HF 4 gallon pancake compressor

[balzac.thegreat]

Hey guys,

Anybody have any experience with this compressor?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90221

It kind of hits all of what I'm looking for in terms of size (I've got a small area), potential for "growth" into, price (I also have a 10% entire purchase coupon from HF), and features. My LOML, bless her heart, bought me a Craftsman 15 amp electric brad nailer for an early V-Day gift after hearing me remark how "I need one of those" whilst watching Norm do his thing. Nice! And then I remembered all the recommendations against electric nailers so I'm looking to return it and use the dough for a compressor and pneumatic setup. She knows she doesn't know all there is to know about tools so she provided the receipt handily and won't be offended if I return.

My uses FOR NOW will be for tacking stuff up ala Norm. I figure I'll want to do more with it once I get it so I'm figuring I'll start with a size bigger than I had planned for in the first place. I remember using these in college when I was building canvas stretchers from scratch and they are a dream. Time to bring the air action into my shop.

Anyways, any thoughts on this compressor?

TIA!

[BadeMillsap]

Loud .... Really Loud

I have one ... and I use it essentially for the same purpose you cited ... "small" tacking jobs where it is inconvenient to get my larger compressor near.

It is LOUD!!!! .. and I don't mean it is "somewhat bothersome" loud ... I mean it will "wake the dead" loud ...

I also experienced one case of it apparently getting overheated and shutting down (popping the overload breaker on the compressor) when I was using it pretty hot and heavy one day ... it wasn't a big deal I just popped the breaker back in and off I went.

Would I but it again ... probably, as I recall I had a good coupon and it was on sale so it was pretty cheap ... I did buy the replacement warranty at the time because I wasn't sure how it would hold up ... so far with light duty use it seems fine ... did I mention it is LOUD?

[balzac.thegreat]

****...wish there was a dB rating somewhere to see just how loud LOUD is. Not that I don't take your word for it, I would love to be able to quantify it somehow.

Too many freakin' options...

[jonmulzer]

I have the Craftsman 1hp 4gallon "hotdog" style compressor. Sears item #00916638000 and I am very happy with it. For just a little bit more you could make a major upgrade in quality. In my basement shop I do not notice it to be overly loud. It is not quiet, but I would never describe it as "wake the dead" loud. Just an idea, you might want to check it out.

[John Hunter]

My buddy has one and loves its portability. Says it runs his nailer just fine.

[bigstick509]

I picked one up a year or two ago for around 90.00 on sale. In very limited use it gets the job done. It is scary loud.

[balzac.thegreat]

Thanks for the responses so far guys. I play in a rock band so my definition of loud might a bit different than yours. Shot in the dark - does anybody know how many dB it puts out when the motor is on?

[joekj]

check specs for rpm

I have a couple HF hotdogs that run @1750 rpm both are quiet

[Hoover]

I have this one as well, and for being an oil type compressor it is loud. I also use this for a brad nailer. It does the job and has a quick recovery time. Wear hearing protection.

[balzac.thegreat]

Perhaps against my better judgement, I opted to go for this one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40400

Which was much more than I had planned for, but I also didn't plan on it being 89.99 when I went to the store. Add the 10% off everything coupon I had, and the deal was too good to pass up.

Got an entire pneumatic setup including the 3/8 to 2" gun, 3 packs of different sized brads, 25 foot hose, 20 piece accessory kit, a pint of compressor oil, the compressor, AND 2 year warranty for compressor and nail gun for $180. Any volume issue kind of flies out the window at this point. Will let you know how loud this one is!

[balzac.thegreat]

So I finally got my new compressor up and running. HF definitely coming through for me on this one.

It's not as loud as I thought it was going to be. No louder than any other power tool -- it's probably about 10db quieter than the table saw cutting through wood. I'm figuring I can build a little baffle to put in front of it when it's on to absorb some of the sound. Otherwise, it's a solid product and the HF brad nailer works like a charm as well.

[NJFrank]

I have it it is noisy, and likes to walk when the compressor is running. Also didn't come with a regulator had to buy one. Has done it's job for shooting brads and framing nails. However when using framing nails it only will shoot 6-8 at 90 psi before recycling. Also use it for blowing out dust, bike tires etc.

It's ok, does the job, but would have bought a PC pancake CPO for a few bucks more if I had to do it again.