Which Compressor & Nail guns/kit is best?

[gatordogs2]

My LOML wants to buy me a Compressor and Nail gun kit for Xmas and the max budget is ~ $250. The 2 most popular kits I see are:

Bostitch CPACK3 which Lowes is selling for $259 and includes a Finish Nailer, Brad Nailer, Finish Stapler.

Porter Cable CFFN251N - includes a Finish and Brad Nailer, which she can get for $200.

Both have a 6 gallon - 150 max PSI which is all I will need and have room for the next few years. (Since I won't be doing any framing in the near future, I don't need framing gun).

Which one of these 2 do you recommend & why? Or do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks

[Sawatzky]

I have two Bostitch guns, a brad nailer and finish nailer, and they are awesome. I highly recomend Bostitch products, and would buy one again if I needed to.

[siliconbauhaus]

The porter cable version of the bostich you listed (3 guns) was at HD for $249 when I bought it a month or so ago. I like it so far

[Hellrazor]

I like PC nail guns. I have 4 or 5 PC, 1 Hitachi & 1 Bostich.

[Workman]

I have the Bostich compressor and guns. They work well. The oiless compressors are a bit noisy. I don't think brand makes a big difference in the noise, however.

[jhart]

I have 4 PC nailers, 2 HF nailers (pin and stapler) and have owned an Hitatchi roofing nailer. Both brands you mention are excellent and you can't go wrong with either of them.
When I bought mine, PC seemed to be the recommended one to buy. Have never had even one problem with the PC's. and they have had quite a bit of use. HF's so far have been fine with limited use. Hitachi was lost in a fire at my son's a while back, but worked very well also thru 4 roofings.
The pancake compressors look like they are pretty similar. Most of the pancakes look like they come out of the same factory, with different names on them.

[Cheeky]

here's 2 guns and a compressor for $297.55 delivered (discount revealed in cart):

Hitachi EC79 13 Amp 2 Horsepower 6 Gallon Oil-Free Pancake Compressor

Hitachi NT65M2 1-Inch to 2-1/2-Inch 16 Gauge Finish Nailer

Hitachi NT50AE2 3/4-Inch to 2-Inch by 18 Gauge Brad Nailer

i bought the Porter Cable pancake 3 gun combo and replaced the compressor with the one above (the @75dB, the Hitachi is ~20dB quieter than the PC).

it's a little more expensive, but you get a much better compressor IMO.

[JimD]

I have a Bostich 16 gauge finish nailer bought in a package with a Bostitch 1.5hp oilless compressor with 6 gallon tank 5 or more years ago. Both have always worked without issue. I bought a PC 18 gauge brad nailer (2 inch) next and it would mis-fire some when new. It works fine now. Next I bought a Bostitch 24 gauge and it has worked from day one with no issues. I also bought a HF stapler somewhere in there and I had to bend a piece or two into alignment and was disappointed with the performance with 1 1/2 inch staples but it works well with 3/4 staples and I am using it a lot on plantation shutters.

My bottom line is my experience is a little better with Bostitch but I have other PC tools and the brad nailer is the first PC to give me any trouble and it went away quickly. If the price was right, I'd buy PC again but if price was the same, I'd get Bostitch.

Jim

[Frank Carrino]

Bostitch IMHO...

I own 4 Bostitch nailers and all work flawlessly! I have used several PC nailers and they are also excellent quality. When it came time to buy my own guns I went with Bostitch because they were all OIL FREE. Major pain in the behind to have the occasional blast of oil on your fine unfinished trim or furniture piece. Good luck and Merry Christmas

[crokett]

Stirring the pot further, I have the Porter Cable kit with brad and finish nailers and the compressor. My guns need oil but I've never had problems with spraying oil on my work. I've used Bostich and Paslode guns before but still prefer my Porter Cable. It should not be a problem but you might want to look into what nails the guns take and if they are available in your area.

[JimD]

My Bostitch need a drop or two of oil occasionally but I have never noticed any on my work. I got the 24 gauge Bostich rather than the PC because it will shoot a little longer nail (30mm rather than 25 for the PC). For brad and finish nailers I don't think there is a difference like this. Both are good brands. For this kind of situation I normally let price decide.

Jim

[JimD]

Anybody else notice the Compressor with two nailers (16 and 18 gauge) at Home Depot for $150? The compressor looks small but it doesn't take much to drive a nailer.

Jim

[gatordogs2]

Jim, which compressor are you talking about? Husky?

[LarryG]

I started with the P-C two-gun kit and later added a P-C narrow-crown stapler. I've no experience with other brands so I cannot draw comparisons, but I've yet to have the first misfire from any of the three nailers, nor have I had any oil get onto a project. My one complaint is that the compressor is mondo loud.

As usual your individual needs will dictate what gets used the most, but I've found the stapler to be really good to have. I use the brad nailer the most, the stapler second, and the finish nailer a fairly distant third.

JimD makes a good point about a nailer not needing a lot of air. My six-gallon, 135psi P-C compressor is arguably overkill for my three nailers, yet it's too small to run continuous-duty air tools or to spray finishes. I'd gladly trade it for a two-gallon compressor that wasn't so darned loud.

[JimD]

Barry, Yes, it was the Husky brand - which I would consider OK for compressors and nailers. Probably not as good as Bostitch or PC but then it is not as expensive either.

Larry, I spray with my small 1.5hp Bostitch with 6 gallon storage quite successfully using a Wagner conversion gun. It took me a while to figure out the settings but now that I have them, I am very satisfied with the results. I have sprayed nearly 3 gallons of Resisthane with it and also some other finishes. I know that is not huge but it's a lot for me working on weekends and around other hobbies. I almost gave up and got a bigger compressor but am now happy with it. The compressor runs intermittantly while I spray - not even running all the time. You have to get the air and feed and pattern size all within the compressors capabilities. A bigger compressor would make the settings less critical.

Jim