Who makes a good air compressor for under $1000

[Ed of all trades]

I would like to have a 5 hp 60 gal but the reviews are bad on all I have seen. I can't see buying a high $$$$$ compressor for me to play with. Will be thankfull for any help. Ed

 

[George2615]

For a general use shop / garage use air compressor the Husky, Dewalt, Kobalt brands sold at box stores will work fine. Quincy brand is a bit more and I see Lowes sells them.
I bought one from Northern Hydraulic (now Northern Tool) years ago. The compressor is still running after 30 years now sitting on its second tank. Currently there is a Husky compressor with 80 gallon tank in my garage. It is made by Campbell Hausfeld. I use it for many air tools, sandblaster, painting, tire machine etc.
If noise is an issue you'll need to spend more more for lower decibel compressors.

 

[RBLapham]

I bought a 5 hp 60 Gal compressor back in 1990 for $600. It is an XL brand - never heard of them. Still going strong after 25 years of occasional use. Changed the oil in it for the first time 2 years ago. Some points to ponder - 5HP better be 220Volt if 110V it really isn't 5HP. Look for cast iron sleeves in the compressor, oil type NOT oil-less. Single stage should be fine for most work, 2 stage is a lot more expensive and more for commercial work. The higher the CFM the better the compressor (mine is 15@90PSI). I have a spray gun that requires 14CFM and the 5HP single stage 60 Gal works just fine. Of course Back in 1990 they were all made in USA.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Looked at a Star from Northern on line today, looks good, but they all do. Ed

 

[Bird]

You can get 60 gallon, 5 hp for $1,000 from Northern Tool, but personally I'd go with the 4.5 hp Puma for a little less. Before I moved back to town I had a 60 gallon Puma and in those days I was repairing/rebuilding mechanics' air tools, so it was used a lot and was flawless.

 

[5030]

The slower they turn, the quieter they are. Stay away from compressors that have the motor and compressor coupled together. Those are light duty units that make lots of noise and don't last and most are 'oiless' which means the pistons run dry with plastic rings. You want a compressor with a crankcase you put oil in. For under a grand you won't find anything pressure lubricated but a splash lubed unit that runs slow will last a long time. Most splash lubed compressors are rated at 500 hours continuous and most last a lot longer. 500 running hours will equate to about 10 years of use.

You can get an IR T30 vertical (aftercooled) for under a grand from Compressors Direct, but all are fine so long as they aren't oiless close coupled.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

"IF" you want to know the TRUE hp of the electric motor, look at the motor name plate. With all the loss', it takes 10 amps on 120v or 5 amps on 220v to make one hp...

A five hp compressor should pull 25 amps on 220 volts!

My 5 hp LeRoi pulls 24.5 amps on 220 volts.

SR

 

[5030]

Compressor motors today are like lawnmower engines used to be... The 'horsepower advertised and the actual horsepower delivered are two distant factors. For hobby use, it's the receiver capacity thats important. The bigger the receiver, the more air you have between cycles.

 

[Redneck in training]

I bought 5 HP PUMA three cylinder single stage from Compressors Direct for $925. Free shipping no tax. It made screeching sound (like bad bearing) right out of the box but I found and fixed the cause. The set screws on the motor pulley were not tightened and pulley rattled on the shaft. I added Harbor Freights automatic drain to it. The plastic tubing supplied with the drain exploded shortly after installation so I replaced it with copper. I don't have too many hours on it so I can't comment on reliability but it seems to me that there are not many things that can go wrong.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Craigslist is your friend. My last two compressors were purchased there. I found a nice 220V 6 HP 30 gal low hour unit that I used for several years before it was stolen. Purchased a 60 gal unit with the same specs. The 30 gal was bought for $200 and I found the 60 gal for $225. Both were like new. The 60 gal is still running like a charm.