Air compressor?

[flh69]

Looking to get a new oil lubed air compressor for light duty use. Don't want to break the bank & have looked at this one from Harbor Freight, (McGraw 20 Gallon 1.6 HP 135 PSI Oil Lube Vertical Air Compressor)
I know it is Harbor Freight & some of there tools are not the most reliable. Has anyone purchased this compressor?

 

[AVB]

I would check out the reviews. It seems that there are several bad reviews for it. Personally I avoid most things other than hand tools like wrenches as I too had several problems. Even my lightly air power grease gun I got from them is already failing.

 

[ZERO]

Make sure that your compressor will pump more air in than what your tools will eat at full blast.

Look at max pressure, as your distance increases, you pressure will drop off at the end, you will have to compensate with higher pressure for the air hungry tools to maintain 90PSI working.

Small intermittent bursts like lug nuts and such can be handled by the larger tank buffer, but becomes very annoying when doing large scale jobs.

Look at what you will be planning for the future, as your air tool collection expands, so will your air needs.

Look at the duty cycle of the compressor, the good ones will have a 100% duty cycle, meaning they can stay on all day long.

Look at the power requirements, you may need a dedicated line as to not trip the breakers.

 

[AVB]

Sometimes it just got thing configured. I use a 25 gal 5HP Manga compressor with a 100 ft run of 3/8 air line. At first I couldn't even get a AirCat 1150 to run at full power even on a just a 25 ft run of the line. Standing line pressure was 125 psi but when I pull the impact trigger it would drop to under 25 psi. I couldn't even loosen my lug nuts that were only tighten to 50 ft lbs.

Couplers and plugs can be the problem when they are under sized. Even the ones that claim to be M style weren't even to spec. I upgraded to V style couplers and plugs and now I have full pressure at 100 ft run. Now that only problem is when using the air gun and die grinder for extend times but even then the compressor can pretty well keep up with the demand.

So just upping the pressure will not always resolve the problem when line restrictions are introduced. It actually can cause other problems that too pressure can cause.

 

[flh69]

Thanks for the replies. I ended up buying a Porter Cable Model # PXCM201 which for my needs will be sufficient.
Wondering when to change the oil after the 30 minute initial break-in?

 

[Gebada22]

Congrats. My neighbor has the same one and really likes it.

 

[r7000]

I bought that one that is Central Pneumatic, from harbor freight, maybe like 20 years ago, when it was $110.
Been great, only problem is I replaced the wheels with tractor supply replacements of better quality, had to fiddle with the wheel mounts a little to make it portable with zero frustration. But it's otherwise always worked and produced air, up to ~130psi or whatever.

mine is like 5hp, on 15A 120vac

got it way back, before the FTC cracked down on all the air compressor electric motor advertising fraud, if u remember that.

that size and style is basically perfect for light duty home use and being portable enough to wheel anywhere to do stuff. Thrown it in the back of the truck numerous times, just gotta make sure the oil plug is on and careful of the plastic and stuff.

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

Thanks for the replies. I ended up buying a Porter Cable Model # PXCM201 which for my needs will be sufficient.
Wondering when to change the oil after the 30 minute initial break-in?

I have an old Coleman compressor that supposedly is 90 psi at 6 CFM. It was too weak to run a 600# impact wrench and other air hungry tools, so, I moved just about everything over to Milton V-Style Hi-Flo fittings and couplers and it made a big difference with the 3/8" hose. Since your compressor is rated at 5.3 @ 90 psi you might find it worth the investment to spend a bit more on fittings if using impact tools such as a wrench or chisel. The biggest improvement was probably the extended cut off wheel tool, it no longer stalls under load after only a few seconds of work.

 

[Squareground3691]

This one I’ve had three years no issues pretty quite .

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

I still have my IR2131, though I do not use it much anymore. IR does make some nice pneumatic equipment.