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.