Looking for a new compressor, and I don’t want one very noisy, but portable as well, and as close to $100 as possible. I saw this one at Home Depot.
Is it any good? I don’t want to get the CH Quiet one at Wal Mart, because of over heating, etc…
Are any of the Badger ones (Million Air, etc) available at reasonable prices?
Thanks.
hi matt, i picked up a “companion” compressor from Sears that has 2hp and a 7 gallon tank. she’s loud no doubt but i put her under the carport far from my hobby room and can barely hear her kick on. i paid about $125 or so for it and i can do other tasks with it as well. as for the husky compressor, couldn’t tell you anything about it friend. later.
You can call Badger about a refurbished Million-Air but there is a waiting list I believe and they are around $300.
Mike
I think, although I may be wrong, that the Husky compressors from Home Depot are actually made by Porter-Cable. The reason I say that is that right after I bought my Porter-Cable at Lowes I saw what appeared to be the exact same compressor at Home Depot with the Husky brand name on it (at a slightly higher price). I’m sure that each brand has some that are better than others, but I’ve had mine for about a year now and have had excellent results from it. It isn’t quiet, far from it, but so far has worked like a charm. It’s a 5 gallon “Pancake” style with a 2hp motor and I got it for right at $100 at Lowes (although the same one now has a $177 price tag on it)
That could be true. But recently I purchased a Husky air filter and air tank and the warranty is provided by Campbell Hausfeld on both items. Maybe C/H owns Porter Cable as well, but I wouldn’t know.
that’s a funny thing…I think that when my dad bought our badger air compressor, it cost him $300. and that’s just for hte little one. compare that to some of the nice, big a*s ones, with controlable psi at Home Depot for about $100-$150. looks like a scam to me…
You pay for silence. Airbrush compressors are generally almost silent whereas general purpose compressors like those from Home Depot are far from quiet in most cases.
No, it is not a scam. You are paying for quality built compressors that last a long time.
The compressors in the silent ones like I mentioned are built in Italy and they are much more durable than an industrial type compressor for our purposes.
With care they will last a lifetime which is not very common with some of the cheaper compressors out there.
Mike
I’d agree it’s not a scam, as the “silent” compressors are offering real value (silence, quality) for the price.
Good industrial compressors don’t need to be expensive, either. So they can be extremely durable and long-lived, and can run a lot more than just low air volume tools like airbrushes. A decent oil-lubed, belt-driven industrial compressor can last for a long time in a heavy duty industrial environment (running impact guns, etc…) - if well maintained. That sort of duty is much harder on equipment than airbrushing. They’re just not very quiet - which is perfectly OK in a garage-type enviornment, but probably not in the spare bedroom of an apartment. With the large tanks many of these have, you could probably do a lot of airbrushing sessions before ever having the compressor cycle even once. If you have a way to manage or deal with the noise, a shop-tool grade compressor is a terrific option and it can be used for many other things besides airbrushing.
I would agree. Those oil-lubed type of compressors will last a long time.
The oiless industrial compressors won’t last as long normally.
Mike
here’s some suggestions, which i recommend because i’m me [:D]
and hardware ones,
most diaphragm ones dont last as long and are louder, particular examples include the paasche d500.
if you are handy with tools, you can convert a fridge compressor to work. thats my dream.