California Air Tools CAT-4610S Ultra Quiet & Oil-Free 1.0 hp 4.6 gallon Steel Twin Tank Electric Portable Air Compressor, Silver

I did a lot of research on which air compressor to purchase. This was small enough, yet powerful enough to fit in my garage. It will replace a very, very loud compressor that I have.

After one month of use I can say that I am very pleased with this compressor especially at the price I got it for here, which was $238 with tax. It is, as advertised, ultra-quiet, even quieter than the little Senco hot dog compressors. It also draws less current when running compared to other compressors of a similar size and is quite a bit lighter than other two tank compressors. We will see how long it holds up but it seems very well built. I do finish work and we are currently finishing the first of three large houses. This compressor is usually driving two or three brad and/or finish guns all day long and seems to easily keep up with the demand, recharging quickly enough to prevent the pressure drop that happens with other compressors when firing a lot of nails rapidly. You dont have to wait for this compressor, which is good since you often cant even hear it. If you are a professional and looking for a new compressor for your finish crew, one that can keep up and that you dont need to hide in a closet because of the noise this is the one you should get.

This is a great value compressor. Very quiet compared to my old one.

Decimal level is fantastic compared to normal air compressor. I’m able to meet with clients or talk on the phone and it doesn’t disrupt conversation. Performance of air compressor keeps up great with my air tools for upholstery.

Lightweight and quiet.

I prefer this to my older Porter Cable compressor but I dont like being taken for a ride. This is made in China. It is quieter than my Porter Cable but is far from Ultra Quiet. Durability still unknown. Instructions fair to poor; they tell you for instance to release pressure using the safety release valve but nowhere in the instruction manual does it say where or what the safety release valve is. It is lighter than my older steel compressor, which is a big help. I bought this and a Hitachi brad nailer together. They work well together, but the Hitachi nailer has superb instructions, whereas compressor has poor instructions. It matters.

I bought this air compressor 4 years ago. About 18 months the air compressor would fall on its face when letting air out the hose. I contacted support and they were very unhelpful. Simple things like asking me for purchase date and model number when I had included that in my original contact email. The warranty was for 12 months, so they wanted nothing to do with helping me out other than sending me a link to the parts page. Through some troubleshooting, I found the regulator to be faulty. I removed the regulator and the internal bits and found a lot of corrosion. I cleaned and lubricated the regulator pieces, but the output pressure was still stuck at ~20 PSI. Today, I had enough and took matters into my own hands. I removed the regulator and installed an brand regulator and mounted it on the compressor bracket. California Air Tools wanted $60 for the regulator, which is a ridiculous price for a part that failed so quickly. All is well now and I have the compressor back to working as intended. If California Air Tools reads this, I would suggest they use regulator internal parts that dont corrode so easily.

For comparison, its about as quiet as an old fridge or a window AC unit. You can easily talk over it at a normal volume while its running. Its bigger and heavier for the same tank size than the Porter Cable pancake its replacing but that thing was so loud the tank would literally ring. Its definitely worth the money if you do a lot of work after the kids go to bed!

Awesome little compressor. It is much quieter than most Ive heard and light enough for me to carry from room to room, I havent used it with the framing nailer yet. Im sure itll have to recharge more frequently but judging by the way it handles a finish nailer, Im confident it will handle the big nailer on smaller project like a shed etc.

Absolutely perfect! Worth every penny! Flawless! Nearly silent!