming away in the basement and I can hear it on the second floor. Wish the CAT worked for me but no

 

[DerStig]

The quality control in these compressors are terrible. I went through 3 of them and they all had different problems. Their smaller 60db units are very quiet but the higher gal 70db units are not that quiet. My husky 175psi is 75db and honestly 3 different people including my wife couldnt tell them apart. Husky is much better made much more solid and simply is a better unit. The CAT 10 or 15 gal units that cost $400 has sparking/fire issues apparently and cost a lot for all the QA issues.