California Air Tools 8010A Aluminum Tank Air Compressor | Ultra Quiet, Oil-Free, 1.0 hp, 8 gal

Upgrade from a small 3 liter tanked compressor to reduce noise. Using for airbrushing. Having a big tank has cut down own the motor running constantly. The motor is quiet for an air compressor. Not as quite as the one I was using before, but not too loud either. Build quality is solid. We will see how it stands the test of time.

I absolutely love this compressor! Compared to my old pancake compressor this one is virtually silent! It comes up to pressure very quickly and is ready to use in about a minute. I don’t move it around much but it is very maneuverable.

After a long search for a quiet air compressor, I finally found a winner. I took it to the lake to blow up some inflatables and I was pleasantly surprised by the low noise level of the air compressor. Its lightweight and fits perfectly in my RVs lower storage compartment.

How can I give this 11 stars? Where has this been my whole life, its super quiet and pleasure to use. I have a huge RV garage 2500 Sq ft 18 ft high ceiling and it can really echo. but this is almost whisper quiet

Small air tools and cleaning items; tire pump, I hear a click when pulling the switch, suddenly will not turn on compressor motor

Ive been spending more and more time in my garage doing woodworking projects. With that comes lots of dust and lots of finish nailing. My cheap 3 gallon pancake compressor from Harbor Freight worked fine for the nailer, but it was not good for blowing dust off saws and out of the garage, it just didnt have enough volume to handle it. Plus, it was LOUD. So, recently after I spent several hours listening to that loud machine run, I decided enough with it and hopped online and started searching for quiet air compressors. The California Air Tools options were consistently recommended and the reviews supported those recommendations. I must say, I see why! This thing is AMAZING. It is just a hair louder than the compressor on my beer fridge. It is so quiet that I dont even notice when it kicks on unless Im standing right next to it. It was super easy to put together, just throw on the wheels, front rubber piece, and the air filter which is more of a muffler, and it was ready to go. Its not heavy at all an maneuvers very easily. I have a retractable hose reel, so I keep this under my workbench and wont have to move it much. All-in-all, I am extremely satisfied with this purchase and would highly recommend it to anyone else who is tired of loud air compressors!

I purchased the aluminum version. It is light, well built and so quite. I can have a phone conversation right next to it while it is running. I love it. Worth every penny.

I put it in my basement and no one hears it on either floors above. Fill time is mediocre as expected. I am very happy with this equipment.

Super quiet. Lightweight. Fills quickly. My kid, the engineer, said to buy this one. I agree. Perhaps a few dollars more than the cheapie brands, but this critter hums. Literally hums.

My AC arrived today. Having read every review before ordering, and with some anticipation, I first checked the condition of the external box and it looked in good condition. The box inside was the actual CAT’s box and it looked new and also good condition. Opening that internal box I found all of the parts expected and the AC itself in excellent condition—-no scratches, no dings, no blemishes, no imperfection or worrisome cracks—-nothing; the entire contents looks perfect. Welds at the ends of the tanks look perfect. I decided to spend a little more and get the aluminum tank over the steel tank for 2 reasons: rust-free and lighter. OK; on to assembly—-Easy attaching the wheels, but I added lock washers to make the bolts more secure. No problem attaching front foot rubber bumper. I attached the air filter, hand-tight as the manual instructs (yes; some people actually *do* read manuals! :-) ) There is a short plastic hose that attaches to the air filter but it ended up pointing vertically upward. That did not seem like a good position for it to be in. I began to bend the tube and attach some duck tape so that it was at least somewhat horizontal until I discovered that the cover to the air filter could easily be removed and rotated so that the hose ended up pointing almost vertically downward = much better solution (no tape needed.) Plugged it in and turned it on. Almost jumped back as a habit to my extremely noisy and annoying old pancake AC—-but no! It is much quieter. I would not say that it is “ultra quiet”, but the sound level is very acceptable—even pleasant! I checked for leaks, again as directed by the manual, using a soapy water spray bottle. I found no leaks anywhere—-and I checked every possible location: valves, cables, connectors, guages—-everything. I also checked the tightness of all the bolts—-all were fine. It is a bit odd, the orientation of the 2 pressure gauges: the tank guage being read from the side and the regulator guage being read from the top. No biggie, but I might install a 45 or 90 degree angled connector on the tank guage. I did that with my old compressor and it was then much more convenient reading the guage. Many reviewers say that they found some components to be too fragile—-especially the regulator. I am not sure I would agree with that. On the other hand my AC will remain stationary in the corner of my garage for the vast majority of the time, using a long hose reel. So I am not worried about breaking anything on the AC. If you are going to be transporting this a lot you might want to read the other reviews. Overall I am very pleased with this AC initially. If it lasts 3-5 years I will consider it an excellent purchase. Easily 5 stars for my purposes. I ordered a second one.