Portable Quiet Air Compressor

[Don Sundberg]

I am considering buying a small, very portable air compressor to use in the house. I have a large 7.5 hp two stage air compressor in my shop that will run anything I desire as far as sanders, blasters, and other high flow air tools. Currently I use a portable air tank to haul compressed air from the shop to the house. It works and is very quiet but somewhere between 20-30 shots with my 15 ga finish nailer I need to refill. I had an incident of under driving due to low air pressure that turned into an hour long fiasco to fix.

So, my main objectives are portability, low noise, and must be able to run my nail guns. They range from an 18 ga brad nailer to a Paslode framing nailer. I have an old larger portable that I can use for larger framing projects. It's very loud and I probably need to put a new pressure switch on it next time I use it.

The compressors I am considering:
Rolair JC10 - Very quiet ~60dB. 2.3 cfm @ 90. Can it run everything?
California Air Tools CAT 1610A - Sounds like this is about the same compressor as the Rolair JC10 with maybe an aluminum tank.
Rolair FC2002 - Looks like it is a little louder ~80dB but has a lot more capacity 4.1 cfm @ 90 and I could send the old loud Coleman down the line. Oil lubed
Makita MAC700 - Seems to be highly regarded as a quiet and portable 80 dB and 3.3 cfm @ 90 seems to fit between the Rolair's as far as performance and is the cheapest. Oil lubed
Makita MAC2400 - Also at about ~79dB and 4.2 cfm at 90 psi. Oil Lubed


The first two appear to use the same two cylinder oil free pump. I get the impression that the Rolair may use better quality plumbing copper vs plastic and have a better pressure switch and regulator.

The bottom 3 are a probably a little bit of Tim the Toolman syndrome setting in. If I bumped the size a class, I could get double the capacity and just use it for all of my construction projects. They aren't as quiet though.

Anyway please give me your thoughts, opinions or suggestions.

TIA:)

[Mac McQuinn]

Last night I was checking out the new WW magazines at B&N's. I believe the new "Wood" magazine has a (1) page mini test on (4) smaller Compressors with specifications, (2) were on your list.
Mac

[Alan Hick]

Not wishing to dissuade the purchase of a new tool, or ask a silly question, but is there any reason why you can't use a long hose and connect to the 7.5HP 2 stage in your shop? If your shop is 500 ft from your house, that'd be a bit much. But if it's 50 ft from your house.... But maybe when you say you want to "use it in the house" you mean "on the job, away from home, in the jobsite house"? In which case any of the compressors you list will probably work fine, within limits. The Makitas are nice, are quiet, but they're heavy. The Rolairs and CATs are quiet. Another brand to look at is Thomas. Very well made, quiet, but more expensive. Really, any of them will make you happy. You just need to decide what you're going to use it for, so you don't overbuy or underbuy.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

I didn't think quiet and air compressor went together.

[scott vroom]

I have the Rolair JC10 and highly recommend it. Never again will I use an oil compressor inside a house....last one I had leaked and spewed oil on the walls and floor of a customer's home. The JC10 will support a framing nailer, but at a slower pace than your 7.5HP shop compressor.

[glenn bradley]

I've had the California Air Tools CAT 1610A for some time and have been very happy with it. I use it for 23 - 16 gauge guns.


I didn't think quiet and air compressor went together.

As to that:
https://youtu.be/Dukbe0v17Ns

[Clint Baxter]

I have the Rolair JC10 and highly recommend it. Never again will I use an oil compressor inside a house....last one I had leaked and spewed oil on the walls and floor of a customer's home. The JC10 will support a framing nailer, but at a slower pace than your 7.5HP shop compressor.

+1. I have one also and am very happy with it. I also have a larger Emglo for the bigger framing projects. The Rolair works great for finish carpentry.

Clint

[Victor Robinson]

I've found two models that are quiet but also put out enough air (>5 cfm @ 90) for larger tasks. They're at the edge of easy portability though.
Rolair VT20 and CAT 4620A.

[Mike Berrevoets]

+2 on the rolair JC10. Runs finish nail guns just fine and is pretty quiet. It's not the most compact small compressor but the lack of the annoying sound makes up for it being a little more bulky.

[steven a. wright]

I just retired from a shop that sold pneumatic staplers, nailers, fasteners and compressors. We carried the California Air Tools line. The 1610A runs at 60db, very quiet. It is used primarily for small tools, but can also be used for framing guns as long as you're not shooting "machine gun" fashion, as the tank is small. All in all a good, capable compressor.

[Rick Potter]

I have a small Senco that is very quiet, light weight, and runs a brad gun just fine for trim work. Mine is the smallest with about a one gallon tank, they also make a slightly larger one with twin tanks. Mine has served for about seven years now.

[Robert Parent]

I have a Rolair VT20 and really like it for a small compressor. The 2-wheel cart is a nice bonus! I added a 50 foot, 3/8 inch, polyurethane hose to the setup so you seldom have to move it.

Robert

[Lonnie Gallaher]

This is what I did at my house. My shop with compressor is attached to my house by a common wall. I drilled a hole through the wall and installed a male hose fitting in the shop piped through the wall to a female fitting on the inside of the house. When I need air inside I connect to this thru the wall fitting. The noise stays outside and I have air inside for tools.

If your shop is close enough to the house to run a hose to a thru the wall fitting this would be an inexpensive option.

[Dave Zellers]

Another vote for the JC10. I bought mine about 2 months ago and couldn't be happier. I'm totally blown away by how quiet it is.

California Air uses the same parts as Rolair so they are essentially the same including an aluminum tank. Look for an "A" at the end of the full model number.

I bought it for the exact problem you had. I would try to squeeze one more nail out of my portable tank and be really sorry I did. Pain in the arse.

If you ever feel that you might need more capacity you can always daisy chain your portable tank to the JC10 and run your line off that.

I almost bought Rolair's AB5. Man is that tiny. And it would have probably done 90% of what I need it to do and be super light at 25 lbs but I went with the JC10 because it will do 100% of what I need it for and still be manageable at 40 lbs. Rolair says 39 but put a 3-way on it and we're at 40. The JC10 is actually a bit quieter than the AB5 because it is the larger cylinder in the pump at lower RPM that makes for quiet operation.

[Mike Cutler]

Another JC10 fan. You could put it in the kitchen, and have a conversation over the table with it running.
If you need more air put two in parallel. They' actually not that expensive.

[Don Sundberg]

Thanks for the replies. I really am leaning to the little Rolair JC10. I really just want an upgrade from a portable air tank.

Lonnie, I guess it would be possible but my shop is about 150' from the house. I have though about running an underground line over to the garage. It's only about 35' or so away from the shop. I usually finish in the garage as it is usually a lot less dusty. I can blow the project off in the shop and carry or wheel it over to the garage to finish.

[Tom M King]

About the same distance of separation for my house and shop. I ran an underground PVC pipe for air to the barn when I built it, and have wished multiple times I'd done the same thing to the house. The PVC has been in the ground since the early '80s, and it's never leaked. I only buried it about a foot deep, expecting it would be easy to find a blowout, but have never had the experience. It's just schedule 40 pipe, but I guess it gets extra support from the red clay here. It's metal going down in the ground to the PVC under a corner of the shop, which is a bit of a raised wooden floor off the ground. I never use PVC female threaded adaptors on water lines, and surely won't use them on an air line.

[Wade Lippman]

California Air uses the same parts as Rolair so they are essentially the same including an aluminum tank. Look for an "A" at the end of the full model number.


The California is cheaper than the Rolair and claims to be quieter. Any advantage to the Rolair?

[Dave Zellers]

The California is cheaper than the Rolair and claims to be quieter. Any advantage to the Rolair?

Well, I'm no expert that's for sure. I'm just repeating what I was told when I bought mine and just comparing pictures you can certainly see the similarities. Plus we all have the example of our heavy iron tools that have interchangeable parts between brands. The parts are made in Asia and companies design their product around the available parts.

But to your point- there is no apples to apples comparison possible. Right off the bat, I see that the CAT 1610 has a 1.6 gal tank and the Rolair JC10 tank is 2.3. They say 2.5 on their website but I'm pretty sure my tank says 2.3. I don't know what the difference in cost is between the two but perhaps that alone accounts for it. An interesting thing that the JC10 does is let the air bleed out for 10 seconds to allow all the moving parts to warm up before they are put under load, i.e. compress air. It's certainly possible that CAT does the same thing.

Finally, and this is no small thing for me, CAT sells through the BORGS and Rolair only sells through professional tool distributors, local and online. If that adds a few dollars to the cost, I'm fine with it because if it needs servicing (especially under warranty) I'm dealing with local people I know and who know me. I do buy lots of tools online but I made a point of buying this from my local guys.

[Peter Kelly]

The California is cheaper than the Rolair and claims to be quieter. Any advantage to the Rolair?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJIXJwX4mho

I haven't seen a California Air in person but Rolair compressors are amazingly quiet.

[Charles Lent]

Junn Air makes a series of compressors that are even quieter than that Rolair. My Junn Air is a pancake style (compressor on top of pancake shaped tank) and it makes less noise than my home refrigerator. I'm even able to take it to craft and woodworking shows and place it under the table where it becomes unheard and invisible to the show visitors. I use it mostly for power carving, but it has been used for my nail guns and other general purpose uses when I need a small and portable air source because my shop air compressor is also a 7.5 hp 80 gal unit. It's nice to see that other brands have now recognized the need for really quiet and portable air compressors.

Charley

[Bob Falk]

I have the Makita 2400 and it is a quiet compressor

[Mark Blatter]

I have a small Senco that is very quiet, light weight, and runs a brad gun just fine for trim work. Mine is the smallest with about a one gallon tank, they also make a slightly larger one with twin tanks. Mine has served for about seven years now.

+1 on the Senco. It is 1.4 CFM but is very quiet. I read that it is only 25.5 dbs. I use it for 16 - 23 gauge nailers and it keeps up with me, though I am not shooting nails real fast.

[Lee Schierer]

Just so you know. A 3db change is double the volume. So the 80db units are more than 6 times louder than the 60db unit.

[Phil Thien]

Just so you know. A 3db change is double the volume. So the 80db units are more than 6 times louder than the 60db unit.

Every 10db is a perceptible doubling in volume.

20db is four times louder (or softer).

[Greg R Bradley]

Manufacturers claims are basically nonsense.

Even comparing Makita's claims of sound level on my MAC-700 and MAC-2400 leads me to believe little about sound level claims and the claims are from the same manufacturer. Part of the problem is how annoying the sound is as compared to actual sound level. BTW, the MAC-5200 is LOUD.

I wouldn't want to carry a MAC-2400 far! The MAC-700 is great but is narrow so needs to be tied down to carry in a truck. Both the MAC-700 and MAC-2400 are suitable for heavy use, near 100% duty cycle.

My California Air Tools CAT-6310 is fairly quiet when running but the sound is not pleasant. It also makes an annoying sound when reaching pressure and turning off. It takes way too long to recover. I spent lots of time fixing annoying little rattles, repairing the gauge that failed and fixing the horribly welded wheels. Interesting that it is the same motor/pump assembly on the one my brother likes. It has a bigger tank and wheels. I bought it for dirt cheap and still consider it marginal. I have a CAT-10020 that is pretty decent but it is much older unit. I think C.A.T. started off making good units and not is having stuff made to a price point. I would not even consider running either CAT unit for heavy use as I know it would self destruct. I bought my CAT-6310 for $100 off the normal street price and still consider it a waste of money.

If you need to air up high pressure truck/motorhome tires, buy the MAC-700.

I would consider Rolair far superior to California Air Tools. With the OP in the Midwest, I would look hard at Rolair.

BTW, 3 db is double the sound level but 10 db is double the PERCEPTIBLE sound level to the human ear.

[Daniel Greening]

I really love my Rolair JC10! I have run full sized framing nailers off of it, albeit at a slower nailing pace. Its sooooo quiet!

[Joe O'Connor]

Yesterday I bought a husky "silent air" twin tank compressor from Home Depot. It is incredibly quiet, I haven't used it much yet but so far for 200 I'm impressed . You can view it online but it's only available in stores right now.

[Don Sundberg]

Ordered a Rolair JC10 tonight. I'll let you guys know how I like it. Pretty excited to have something super portable.

Thanks,

Don

[Dan Rude]

I just picked up the husky silent air twin this weekend at a outlet for a $100, they have dropped to about $139 on clearance at the Orange Borg. Mine looks to be a return one, or display model. I have 14 day return window for defects. Very impressed with it. It's held pressure for 2 days, I have left it off to check this. I have run it about 4 times. Haven't had the time to use it with my nailers yet though. I don't think they will be a issue and at 20-25 db less than my little oil lubed C-Man, it's a keeper. Dan

[Gene Takae]

[QUOTE=Rick Potter;2455774]I have a small Senco that is very quiet, light weight, and runs a brad gun just fine for trim work. Mine is the smallest with about a one gallon tank, they also make a slightly larger one with twin tanks. Mine has served for about seven years now.[/QUOTE

Have to agree with Rick on the Senco. Compact, lightweight, purrs quietly. California Air is also excellent. Little larger than the Senco but also very quiet.