Thinking about buying a small air compressor this weekend

[DwightG]

There's usually a bunch of compressors on Craigslist. I would hazard to guess that many of them haven't really had a lot of use if they're in some guys garage. I've bought a lot of used equipment, including a compressor, over the years with generally good results. YMMV

[HTRN]

What about a Craftsman oil driven one?Link

Craftsman power tools are largely junk. Might as well buy Horror Freight and save some money.

[Termite]

JAG,

I have this one: Link. It's fine for blowing off small objects, airing up most tires, etc. It really could use a bigger tank, though. But it was cheap, and it works.

The Makita MAC 2400 isn't much bigger, is much nicer, lasts far longer, and puts out twice as much air. But it's three times the price.
You get what you pay for.

[JAG2955]

Yeah, I can't find the Senco locally, and I really have a bookshelf project that I'd like to do this weekend. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm sick of using finishing nails and a nail set. If Sears will allow me to return one if it sucks for store credit, I may go with one. I am being sort of impatient, but I have Monday off, and there's a list of projects I want to do that I will need it for. I might have to roll the dice.

[rightisright]

Too bad you don't live around here. I have a few you could borrow...

[ButchS1066]

Thomas and Gast both make oilless compressors that don't suck.

I have a tiny 2 gallon Thomas Air-Pac that'll keep up with a brad/finish nailer all day, and has powered my framing nailer when the job didn't justify dragging along a bigger compressor.

[JAG2955]

I got the one that Termite has. I paid an extra $20 for a 3 year protection plan that gives me store credit if it dies within that time. I can always find something I want to buy at Sears.

[evan price]

I've got an Ingersoll-Rand 240-volt 60-gallon model in my shop but that's at the back of my property and running 150' of hose to air up trailer tires in my front yard was a PITA. I had a smaller Campbell-Hausfeld oilless unit on wheels which I'd bought as my first compressor years ago before I bought the big one. I loaned to a friend who wound up forgetting to unplug it and had a hose blow out, it ran continuous for a whole weekend and burned out the sleeve bearings in the motor- which costs as much to replace as a new compressor.

Anyway, I wanted a cheapie that would air up tires, blow off crud, run a couple small air tools on the porch. I have a couple of those crappy cigarette lighter plug models that take ten minutes to air up a tire and those ae no good at all. I was using a 6-gallon portable tank but that gets tedious like when changing all 4 tires on my trailer recently. So, my wife bought me this one on sale at Xmas for $99 at Tractor Supply:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tools/air- ... hp-3310022

Oil lube compressor, made in China, probably by the same people that make Harbor Freight.
It's no professional model compressor, that's for sure, but for $99, I figure it's good enough. I mounted it under the porch and wired it to a dedicated outlet so now I have air at the house without running a lot of hose from the barn.

If you're a brand-name snob like some people I could name you'd turn your nose up at it but hey, it works, and for the price, if some crackhead steals it I'm not out much. It's gone six months so far trouble free.

If you really only intend it for now-and-then use- air up a tire, blow off some dirt, etc. you can find decent used oil-less models on Craigslist for under $100 almost every day. There's even some good old cast iron units for good prices from people who upgraded to big shop models for good prices.