air comressors?

[railroader]

Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about harbour freight central pneumatic air compressors?

[California]

They have a new series now so be sure that what you read applies to these.

I have their claimed 2.5 hp / 10 gallon one from about 2003, red, similar to the black tank one today. I use it infrequently. And I have the little HF die grinder claimed to need slightly less air than this compressor's rated cfm @ 90 psi. Running that die grinder near continuous caused massive smoke from the compressor motor and it couldn't maintain 25 psi. This overload didn't trip its overheat sensor, and didn't seem to do any lasting harm.

From that experience, I estimate the real cfm output is no more than 2/3 of what HF says. All I use the compressor for now is tires.

At least for this prior model, I would say it is the cheapest thing on the market with a life expectancy to match. I suggest buy the replacement warranty. Or buy somebody else's real commercial-duty compressor.

[mla2ofus]

I've said it before and I'll say again that when I buy something from HF I always tell myself " remember what ya paid for this, 'cause ya always get what you paid for".
Mike

[railroader]

what about the husky and craftsman brands?

[hobohilton]

Tell us what your going to be using it for / service duty / conditions / what tools you will be using / required CFM.........

Thanks,

Hobo

[rlitman]

Originally Posted by mla2ofus

I've said it before and I'll say again that when I buy something from HF I always tell myself " remember what ya paid for this, 'cause ya always get what you paid for".

I know what you mean, but at least with HF, you're paying Chinese prices for Chinese products.

What bothers me is stuff like Campbell Hausfeld, or Husky, where you're paying American prices for the same Chinese products. Do you really think that "ya always get what you paid for" applies across the board? I don't like to spend money, just to have a "name". A decal and the color of the paint don't make things work better.

[Thunderrig15]

I bought a 21G 2.5HP HF Comp for $25 and a 6G 1.5HP HF Comp for $30 at a customer return center...both were like brand new and work great for my garage/home/hobby uses. If I were gonna be making a living and running a Comp all day, I'd definitely get one meant for that usage.

[railroader]

Thanks for the info guys, right now it will just be for light applications in my shop.

[Oldendum]

I have one of the black HF #3848 60 gal.12 CFM compressors. As far as I could tell, it is of U.S. manufacture by some Italian parent company that makes compressors for several different brands, like Bel-Aire. I think the manufacturer is ABAC /American IMC. Some of the newer Puma units may be from Brazil.

The little compressors are typical junk. We have a little portable one with two hotdog tanks on it. Had to flatten the head and make a new gasket after the head warped on it.

[brucer]

I've owned a 60gallon 7.5 hp oiless compressor since the mid 80's. I just rebuilt it with new rods, bearings, compression seals, and resleeved it, all for $130 to my door, took less than a day to rebuild it.. runs quieter and puts out better pressure than it ever has... now after rebuilding it I think there was always something wrong with it from the get go.

I would buy a compressor pump off ebay and piece together my own compressor before I bought a harbor freight compressor..

[anickode]

I would say scratch the ebay compressor pump plan. Most of those are chinese made, and many of them poorer quality than Harbor Freight.

Harbor freight's compressors, particularly the large US GENERAL ones, use the same generic compressor heads seen on most every non-commercial grade compressor out there. They have AO Smith motors, and certified pressure vessel tanks.

I've used a couple of the smaller ones too... My uncle bought the twin tank "2.5" hp for 99 bucks for a last-minute replacement on a roofing job about 3 years ago, and it's still going strong, being used every day at his remodeling company. It's quieter than the PorterCable oilless pancake it replaced, and has lasted longer.

I have used the motors and pumps off several of the 8 gallon 2 hp compressors they sell for home snowmaking equipment. The snowmakers are usually run nonstop 12 hours at a time, probably 20 days each winter, and they all still work fine.

[brucer]

Originally Posted by anickode

I would say scratch the ebay compressor pump plan. Most of those are chinese made, and many of them poorer quality than Harbor Freight.

Harbor freight's compressors, particularly the large US GENERAL ones, use the same generic compressor heads seen on most every non-commercial grade compressor out there. They have AO Smith motors, and certified pressure vessel tanks.

and where do you think the harbor freight pumps are made?

The compressor pumps on ebay are the exact same pumps as the harbor freight pumps.. I know I looked at them both before rebuilding my craftsman oilless compressor.. You can go to harbor freight and buy the exact same pump as they sell on ebay for the like $179.99..

[anickode]

No **** harbor freight's are made in China. At least wshen you buy one in a store, you get a warranty, plus the option to buy a very reasonably priced 2 year replacement policy. A drop-shipped compressor from Hong Kong is going to be a bit harder to get replaced if it craps out in a month.

And my comparison to other brands was in terms of buying say, a Kobalt or Husky or Craftsman from a "brand name" store

[Bioburner]

One can find good used compressors on CL at least in MN, for close to half of new and can be a name brand like Binks. I got a 60 gallon vertical tank, 6 hp twin v single stage for $150 because shop was uprading and did not want the fuss of fixing the unloader line and the cracked air intake filter. I spent 1/4 hour in repairing and have a cast iron compressor that will keep up to this one man shops needs. Most better compressors are easily rebuidable. Keep the tanks drained and the compressor filled and serviced with good oil .

[BCTimberwolf]

Originally Posted by brucer

and where do you think the harbor freight pumps are made?

The compressor pumps on ebay are the exact same pumps as the harbor freight pumps.. I know I looked at them both before rebuilding my craftsman oilless compressor.. You can go to harbor freight and buy the exact same pump as they sell on ebay for the like $179.99..

Might check your sources. Their replacement pumps are made in USA as of last year when I called them. I was just there last week and they were the exact same ones as I was looking at, so I doubt they've changed.

Now the cheap noisy compressors that aint worth crap, those are made in china

[brucer]

Originally Posted by BCTimberwolf

Might check your sources. Their replacement pumps are made in USA as of last year when I called them. I was just there last week and they were the exact same ones as I was looking at, so I doubt they've changed.

Now the cheap noisy compressors that aint worth crap, those are made in china

My source directly was Harbor Freight, I walked in the store and looked at compressors and their larger compressor pump (145psi 5hp).. Thats why I decided to rebuild my 20+yr old cheap, noisy, oilless, made in USA, Craftsman, 7.5hp 60gal. air compressor for $130..

[brucer]

Originally Posted by anickode

No **** harbor freight's are made in China. At least wshen you buy one in a store, you get a warranty, plus the option to buy a very reasonably priced 2 year replacement policy. A drop-shipped compressor from Hong Kong is going to be a bit harder to get replaced if it craps out in a month.

And my comparison to other brands was in terms of buying say, a Kobalt or Husky or Craftsman from a "brand name" store

You can rebuild the oilless compressors pretty cheap, I rebuilt my 7.5hp craftsman oilless compressor for $130, and it took 1/2 a day..
You might keep a look out on craigslist for a used one and rebuild it or plan on rebuilding it..

[mla2ofus]

Originally Posted by Bioburner

One can find good used compressors on CL at least in MN, for close to half of new and can be a name brand like Binks. I got a 60 gallon vertical tank, 6 hp twin v single stage for $150 because shop was uprading and did not want the fuss of fixing the unloader line and the cracked air intake filter. I spent 1/4 hour in repairing and have a cast iron compressor that will keep up to this one man shops needs. Most better compressors are easily rebuidable. Keep the tanks drained and the compressor filled and serviced with good oil .

After the troubles I had I don't want to be near a used compressor unless I know it's history very well and know for a fact the owner has drained the tank on a regular basis.
Mike

[anickode]

I have a 60 gallon Kobalt compressor that I got for 50 bucks on Craigslist because "the motor was bogging down and smoking" when it got above 70 psi. Turned out the motor mounting bolts were all a little loose and the belt had gotten some slack in it, so the bogging down and smoking was just the belt slipping on the motor pulley, which sucked the smoke into the motor cooling fan, and blowing it out the front of the motor.

I also have a 24 CFM, 5 hp, 4 cylinder, pressure lubricated compressor that's set up with no tank, and uses an upstream pressure relief regulator to dump extra air that I use for media blasting and snowmaking (yes, I make snow in my yard). This rig was also sourced mostly from craigslist, and has under $200 into it.

[nadogail]

When I asked a local roofer for recommendations for a small compressor for a nailgun, he told me "they are all junk, just buy what evr is on sale and throw it away when it quits". The $39.95 compressor from Harbor Freight is easy to load into my van and runs my brad nailer just fine.
If you are fortunate, you get what you pay for, and you wont buy more than you need.

[anickode]

The 39.99 one from Harbor freight is around 1.3 CFM if I recall... So a brad nailer is about all you can run with it. Ok for filling up a basketball or a bike tire too I guess.

[SuperNinja]

Originally Posted by mla2ofus

I've said it before and I'll say again that when I buy something from HF I always tell myself " remember what ya paid for this, 'cause ya always get what you paid for".
Mike

That's not always true.

A friend of mine bought a paper ring for 25 cents from the flea market once.
The paper was a $20 bill.

[riley mcmillan]

I bought a harbor freight two cylinder 30 gallon for my hypertherm plasma cutter. Had it for a couple of years and works great. The pump is aluminum with cast iron sleeves. Very low noise and smooth. Puts out a little over 7.7 cfm at 90 psi. Keeping my fingers crossed.