Thoughts on air compressors. Which one?

[GSXTacy]

OK, I want to treat myself to an air compressor. I dont need anything crazy. Dont have a ton of room in the garage. I do want to run the occational impact wrench but nothing much more than that. There are a buch of different brands out there, but what is the big difference and what should I look for? I see the high end ones out there that are big $. Then I see the ones at harbor freight from central pneumatic that I can get for a great price with the 20% off coupon. Has anyone owned one from harbor freight? Obviously I was to save as much money as I can but I dont want a piece of crap either. Little help here! Thanks

 

[Josh]

I bought a 3HP, 10 Gallon, 115 PSI Central Pneumatic Air Compressor from Harbor Freight for a little over a hundred bills two years ago. I do my own tires and run my impact tools with it. No complaints. I'm sure there are better ones out there, but it suits my needs and didn't cost much.

 

[Tiller]

I have a central pneumatic compressor i got last year. Can't think of the gallon size but it is a 2HP and I have no complaint. The only thing is I wish it had a bigger tank on it because when I do run impact tools or an air grinder, sometimes i have to pause and let it build some pressure back up because of the smaller tank.. But for what i use mine for I give it

 

[fiend]

Whichever way you go make sure to get one that is oil and not oil less. The pumps tend to last longer but have a little more maintenance to them with an oil change.

 

[card16969]

<-- killed a harbor freight compressor in 6 months... they are cheap for a reason

 

[ogre]

buy a craftsman or snap on. ingersoll rand is good too. and make sure it'll keep up as far as cfm with whatever you're going to use it for.

 

[1 wheel peel]

Craftsman Professional series is a a good way to get a quality product for home/shop without spending a boat load of cash. The tank on mine is stamped DeVilbiss and was a bunch cheaper the real DeVilbiss. 15 years and still going strong, change the oil once a year. As was said stay away from the oil less and check your cfm. Mine has a 60 gallon tank and is upright, takes up a lot less room that way.

 

[ks-waterbug]

Have both

Ingersoll Rand 7.5 hp vertical 80 gallon (220) (only had for about 4-5 yrs and it simply gets the job done every time/all the time) kind of pricey... but runs anything you hook up to it!
Craftsman 3.5 hp horizontal portable (110) <--- this one is getting close to being twenty-years old and still works like a champ! If your running lots of air tools or any high speed air tools NOT recommended. Been very reliable... maybe a bigger one would be just the ticket.

 

[Big Bo]

I have a small unit that I bought at Lowes. Paid $150 or so. Use it to air tires. Came with a 2 or 3 year warranty.

 

[mr8ball]

I bought one from Harbor Freight 15 years ago and it is still going strong. We have it in my brothers garage and use it all the time. It is the upright one. I think it's the 60 gal tank. I have the craftsman upright at home, it's the one you never have to add oil to and it is VERY LOUD. If I ever buy another one it will be from HF.

 

[karnage]

Dont get a HF special, they dont last.I bought a craftsman 5hp 25 gallon oil less like 15 years ago and it still kicks fine.I port and polish with it, do all my wrenching with it.Its noisey but it does the job well for what I paid for it.next one will be a 6hp 30-40 gallon with 2 stage pump oiled pistons and 240 volt.