Does anyone have HF's 21 (item #61454) or 8 (item #68740 or #69667) gallon air compressor?
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How is it? Any problems?
I need a reasonable small portable one, for small in-house upholstery jobs, that will last at least a year. *The above 21 gal. may be too heavy, for lifting into my truck.
I bought a (looked like new) Bostich 6 gal., for $100 (New, retail $159 at WalMart), at a pawn shop, 8 days ago, and it lasted for 4 operations/refill s of my portable 7 gal. tank. Was upholstering benches in a local cafe (in house work, only) and it didn't last to the end of the job. I do have a 30 warranty on it, though.
I'm tempted to give one of the HF units a try, but would like some feedback /info about them, if any.
s, that will last at least a year. *The above 21 gal. may be too heavy, fo r lifting into my truck.
You know, I looked at the header and thought, well... what's the odds of ha ving the same exact compressor he is asking about? Read the post, clicked on the link, and nearly fell out of the chair laughing.
I have this one
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and have been using it for about 7 years. I bought this compressor for two reasons; 1) would NOT pay the money needed get a really nicely made compre ssor that would move that much air, and 2) when I bought mine it was $89, n ow frequently anywhere from $99 to $110 on sale.
I bought the extended "exchange" warranty on it as I was thinking, well, it IS HF, and sometimes they hit and sometimes they miss. This one was a hit and I have had no problems whatsoever with it. Its hardest use is when I paint with it as I use it to power my HVLP CAS guns, so on those days of he avy spraying it runs constantly all day long and is just short of red hot. It has done more than a few all day paints since I have had it since it al so gets used to spray doors, trims, and anything else I want. The point be ing, it has had the hell used out of it.
I use a hot dog or a pan cake when doing trims and finish outs, but when I do light framing, decking, shingling, or fencing, this machine goes to thos e jobs as well. It still works fine and I will be using it next week to "f actory finish" some exterior doors with a high performance enamel.
The same compressor is sold by many with the cowling being the only differe nce, and if you catch this one on sale, it's a heckuva deal as the differen ce in price will pay for the extended warranty. Note the difference betwee n the two similar units is the cowling; one configuration protect the motor more, and the other protect the compressor head more. I bought the one I did it protected the motor more against drift as it was covered (leaving th e head more exposed).
Here's one of the same from HD
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with the head cowel configuration. They also brand this compressor for Sea rs, Northern tool, and others as well. When I bought the one I have there were no other inexpensive alternatives, and I needed a heavy air pusher rig ht away. Glad I found this one as the DeWalt/Emglo equivalent at that time was around $600. The irony? When buying parts for one of my other compre ssors the guy at the compressor repair shop told me they probably had the s ame compressor head on it (PUMA) brand, but the DeWalt might have a better motor. Other than that...
As always with HF, your mileage may vary. But for me, if this one craps ou t I will go right down and buy the same one again.
A comment on uprights. Personally, I don't like them. The one you referen ced is top heavy and meant to be a shop compressor that is only moved once in a while. If the compressor is bumped and falls over, or tips (or slants heavily) in your vehicle due to unforeseen circumstances the oil will leak from the head. You can put more oil in, but the compressor will spit oil out for some time. As an oil splasher (as opposed to a pump system) the c ylinder can be in a certain position and the oil can leak out like nobody's business. I don't remember if the cylinder is in the up or down stroke th at allows it to leak, but the last thing I want is spraying oil.
I actually had the compressor above land on its side during an emergency st op and it rode that way all the way back to my shop. When I got there, it had lost about 6 oz or so of oil. The profile is so low, and with the pull handle on the front and the lift handle on the back it is easy to secure s o that hasn't happened since.
Went by HF and checked them out. Hesitated to buy, came home and, after reading both yours and Robert's posts, I'll go get the #69667, with ext warranty.
I had one that looked similar for many years, but believe it was oil less. Finally gave it away because of the racket it made. Had to replace the capacitor--HF ordered it for me and it took about 3 months to get it. Obviously had to be shipped from China.
If you buy one, buy some oil too, after about an hour of run time change the oil to get rid of chips, etc. Then again after twenty four hours of usage. It will go a long way to extending the life of the compressor and the bearings in it. That first run can sometimes destroy these things.
Also, you might want to get and air oil filter if you paint or stain. These things do pump oil, but not quite enough for lubing air tools. Some of their air and oil filters do not fit together well, they do also sell oil kits for pneumatic tools.
Other than being real noisy they work well, but the oiless is noisy, noisy with a short life.
Yep, the instructions were good, simple and direct. As you say, run an hour, change the oil.... repeat in 24 hrs.
Mostly for the smaller in-house upholstery jobs. I'll keep an eye on the filters.
Noise is tolerable, so for. I have a 7 gal portable tank, also, often used indoors, after a refill from a/the compressor (preferrably outdoors in these situations). This latest job was a bit different, so a smaller on-site compressor was needed.
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