5.5 Gallon California Air Tools Compressor $115 @ Wal-Mart with Free In-store Pickup

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cpw

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Charles
I was interested in this model a few months ago. Changed my mind when I read the one-star reviews on Amazon.
 

redknife

Chris
Corporate Member
I was interested in this model a few months ago. Changed my mind when I read the one-star reviews on Amazon.
Odd, when I check Amazon I see 388 reviews with nearly 5 stars. Different model? https://www.amazon.com/California-A...-1&keywords=California+Air+Tools+5.5+gal&th=1 I've read some negatives on their other models but haven't had their experience. I just bought the 4 hp 20 gal and so far it's awesome. I had occasion to call the company to talk with their techs about how big I could go with an expansion tank on my model. Got right through on the phone and spoke with someone reasonable. I am a convert.
 

ehpoole

Administrator
Ethan
I was interested in this model a few months ago. Changed my mind when I read the one-star reviews on Amazon.

I never saw your mentioned listing, but I have observed that you really have to look hard at Amazon reviews sometimes. It is very easy to get very skewed reviews if only a few individuals have reviewed a new or barely active listing (and the same product can have multiple listings on Amazon with different vendors). So it often pays to check the number of reviews, then sort on the negative reviews to determine what the supposed fault really is that the parties were complaining about, and all too often it has nothing to do with the product itself but from highly unrealistic expectations or misuse of the product (or just plain not understanding the nature of the product they purchased). It is also not at all uncommon for people to associate negative reviews with a product they never bought or used because for whatever reason they did not realize that the listed air compressor item and that flat can of compressed "air duster" air they bought elsewhere are entirely different products (I see a lot of that in some reviews where it is painfully clear that many reviews have nothing to do with the actual product listed, which really makes one scratch their head sometimes).

In the case of air compressor reviews in general on Amazon, if you actually do a sort on the most negative reviews and then actually begin reading them, one often discovers a number of hints suggesting these compressors have very likely been plugged into undersized extension cords (you really do not want to be using extension cords with air compressors, and if one does it should be well oversized) while others were likely ignoring the maximum rated duty cycle rating of these oilless air compressors (generally rated for no more than 15 min on/off at best). If you see reports of circuit breakers tripping, the compressor stalling before reaching pressure, never reaching cutoff pressure, or the motor burning up, those are almost all the result of misuse (specifically signs of an extension cord being used or use on an otherwise overloaded 120V circuit) by the operator but are frequently reported as defects in the product. Just imagine how many perfectly ordinary weekend DIYers are out there that would happily try to run both a 15A air compressor (which can draw up to 30-40A on startup) and a 13A Shop Vac simultaneously off the same cheap 10ft. #16 gauge extension cord plugged into a single 15A or 20A receptacle circuit and not be aware that they are committing multiple wrongs because they never bothered to read either product's manual (nor the extension cord warning label)!

So it often pays to take a few minutes to dig into the reviews if you are considering a product that should be decent but seems to have unusually bad reviews as I have often gone ahead and ordered items after reading up on the 1 and 2 star reviews and then compared them against some selected 4 and 5 star reviews for some added balance.

That said, I would expect a 1HP air compressor to have a rather low CFM rating versus many of the more common 2+HP (13-15A) oilless pancake/hotdog units on the market, so you may see some negative reviews because it is likely to take much longer to recharge and may not always keep up with some heavier nailing tasks. That could also garner a few negative reviews from those expecting the same level of performance (and not just the added quietness).
 

Frank Berry

New User
Frank
I bought the CAT 5510SE some time back and can't be happier. I use it for finish nailer, brad nailer, filling tires, blowing out the shop, blowing off the projects after sanding and a few other things. You need to remember this is not a 220volt 30amp 2 or 3 hp compressor. It is super quiet, and continuous duty run time does not heat up like some say. Take the reviews with a grain of salt! I am happy I bought mine. It replaced my 40 year old 1 hp Craftsman compressor that I still have and use up in my utility building when needed.
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
If you do use Amazon - please use smile.amazon.com instead of www. And select NCWW as your supported charity. We get a small percentage of your purchase when you do. It isn't much for each purchase but it adds up to around $100 a quarter for us. Free money for us and no cost to you.
 

garymuto

New User
Gary
I have the P-C Compressor. I can use it to purge my sprinkling system. The largest zone has 5 gear driven sprinklers and it can do it. It's hard on it but i only do it once a year.

$100 is a good price for a 150 PSI compressor. I never lose any perfromance when using a pneumatic nailer since i set them to operate at 90 PSI
 

ste6168

New User
Mike
I think the biggest difference between the pancake compressors being discussed, and the CAT models, is the noise output. That is worth it in my book.
 

ehpoole

Administrator
Ethan
I think the biggest difference between the pancake compressors being discussed, and the CAT models, is the noise output. That is worth it in my book.

If the CAT model really is 1HP then it will also be a much slower air compressor than some of the more popular pancake and hotdog compressors with larger motors, so one may wish to double check the claimed CFM specs at 90PSI to ensure that it is an apples to apples comparison and doublecheck that quietness is all you gain or lose. To my eye and recollection, it's specs are about half of what I would expect to see from most brands of 5 gallon pancake oilless air compressor (the motor is spec'd at 8.5A versus 13-15A for many similar sized competing units). That may be a deal breaker for some users since that will mean much slower recharge and initial pressurization times and more runtime for a given amount of use (and many oilless models are only rated for a maximum 50% duty cycle, so slow recovery really cuts into your productive time if staying within that maximum safe duty cycle to avoid overheating things).

As for the reported negatives mentioned earlier, most of those reported negatives are highly consistent with users operating an air compressor on an undersized extension cord or an overloaded outlet (with air compressors it is much better to extend your hose than to introduce an extension cord, and if using an extension cord go extra heavy duty with #12 gauge copper with the cord dedicated to just the compressor) as those are all symptoms consistent with an air compressor motor desperately starving for power, so I would tend to take the reports with a grain of salt and balance them against the positive reports as well. After weighing each set of comments and any other pros and cons I would then make my purchasing decision accordingly.

That said, I seem to recall CAT having some larger portable air compressors in their lineup (more inline with their competition) that are still highly portable and much quieter than their competition, so if you are not stuck on the price point then you may be able to have your peace and quiet and still get a higher performance portable (120V) air compressor from CAT, if so inclined.

I do not own any CAT equipment, so I can not express an opinion on their quality but I have watched some of their promo ads and find their quietness very agreeable. If I did not already have a 5 gallon Bostich oilless pancake compressor plus a much larger 4HP 80 gallon air compressor I would very likely buy one in lieu of my portable Bostich pancake compressor...but I do not have need for multiple portable compressors! Otherwise I do not think that I would have too much reservation about giving one a try and purchasing one if I were in the market for a portable oilless air compressor. But that is just my thought process *if* I were in the market today.
 
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