What is a reliable air compressor brand these days?

[pcmedicri]

I bought a Blue Hawk brand air compressor from Lowes back in March. It worked great until November the thing wouldn't pump air in anymore. I took it back and ask them for a replacement, warranty? but they said nope. They offered me a full refund though.

I checked around and didn't know what brand was good. Do you have any recommendations? I don't want something to break down in a year.

Thanks

 

[phaZed]

Check out a Dewalt or Porter-Cable. I had a POS husky that died right at a year, though it worked fine until it died. Got a larger Porter-Cable and it has been a really nice bit of kit.

 

[Markverhyden]

Back when I used to work in the oil business Ingersoll Rand was the big one. But I don't know if they make them in smaller models.

 

[gikstar]

You didn't mention what size unit you were replacing or considering to purchase.

I have two, a 6 Gal Porter-Cable which 'I' have replaced the same part on twice and a 26 Gal tall Husky. Have had both of these for over 8 years.

The smaller Porter-Cable sits by the back door with a long hose so I can blow out dust outside. The larger Husky is used for on-site work, goes in my mini-van and I either take the desktops out to my vehicle or the compressor goes into the office with me (off-hours). We sometimes include this service with our managed service client offerings.

The bigger units will probably air up you tire but don't expect one of the smaller units to do it. I have to crank up my Husky all the way to air my tires up.

I've had good luck with both of these. Best to get a brand that has parts available.

 

[jbartlett323]

Harbor Freight!
3.5+ years on our little pancake compressor, and aside from one power terminal screw coming loose (easily tightened), it has never had an issue...
Also got a bigger one, (15gal i think, not sure) that has been running great for 3 years also. Had to remove the breaker from it, as it was breaking often on normal load, and it wouldn't run at all if it was cold. After breaker by-pass, runs like a champ for everything from blowing out comps to painting cars!
I think they are both Central Pneumatic brand, but again not sure. Its Harbor Freight, who cares the brand....

 

[Computer Wizard]

bostitch... Been using mine for years. Its a 6 gal unit.

 

[mr m]

I checked around and didn't know what brand was good. Do you have any recommendations? I don't want something to break down in a year.

You get what you pay for. These relatively cheap, oil-less units just don't last for daily use, no matter what the brand. Compressing air creates a lot of heat and this is what kills them. I have never had good luck with oil-less models.

I own a 30 gallon, 2 HP, 6 SCFM @ 90 PSI Kobalt compressor. It's a single-stage, cast iron pump, oiled model. The SCFM (standard cubic feet per minute) rating is what matters, not the PSI (pounds per square inch) rating. The larger the tank the less the motor has to turn on and compress air. Also the running HP is what counts, not the peak. Keep this in mind when comparison shopping.

Air tools like chisels, drills and sanders need a lot more SCFM than air/blow guns, impact wrenches or paint sprayers. Dual-stage units are required by mechanics and people who run the units non stop. They run cooler since they compress the air in two stages.

My unit is overkill for blowing out PC's but I also use it for air tools, cleaning and messing with my dogs head. I've never had to fix/adjust it in 20 years of use. The only maintenance has been checking the oil level, the belt tension and inflating the tires which understandably is real easy when you own an air compressor!

 

[CompConfig]

For blowing out PC's the best practice when using an air compressor is to also use an inline water filter to make sure you are not also blowing water. For on-site work we carry a metro data-vac