Best small compressor

[Grant Gunderson]

Hey guys, I had a large floor mount unit at my old place, but it died shortly before we moved into our new house this summer, so I dumped it. Truth be told I no longer use an air compressor for running impacts etc.... moved on a to a cordless Milwaukee system for those tasks.

However I do need a new compressor, for the nail guns and mounting tubeless mountain bike tires and just general shop tasks.

You guys have any recommendations? Ideally looking for something that could be wall or shelf mounted and the quieter the better.

Thanks!

 

[The Cobbler]

I have a couple of Senco PC10-10 compressors for small stuff. quiet, lightweight and so far trouble free .

 

[Fbmoose48]

How small is small?

Dewalt has some nice 200-225 psi compressors in the 4-6 gallon range and the extra pressure allows it to function like a larger supply...

 

[Kenskip1]

What is your budget?

 

[Grant Gunderson]

What is your budget?

Like to keep it under $500

 

[ItsNemo]

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200612353_200612353

Something like this (or similar) would be nice. I'm assuming that you aren't looking for a big stationary 240v unit but at least something you could run a few air tools on if you needed to.

 

[bsaint]

Like to keep it under $500

So the "best" under $500? Because $500 dollars will not get you anything best.

 

[Kenskip1]

Horizontal or a vertical tank?

 

[fireguy]

I have 4 of the DeWalt compressors. All are several years old. The fill the compressor tanks quickly.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Not picky.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Been looking at the MAkita 2400 seems to be pretty well made, its quiet and compact.... might just fit the bill....

 

[Dud]

My 25 year old CH compressor still serves me well but if I needed to replace it ... I would buy this one. With a $50 coupon it can be had for $420 (plus applicable sales tax):

 

[IndyGarage]

I have a small Devilbiss hotdog compressor I bought with my first nailgun more than 25 years ago. Now I have probably 10 different nailguns and it operates all of them just fine. For the past 10 years it's sat in my garage with a 100 foot air hose attached to it for pumping up my car tires and occasionally running an impact to rotate tires. It's very noisy but it's small and light and easy to carry. It wasn't very expensive - I bet less than $200 new, and I can't believe it's lasted this long. I've used it a lot over the years.

About a year ago I bought a Makita "big bore" 3hp compressor - the one with a small hand cart on wheels - to replace the devilbiss, but I've never gotten around to making the switch. The Makita generates a lot more air, has a bigger tank, and is quieter, but it's also much bigger and heavier. I will eventually put the Makita into service, but there's obviously no rush.

Over at my shop I also have a small one - even smaller and more compact than the Devilbiss hotdog that I use on projects, but nearly as powerful as the Makita - I bought it at the pawn shop for $25 - It's so small I think they didn't realize it was a good one. it's the best one I own, I'll have to look at the brand the next time I'm over there.

Edit: I found out what the small one is that is so powerful - Binks.

 

[Robinson1]

Rolair

 

[audioworks04]

Rolair bull. It is a small twin hotdog tank. Very good quality and quite compared to most small compressors. Should be around $270.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bsaint]

Rolair bull is the same as HF model or anything similar size from Home Depot. If you want something that size look for a jenny am780 hand carrt unit. I used to work at an emglo/jenny dealer. The hand carrys with the round crank case cover were premium units. The ones with the rounded trapezoid cover shared parts with HD brands.

 

[earlthegoat2]

One of the Makita big bores. Easy to find. Relatively inexpensive. I have a MAC2400 I used to build an entire 24x40 garage. Got lucky when my PC pancake did not have the juice to nail off plywood. Found it on CL for a few hundred. It was exactly the model I was looking for.

I have since gotten a 20 gallon Speedaire but between the switch issues and the noise, I use the Makita more still.

 

[RickP]

I've wanted to try out this ultra quiet model from California Air Tools:
https://images.homedepot-static.com...ols-portable-air-compressors-8010-64_1000.jpg

$165 at Home Depot.

 

[TNBurban]

I've wanted to try out this ultra quiet model from California Air Tools:
https://images.homedepot-static.com...ols-portable-air-compressors-8010-64_1000.jpg

$165 at Home Depot.

I've got the CAT 1610 and 4620. The 1610 is light, whisper quiet, can handle DIY finishing nailing, inflate bike tires. Get's bogged down with a floor nailer. Very easy to carry around.

The 4620 is a bit louder and has been used for floor nailers, framing nailers, roofing gun with no problems. Not professional use, just me so going a lot slower than the pros do.

My first compressor was a Porter Cable pancake from 2004. Loudest damn thing I've ever had. Was installing a built in unit one weekend in the bonus room, worked until I was exhausted. Went to bed and was in a nice deep sleep when the sucker kicked on in the room down the hall I was working on. There was a slow leak in one of the connections and once tank pressure dropped low enough the auto start kicked on. Talk about a hell of way to wake up out of a deep sleep at 3AM. I think I set an all time high for heart rate. Thought a plane was crashing into the house. Wife was not happy about that one...lesson learned.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

Look at the Makita Big Bore series - the MAC2400 would probably work well. They put out a ton of power for their size and are oil-filled so not as loud as some of the cheapies. I use a MAC5200 and it's a beast but is a little large.

 

[Citation]

I have a CAT 5510A. Single alloy tank and weighs about 35lb. Very quiet but only 2.3 cfm @90 psi. If that's enough flow is easy to recommend.

 

[fastev]

Another vote for the Makita Big Bore...

 

[tarbellb]

CAT or Makita 5200.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Big bore Makita. Rolair.

 

[toddmorr]

i have the Makita 2400, for about 5 years now. Really quiet. Works fine for all kinds of nailing and using a 3/8 ratchet. It works much harder when it comes to driving a 1/2 Husky impact. It gets the job done but I sometimes have to give it 30 seconds to catch up when removing a stubborn lug nut. Not a big deal for me, but if I were using daily that would get old.

I've often wondered if the bigger Makita 5200? would have made a significant difference.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Ended up going with the Makita 2400. Pretty damn surprised how well its built for the price. After letting it run for 20 min with the drain open, I filled it up at max psi, and its managed to hold it for 24+ hours now, so no leaks! Way better then the large CRAPpbell hausfeld unit I had before.

 

[agrasyuk]

I have the under 100$ Menards compressor thingy with small orange tank for over a decade now. Obviously I don't use it for impact or painting, air blower pistol drains it in seconds, it's loud. but it keeps up with my small nail gun just fine - PSI is PSI. I imagine it will do fine with inflating tires as well.
I understand the desire for nice tools and I'm sure that Makita is a well made unit. But again - it's still in perfect working shape after over a Decade of use... If one is on budget... Just saying.

 

[bwringer]

Ended up going with the Makita 2400. Pretty damn surprised how well its built for the price. After letting it run for 20 min with the drain open, I filled it up at max psi, and its managed to hold it for 24+ hours now, so no leaks! Way better then the large CRAPpbell hausfeld unit I had before.

Looks nice! Compact, well protected, portable, oil lubed pump, runs on 120V.

Looks like it should be pretty quiet, too -- what are your impressions?

 

[jcthorne]

I have been very pleased with the quiet California Air Tools compressors. Have one single HP unit and a 2 HP unit with allow tank. They run well.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Looks nice! Compact, well protected, portable, oil lubed pump, runs on 120V.

Looks like it should be pretty quiet, too -- what are your impressions?

Very happy with it. Its about 100X quieter then the last compressor I had, and its also way quieter then the pancake one I borrowed from my little bro. Only used it with a nailer so far, but it more than suits my needs.

 

[jconnor3]

Love my Makita 2400.