Best value in small air compressors?

[kerryt1]

Currently have a 30-ish gallon Craftsman super-noisy oilless and would like to get a small portable compressor plus a large stationary one.

The small compressor would do nothing more than run nailers and inflate an occaisional tire or something. Needs to be portable, and reliable. Quiet is good also.

I don't want the best small compressor available, or the cheapest POS Harbor Freight has to offer. What is the best value / most bang-for-the-buck?

 

[CNGsaves]

Sounds like you've got your portable air compressor covered (although noisy). Now you're looking for permanent solution. Why would you look for another small compressor??

Just keep the one you've got for portable needs (ie 110v) and get yourself a long-term solution of 60 gallon 5 HP 220volt. Does your garage have proper subpanel electrical that you can handle 220v for compressor?

 

[kerryt1]

Sounds like you've got your portable air compressor covered (although noisy). Now you're looking for permanent solution. Why would you look for another small compressor??

Just keep the one you've got for portable needs (ie 110v) and get yourself a long-term solution of 60 gallon 5 HP 220volt. Does your garage have proper subpanel electrical that you can handle 220v for compressor?

It's too large to carry around easily. I want something that I can use everywhere. The current one is much too bulky to move around, and it's WAY too loud to use inside on trimwork, etc. It is however too small to run impacts, cutoff tools, etc, hence the need for a larger stationary unit AND a small portable one (pancake, twin tube, etc).

 

[vintagefan]

Look at the Makita MAC series compressors... they're excellent.

 

[bcradio]

for quiet you'll want an oil lubricated compressor. Any of the major brands oil lubed pancake compressors will suit you fine.

 

[oldgoat]

I have a 2hp HF oiled compressor that I use for airing the tires and running nailers some. It is reasonably quiet and is portable. I just have a lot of air hose that I use when I need to use nailers in the house so that the noise stays out in the little garage. I've had it for 7 or 8 years now and it has been good for what I need. I also have a 3hp upright HF compressor in the big garage that I use for impacts.

 

[Just_George]

+1 on the Makita MAC-700....excellent compressor, and unbelievably quiet!

 

[duneslider]

If you want quiet you will spend some money. A lot of guys i know use one by rol-air.

I have been using a portercable pancake for years now and it is as loud as all the other oil-less compressors but has served me well and was cheap.

 

[kenfain]

Pancake or hot dog? I think that as long as it has oil you'll be ok. But about that "big " compressor. I was in essentially the same spot as you, just recently. I found at least one or two design issues with all the large compressors that are available in all the retail locations. Every one had a deal breaker. Some kind of cheap work around.The quality just wasn't there! So I looked at industrial models. Lots of quality, high prices, plus shipping! So I started looking on C.L. I didn't think I needed 5hp. But that's about as small as you can find, without special order. I knew I wanted American made. And I have always loved old machines. You know, back in the day, 3hp.or so were very common. Yea that's for me. So I started looking. Now that I knew what I wanted. I was tired of waiting for that 26 gallon, so called 5hp.compressor to catch up with my impact. So I found a nice old Curtis. 3hp.no more waiting. Cool! Now here's where you need to pay attention. When I did my first oil change. The oil was just a little milky.what could this mean? Well I'll tell ya. Don't you believe it when people say you can't have too much air. You can. The machine has to come up to operating temperature. If not moisture WILL condense in the lower end. Says so in the owners manual. Now if your running a air hog of some sort, no problem. If your just running an impact, you may have to open a drain an just let it run occasionally. But hey don't take my word for it ask a pro. That's what I did. Yep I got way more compressor than I need. But what the heck, I love this thing. But you can go that other way. If your only running an impact n stuff. Why not get a small portable 2hp.220 unit. Probly need about 8 or 9 cfm.for an impact . Just my 2cents.

 

[theoldwizard1]

+1 on the Makita MAC-700....excellent compressor, and unbelievably quiet!

Excellent choice. Oil lubed and cast iron cylinder,


Alternative. Light weight and probably the quietest compressor you will find.

California Air CAT-1610A

 

[vjlobel]

I second that California air tools unit. They also market them under the GMC syclone name.

 

[RKA]

I have a mac700 and love it, however, if I was buying a portable today, I would probably try California air tools. The Makita is 50 lbs and lugging it up to the second floor is a chore. The california is 35 lbs, albeit with a smaller tank, but for anything shy of a framing nailer, does it matter? It's reasonably quiet, but the California is quieter. It has a low amperage draw so you're not resetting breakers all day...so does the other one.

 

[cheechi]

its not on sale yet, but this Porter-Cable will be on sale for $99 starting June 6. Yes it's oilless. If you don't have the nailers yet, I would get a Bostitch combo instead, because the nailers make it worth it.

Keep in mind $99 is the sale price for the HF 6 gal pancake, I would go for the PC one if I didn't already have a small one. My Bostitch isn't THAT loud and I use it only outdoors.

 

[braincrater]

I have THIS ONE by Dewalt and I love it. Compared to most oil less compressors it is quite and It pushes 200 psi. The pressure switch kicks in around 140 so it will always kick on before your air tool suffers, unlike the lower psi compressors that kick in around 85-90 psi. It is very easy to move as well.

 

[kerryt1]

Good feedback, thanks.

I don't mind paying a bit more since I plan on this being a lifetime purchase, just hate buying into planned obsolescence. Also don't want to spend a lot, since I plan to buy a large one in the future. Again, good info, thanks.

 

[tarbellb]

Ive heard great things about the Makita MAC series. Larger bore piston for slower, quieter performance.
I have the PC pancake that everybody has, and its not great. Gets the job done but loud, and has been in for warranty work twice now. Cheap yes, but in every sense.

 

[kams1973]

The best value would be a reconditioned unit or CL

 

[j.c.whitney]

Used old school oil lubed either from Craigs or a Garage/Estate Sale.

 

[LG63]

There's an open-box MAC700 on Amazon Warehouse Deals right now for $180 - Free Ship

 

[dsmnickk90]

I just got a Rol-Air twin stack . Oil lubed pump, cast iron cylinder and 2hp motor. Its not as light as a oil free compressor but its not nearly as loud and recovers in less than 30 seconds and has a 100% duty cycle.

 

[Danglerb]

Caution on the used, many contractors beat those portable to death and sell them while they still operate, so I would skip any that have been used commercially.

I'm not sure anybody makes a buy it for life cheap compressor. What I would consider if its practical is to buy a small premium unit like a RolAir and share it among friends or family.

 

[5lima30]

I've got a Craftsman 1 1/2 hp hotdog 2gal oiled compressor. I have used it on a lot of jobs. It is fairly quiet and transports well. I even used it once to power a 1/2" impact wrench to get a stuck hotwater heater element out.

 

[shadow745]

Was in the market for a compact compressor recently and decided to go with the Hitachi EC89. Lowes has them NIB for $159. Nice build quality and good/solid performance. 0-135psi in 2 mins, recovery time is 30 seconds, pulls 11.5-12 amps and doesn't move at all when running. Hitachi rates it @ 83db and it is quiet enough to use indoors.

Comes with 5W50 synthetic oil and nothing else. I paired it with a few sections of this

http://www.lowes.com/pd_336521-4712...hose&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=air+hose&facetInfo=

and find it to be a fantastic setup for my needs. I broke it in using IR All Season Select synthetic and will run that it for the first 25-50 hours, then will use the included oil.

I've had 2 oilless compressors and highly agree that oiled is much better. Run cooler and quieter. To minimize/eliminate moisture and oil particles I installed a mini filter for portability.

 

[cburnscrx]

I got this at Home Depot on clearance about a year ago...$40.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Porter-C...e-Compressor-PCFP02003/203254365#.UbILwYy9KSM

Home Depot will clearance stuff just because a SKU# changes. They didn't carry it for a couple of months...then ****, it's back.

I picked up an 8 gallon Husky for the garage with the same scenario. Again, $40, and it's an oiled compressor. Still more than I'd like to lug around. If you don't need it immediately, just keep your eyes open great deals will pop up.

 

[kerryt1]

I ended up getting a Rolair JC10 upon the recommendation of Stuey @ thetoolguyd.

It's insanely quiet and perfect for what I wanted.

http://www.rolair.net/products/spec_pages/hand_carry/JC10.html

 

[Hpozzuoli]

I have a big-ish 40 gallon for shop air. I have a smaller dewalt for wheel around air and I have a small CH for portability.

The CH is a 2hp 4 gallon and is great for basic construction needs.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

The dewalt is 1.6hp and 15gallons. It's upright with wheels and is great if I don't want to fire up the big guy.

 

[skruft]

What I did when I wanted a small portable compressor with a tank for occasional use was to buy a little, cheap old Speedaire that needed work for $20 and replace a few parts. I think the tank is 4 gallons. It works just fine when I need only to run a nailer for awhile and probably weighs 30 pounds.