Small compressor for trim work, quite please :)

[john davey]

Hi All,

Does anyone have any experience with the small ~1 gal compressors made for trim carpentry? I am looking at the Stanley Bostich cap1512-of 1.2 gallon, Dewalt d55140 1 gallon and others in that category. I am redoing the house to include trim everywhere and would like to work at night. Problem is my pc 6 gal pancake is loud as hell and leaks enough to where it is always starting and stopping. I know with these little guys it will start and stop allot but are they quieter? I also keep the PC in the shed and would rather keep this smaller unit in the house. It will live in my basement workshop once the trim work is done. So if these are the wrong thing can someone point me in the direction of a quite small compressor? All it needs to do is pop a brad every 5~10 or so seconds (I'm slow) :) Thanks, John

[David Kumm]

I like used dental compressors- Jun Air, Silent Aire, etc. they put out enough air for trim work and are virtually noiseless. Last forever. Dave

[Todd Burch]

I bought a Makita MAC2400 that's a lot quieter than my previous noisemaker. I like it.

I believe some other maker makes a yet quieter one though. Don't recall the brand - but it was one I hadn't heard anything of before.

[Rick Potter]

I have a small Senco.......really quiet compared to my Makita peanut.

Rick Potter

[Rich Riddle]

I bought a Makita MAC2400 that's a lot quieter than my previous noisemaker. I like it.

I believe some other maker makes a yet quieter one though. Don't recall the brand - but it was one I hadn't heard anything of before.

+1 for the Makita but the MAC700. You will be looking at oiled compressors, like the Makita. They're much quieter.

[Bill Neely]

I have a Makita MAC700 too. They're very quiet and reliable - check the reviews on Amazon. Downside is these puppies are heavy.

[Vince Sefcik]

I've been using a Senco PC1010 for about five years. It's only 20 pounds, so easy to carry around. It's in the garage and I can't hear it cycle when I'm two rooms away from it, with the doors open.

[Matt Meiser]

I have a Makita MAC700 too. They're very quiet and reliable - check the reviews on Amazon. Downside is these puppies are heavy.

+1 on everything Bill said. I'd buy it again.

[Greg R Bradley]

Please stop the misinformation that oiled compressors are quieter than oil-less. You can not make that assumption since it is frequently the opposite of reality. The super, super quiet compressors are virtually ALL oil-less.

Most likely to be recommended for your needs would be the Senco PC1010. It is pretty quiet and at 20 pounds is easy to carry. I do have to say that the one I bought about 2 years ago is not as good as the previous one that was about 10 years old when it wore out. Mine makes more noise now than when it was new but it has been run very hard at times. It will keep up with a pro running an 18ga brad gun. These are oil-less and you could use one inside while people are sleeping in the other end of the house - well, maybe not, since the bradder will make some noise.

When the PC1010 dies, I will replace it with a Roair JC10. Also oil-less, these are even quieter and a bit more powerful, but at almost twice the weight are reaching the limit that I want to carry around.

I love my Makita MAC700 but at almost 50 pounds is more than I want to carry very often. They are also love to fall over and are fragile if carried around in the back of a truck. The are ideally sized to slide into a narrow opening next to a bench. I wouldn't want to carry one up and down from a basement all the time. They are certainly quiet enough for your requirement and are a better choice if you need just a bit higher max pressure for truck/motorhome tires, etc. These are a better choice for heavy duty like a pro running a framing nailer or such as they can run almost continuously without damage. They are louder than the above two but the noise is a lower frequency so it doesn't seem much louder. It does carry further outside, though. If you had it running inside a garage at night, people in front of your house could probably hear it but they certainly wouldn't complain about noise.

I use a Makita MAC2400 in my garage shop for the greater capacity. It makes about the same sound as the MAC700, maybe just a bit louder. It is supposedly able to be carried but at around 75 pounds I'm nor carrying it very far even with the nice handle and protective roll cage. The next Makita up, the MAC5200 is loud, but not as horribly obnoxious as your pancake compressor.

[Wade Lippman]

I've been using a Senco PC1010 for about five years. It's only 20 pounds, so easy to carry around. It's in the garage and I can't hear it cycle when I'm two rooms away from it, with the doors open.

+1 great compressor, as long as you don't need much air.
They look like toys, but work.

[Victor Robinson]

Rolair, Rolair, Rolair. I don't think that you will be disappointed with the JC10 - I certainly haven't been.

I had the same requirements as you when I was buying mine. I had a small Craftsman that was Earth-shakingly loud. I wanted something that was portable and quiet for trim work. I first bought a small Porter-Cable unit that was supposed to be quiet - it wasn't nearly as quiet as its specs. The quiet was especially important because I planned on using it for vacuum-pressing veneer (with a JWW Venturi setup) aside from trim work, and sometimes would be working at night.

The JC10 is a sweet little compressor and so quiet (about as loud as a Fein vac on low...~60-65db). I've used it for nailers (15g-23g, palm), drywall texturing, and veneer pressing, and have never had a problem or complaint. From what I understand, Rolair is a good company to deal with should anything go wrong, but I have no firsthand experience with that.

[Sam Murdoch]

I've been using a Senco PC1010 for about five years. It's only 20 pounds, so easy to carry around. It's in the garage and I can't hear it cycle when I'm two rooms away from it, with the doors open.

Same here. I work alone and so am never running more than one gun. This will easily drive 2" crown staples or 2" 18g nails or smaller. I used it all day today driving nails into some tough yellow birch. I like it because it has a tiny foot print - it is very light - I can set it on a c-top when I'm attaching crown to upper cabinets or anywhere in between. Quiet? I don't know what to compare it to. Doesn't make much noise but it cycles more than most because it has such a tiny storage tank. If I were to replace it I would look into the Rolair but for the price I would be happy with another of these little Sencos.

[David Kumm]

The quiet dental compressors are oil. You can find quiet in either. Oil-less are usually not as long lasting but that might not matter for your use. Dave

[Caspar Hauser]

I have a single lung Senco, a Bostitch 'trim master', and a PC pancake, the senco is the quietist, smallest and lightest of the three.

The Senco is the second one I've had, and when I kill this one I'll get a third.

CH

[Todd Burch]

Rolair, Rolair, Rolair. I don't think that you will be disappointed with the JC10 - I certainly haven't been.
...

Rolair - that's the brand I was thinking of. Thanks Victor.

[Steve Baumgartner]

I've got a Bostitch CAP1512-OF and like it a lot. It's only a couple of pounds heavier than the Senco (23, I think?). It is more solidly built than the Senco, with gauges and such well protected by roll bars. It is far from silent, but **way** quieter than my Hitachi (and 30 lbs lighter)! Like the others with small tanks, it cycles fairly often, but it reaches pressure very fast - typically less than a minute from empty and about 10 seconds from cut-in to recharge. The price for that is a larger current draw than many small compressors. I believe it is rated 12A, which will work fine on a 15A circuit provided there aren't other heavy hitters on there at the same time.

Steve

[john davey]

Thanks for all of the info. I am going with the Senco. There was a good youtube video of the Senco and the Rolair. my needs are quite and portable and the Senco is going to be more portable than the Rolair although I am sure I could lug the Rolair fine. Once the house is trimmed it will sit in m basement wood shop and see little use for the rare times I use plywood. So the smaller lighter Senco wins out there as well as space is a premium. The price is a factor as well as I am sure both machines will last the trim job and then go to the basement for light work. I do think the Rolair is probably the better machine and I wold go that route if I used plywood more. But I am mostly a hand tool guy and avoid nailing so the hundred bucks will be saved. Thanks, John...