California Air Tools Compressor?

It would be interesting to tee a quiet compressor into existing piping for a loud, high volume, high pressure system, and use ball valves to decide which one to use at the moment. That way you can have the best of both worlds, without plumbing redundancy.
 
Dabbler said:
I have been considering buying one. I'd be really interested in your experiences before investing $$$. The claim is very quiet. Is this claim true?
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Yea it is when you compare it against other compressors. You can actually talk over it (you need to be louder of course).

This is the one I have:

https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-10020C-Compressor/dp/B0188XBTLY/

It replaced a porter cable pancake, so it gives you an idea of what it is used for (trim guns, inflating tires, blowing out debris from nooks and crannies).

No issues yet, other than a couple smashed up non-critical parts in the box, but some folks that have them say they experienced the same thing. They were very responsive to my request for new parts - no questions asked, and got them in a couple days.

I'd do it again.
 
.LMS. said:
Yea it is when you compare it against other compressors. You can actually talk over it (you need to be louder of course).

This is the one I have:

https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-10020C-Compressor/dp/B0188XBTLY/

It replaced a porter cable pancake, so it gives you an idea of what it is used for (trim guns, inflating tires, blowing out debris from nooks and crannies).

No issues yet, other than a couple smashed up non-critical parts in the box, but some folks that have them say they experienced the same thing. They were very responsive to my request for new parts - no questions asked, and got them in a couple days.

I'd do it again.
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Can you ID the origin of the pump and motor on your model?

EDIT: they sell two different pumps, a 3000 hour and a 4000 hour pump. I am betting both are sourced from Asia but trying to confirm that.
 
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Bob Korves said:
It would be interesting to tee a quiet compressor into existing piping for a loud, high volume, high pressure system, and use ball valves to decide which one to use at the moment. That way you can have the best of both worlds, without plumbing redundancy.
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That is very possible. In my case I have an 80 gallon receiver on my shop system and an air header system. A smaller compressor like the ones in this thread could use the larger receiver or I could isolate it.
 
Alan H said:
Can you ID the origin of the pump and motor on your model?

EDIT: they sell two different pumps, a 3000 hour and a 4000 hour pump. I am betting both are sourced from Asia but trying to confirm that.
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I'll try to get out there today and look for that. It'll give me an excuse to pull it away from the wall to drain it :big grin:
 
.LMS. said:
I'll try to get out there today and look for that. It'll give me an excuse to pull it away from the wall to drain it :big grin:
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That model does not have the industrial series motor. Will be same as mine. China.
 
I would think if they weren't it would be advertised all over there literature.
 
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I was looking for a small, quiet compressor about 2 years ago and went through the same research, Alan. I actually went to Woodcraft to see the one you're looking at and yes, it is pretty quiet. The guy gave me a good deal on it so I bought it. When I got it home and plugged it in, it tripped my 20 amp breaker at startup. Did this several times so I took it back.

After more homework, I bought a Makita MAC700. Pretty much the same output but 2HP and it is an oiled design. While not as quiet as the CAT one, it is way quieter than my Craftsman Industrial 2HP compressor and way, way quieter than my Ingersoll Rand. I am done with oiless compressors - they run hot, eat a lot of juice and have more run time in use. While I am no expert on these contraptions, I think I'll be staying with Makita compressors from here on out. Not nearly as quiet (80dB vs 60dB for the CAT) but quiet enough and puts out enough air for what I use it for - general shop air and wood working. It has an aluminum tank so no rust issues.

I just let my contractor use it for nail guns, staplers and such and he was really impressed with it. He had two guys using guns at the same time and the compressor had no problem keeping up.
 
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