# Air Compressor



## MRstark44 (Mar 5, 2008)

I currently in the market for a portable air compressor. I have a gift card to Home Depot so i was going to use it for this purchase. just wanted to get some of your thoughts or recommendations.
I will be using the compressor for tasks such as shingleing and roofing. also finish carpentry.


----------



## Chris G (May 17, 2006)

My little Campbell Hausfield crapped out Thursday so I needed a replacement the same day. I picked up the Porter Cable Pancake with brad nailer. I'm sure it's not the best, but they've been around for a long long time, so it's certainly no the worst either. I like it so far. I think it's a good value. If you want high-end look at rol-air. Think about what you want in: weight, capacity, psi, outlets, cost. 

Basswood did a little review of small ones.


----------



## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

I like my little Porter-Cable too.
Had it 3 or 4 years now, but it is
loud indoors.
Check this....
http://www.contractortalk.com/f13/light-quiet-trim-compressor-56884/?highlight=quiet+compressor


----------



## Harmoney Const (Jan 4, 2008)

*Compressor*

MY vote goes to Ridgid! Practically all of my equipment and tools are Ridgid. I have never had a problem with any Ridgid tool I have bought. They are very durable however the only downside I can say is that majrity of all Ridgid tools are very heavy!!!


----------



## Joining_heads (Mar 4, 2008)

Makira mac2400. Not sure if they sell it at the depot though.


----------



## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

I have this with the Husky name on it.


















It really has not been a bad compressor. I bought a better air filter/silencer for it, did the break in thing as per the manual and swapped the oil out for Mobil 1 10w-30. Fills up fast, has more then enough power to do what your asking and it was cheap. $125 with a Husky Roofing gun(that I will prob never use).

Lubrication - Oil








Tank Size - 4 Gal (2 Gal Each Tank)









Max. PSI - 125









HP (Run) - 1.3









SCFM - 4.5 @ 40 PSI and 3.7 @ 90 PSI









Amps @ 115 Volts - 15


----------



## john5mt (Jan 21, 2007)

i am embarrassed to say i have a 4 yr old rigid compressor that works great. It has out preformed many dewalts on the jobsite (ie it runs in -20 when they wont). 

Dont tell anyone i recommended a rigid tool.


----------



## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

I don't care who makes the tool as long as it works well...its not the tools, it is the guy using them. The coldest I had the Husky in was 18 degrees and it worked without a hitch...granted that is not -20.


----------



## strathd (Jan 12, 2009)

Little off topic but when emglo sold out to dewalt (made in mexico) the emglo execs started a company called quincy. True blue reliability is their slogan. Emglo's were allways blue and pretty much the standard in the industry for years. So a quincy is the new emglo and they are American made. I've had a electric wheelbarrow type for about five years and it has'nt missed a beat. You won't find them at lowes or home depot though.


----------



## strathd (Jan 12, 2009)

TBFGhost said:


> I don't care who makes the tool as long as it works well...its not the tools, it is the guy using them. The coldest I had the Husky in was 18 degrees and it worked without a hitch...granted that is not -20.


 I agree to some extent as far as guns, saws ect. But how can you misuse a compressor other than not performing routine maintenance. Allthough it's getting more and more difficult I still try to buy American made when possible.


----------



## Darwin (Apr 7, 2009)

I got a RIGID twin stack air compressor about 2 weeks ago. Bought a Semco roofing nailer with it. About the compressor:

oil-free
175 max PSI
1.8 HP running
4.5 Tank Capacity
4.9 SCFM @ 90 PSI

This is a powerful compressor. Quieter than most others. It also lasts 5X longer than most compressors out there ( they say). 

I did a roofing job with it and it rocks. However it is very heavy. They should have put wheels on it.:thumbsup:


----------



## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

I picked up a single tank Dewalt last month, has a pull out handle and rolls like a hand truck, stores that way too. It handled roof guns well. It is also very quiet I was impressed.


----------



## john5mt (Jan 21, 2007)

> Little off topic but when emglo sold out to dewalt (made in mexico) the emglo execs started a company called quincy. True blue reliability is their slogan. Emglo's were allways blue and pretty much the standard in the industry for years. So a quincy is the new emglo and they are American made. I've had a electric wheelbarrow type for about five years and it has'nt missed a beat. You won't find them at lowes or home depot though.


I have been eyeballing one of those at my local hardware store. Thanks for the story behind them! now if i decide to pull the trigger i can do so in confidence. Perhaps a little off topic, whats the benefit of the twin tanks over the larger single tank? Is it just size. I have found a bigger tank to be just as good with nail guns and have the added bonus of more cfm if your running a non nail gun tool through it. (as well the quincy single tank wheel barrow is 150 bucks cheaper than their traditional rolair/quincy twin tank style wheelbarrow).




> However it is very heavy. They should have put wheels on it.:thumbsup:


I think they basically did with that new mini wheel barrow one. Cuz it is heavy and awkward to carry.


----------



## strathd (Jan 12, 2009)

john5mt said:


> I have been eyeballing one of those at my local hardware store. Thanks for the story behind them! now if i decide to pull the trigger i can do so in confidence. Perhaps a little off topic, whats the benefit of the twin tanks over the larger single tank? Is it just size. I have found a bigger tank to be just as good with nail guns and have the added bonus of more cfm if your running a non nail gun tool through it. (as well the quincy single tank wheel barrow is 150 bucks cheaper than their traditional rolair/quincy twin tank style wheelbarrow).
> 
> 
> I think they basically did with that new mini wheel barrow one. Cuz it is heavy and awkward to carry.


I'm no expert on compressors but a bigger tank means the compressor will run less. A twin tank wheelbarrow usually has a lower profile. Resulting in less chance for damage to the tanks maybe ?


----------



## Five Star (Jan 15, 2009)

id spend alittle extra on a thomas than that home chepot crap.

i have been getting by with this one even for light to intermediate framing

it quiet too and recovers in 12 sec.


----------



## john5mt (Jan 21, 2007)

not true on that story



http://www.quincycompressor.com/about.html

Made in china now


Maybe you were thinking jenny?


----------



## mnjconstruction (Oct 5, 2008)

a use the porta cable pancake. and i know its not the best but i have always had good luck with these so i keep buying them. i run 2 guns at once alot off them. they keep up pretty good. i currently have 2. 1 is 6 years old, the other is 2. no problems with either so far.


----------



## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

I wonder what he went out and bought seeing we gave him just about every options HD sells. LOL....altho they don't sell mine anymore...

mine is still going strong...and I had it on a job where I didn't have a chipper and needed to do some...so I used my Matco Air Hammer....lets just say that compressor got a hell of a work out...

I also mesed with the little setting things and it turns on at 110 psi and pumps to 135 psi. The tank is rated to 200 and the safty blow off comes on at 140. Gives me a few more shots out of the 16 awg and bunch more out of the 18 awg before it kicks on.


----------



## Winchester (Jun 29, 2008)

i've got a makita mac2400 and it's awesome. i can hardly even hear it running. it's pretty heavy though.

to compensate, I got a dewalt d55141 that is super light and not too loud (much quieter than my old PC pancake), as well

I really like both


----------



## ApgarNJ (Apr 16, 2006)

i have the portercable electric one, with one 4 gallon tank i think. and the reg and air fittings are able to be relocated closer to where you are working if you want that. other than the tires having a recall and going flat, the compressor is awesome. 

i also have a 5.5hp honda emglo(blue one) for larger jobs. but when gas was 4 bucks a gallon, i went out and bought the electric one. let someone else pay for the electric as long as the breaker is good.


----------



## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

i have the porter cable 6 gallon, bought it about 3 1/2 years ago. the first couple years it was only used lightly at home and side jobs. the last year and a half i started bringing it in to work do being on large jobsites where we had large compressors which are too hard to lug around 6-10,000 sq ft buildings. 

it never delivered enough air to sink 2" 18 gauge nails consistantly and never sinks 2 1/2" 16 gauge nails. even with it dialed up to 110 psi. any how its starting to crap out. the diaphram is worn out and takes forever to fill up

just recently bought a hitachi 4 gallon twin tank oiled model. its only had light use so far but runs great, fills up in half the time of the pc and it runs quiter. plenty of air too! money well spent. got it for $250. i was going to buy the makita twin tank at hd but the hitachi came up and got it instead

the makita is very comparible spec wise, the only real differances i see are the cage and the two hose outlets


----------



## ApgarNJ (Apr 16, 2006)

woodworkbykirk said:


> i have the porter cable 6 gallon, bought it about 3 1/2 years ago. the first couple years it was only used lightly at home and side jobs. the last year and a half i started bringing it in to work do being on large jobsites where we had large compressors which are too hard to lug around 6-10,000 sq ft buildings.
> 
> it never delivered enough air to sink 2" 18 gauge nails consistantly and never sinks 2 1/2" 16 gauge nails. even with it dialed up to 110 psi. any how its starting to crap out. the diaphram is worn out and takes forever to fill up
> 
> ...


sounds like you got a dud. i may have a different model but mine has no issues with 18 ga. 16 ga and i shoot 2 1/2 inch nails a lot into trim. it also has no issues with my Hitachi NV83a coil framer shooting ring shank or smooth 12D nails. 
the one i have goes up to 135 psi, but i never have it up that high. 90-110psi usually for trim, and 125 or higher for framing.
if we are doing a lot of framing then the emglo comes out.


----------



## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

woodworkbykirk said:


> i.
> 
> it never delivered enough air to sink 2" 18 gauge nails consistantly and never sinks 2 1/2" 16 gauge nails. even with it dialed up to 110 psi.


 
This makes zero sense to me. Unless there is a restriction in the hose or regulator, if it has the PSI, it has the PSI... I have my 2 gallon and 4 gallon set at 90-100 psi at the reg it will will sink 2" 18 awg and 2 1/2" 16 awg every time...the only time it doesn't is when I forget to plug the compressor in
.:shifty:


----------



## MikeNeufeld (Sep 23, 2007)

http://www.rolair.net/


----------



## user30697 (Aug 15, 2008)

makita has good compressors. the mac2400 is hand carry but i got the mac 5500. its got wheels and hose storage and stuff. thier website says its designed to run 2 framing nailers. it won't run 2 1/2 inch crown staplers but it runs one just fine.


----------



## D. Jones Const (Dec 31, 2009)

I own 2 Dewalt emglos and they suck, I have to adjust every other time I use them. They do not like to run in temps below 30f. For the money I think the rigid compressors are pretty decent. But that is the only rigid tool I would recommend. I have my eyes on an almost unused old blue emglo (before they sold to dewalt) that a guy I do sub work for has sitting in his garage and does not use.


----------



## ApgarNJ (Apr 16, 2006)

Glad I got a blue one when emglo still made them.


----------



## aghdonmc (Mar 30, 2010)

I have two of the 200psi dewalts with the wheels, very quiet and recharges very fast. 

I can't say much about the new ridgid twinstacks but the older ones were terrible. The had trouble starting when partially charged, and the piston connection fails pretty dramatically in both the oil and oil free versions. I had four of them and three died where the piston connects to the motor. 

I won't buy another porter cable, too loud and prone to irritating failures, regulators, valves, etc. 

I know you've got a gift card to HD but look at some better brands, they're not too much more expensive and you'll get a lot more use of them


----------



## NjNick (Jan 14, 2009)

I also have the 200psi dewalt with wheels. Its a bit heavy but I love mine, plus it has wheels so its only being lifted in and out of the truck for the most part. Great recovery 5.2cfms @90psi and has two quick connects built in. Runs two framing guns without alot of lag time.

I picked up a small dewalt 1gallon for small interior trim jobs, but If its a decent size I set up the main compressor outside to alleviate the noise inside and just run some hose inside.:thumbsup:


----------



## ApgarNJ (Apr 16, 2006)

HD sells that big 4 gallon dewalt with wheels. it's pretty long unit with the frame and wheels. I'm glad my PC job boss works again and was a simple fix. 
I didn't need to be buying a new compressor. We are going to start an addition in a few weeks and I'll be using the gas powered emglo for that job.


----------



## 4fonjstout4 (Oct 8, 2010)

Just bought this today. Hasn't been out of the box yet. Just wondering how your luck with it has been before I try it out? Did you ever try running two roofing guns at one time with it? Any suggestions or thoughts would be great! Thanks!

Also, What kinda of hose have you been using? Rubber or the nice poly type?


----------



## PA woodbutcher (Mar 29, 2007)

I have a dewalt emglo that is 5 years old and I have had zero problems with it. I will be changing the oil in this winter though.

As far as hoses, I run 1/2 rubber on roofs and 3/8 poly everywhere else.


----------

