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

California Air Tools have addressed all of the issues other brands seem to have struggled with. This one isnt the fastest to compress air but I would happily trade that feature for the impressive low sound level. Building the tank in Aluminum results in a compressor about ten pounds lighter than the steel tank model and a lightweight steel handle furthers this goal. All welds are good, other parts high quality. Like it very much except: there is a very slow leak where the compressed air enters the tank so this unit will empty its air overnight, not a large problem. Email to California customer service brought a message from them about this fitting is installed with red loctight rendering it un removable for further sealing without application of heat. I have decided to live with the small leak because further communication with California Air tools stalled, hence only 4 stars. Get one, youll love it.

The Hubby needed a new Compressor. He couldn’t be more pleased with this brand. Super quiet.

Seemed like a great product. Arrived intact, assembled it, and powered it up. Flicked the switch and the first thought was WOW! This thing is amazingly quiet!. I decided to shut it down before fully charging it, and immediately noticed it was leaking - like leaking so badly that the hissing sound coming from it was as loud as it was when it was running. Clearly they dont test these after assembly, because this unit would have been obviously faulty. So... go to Amazon to start trying to get help. They direct me to CAT for support. CAT support offers to let me troubleshoot the compressor, and they will send me replacement parts. For me, that is extremely lame. They want ME to troubleshoot their crap product - for no pay? I dont work for them. They dont pay me to be a depot-level repair facility, and I paid for a NEW unit - not a DIY compressor kit. So, I go back to Amazon to get a return/replacement - since CAT was not going to help. Amazon is now out of stock, and the only seller is charging $150 more than what I paid for the unit. Amazon encourages me to return the compressor, and get a credit towards the new purchase - which would cost me $150 more. So, Amazon Customer Service is out of their minds as well. Finally get someone who tells me to wait until they are back in stock - and they will send me a new one, and pick up the old broken one. What a pain. So frustrating. I hope that the replacement works well - I was really looking forward to having a nice quiet air supply - instead I have gotten the runaround from everyone involved... I fully expect that a good unit will be amazing, just hoping its not months before I can get one...

It is definitely quieter than my last one and light weight, which makes it fairly easy to transport to job sites. Because it is cheaply built, not surprising for the price, Im really paranoid about damaging it in any way. I dropped my last one a couple of times and it still held together. Not confident that something wont break off with this one. Otherwise, it does what I need it to do.

This is very quiet for a compressor. I was impressed, runs great and the aluminum tank is nice since I usually leave it Ill of air all the time. Holds pressure very well it has been holding steady for a few weeks now.

First day of receipt, I had a conversation while standing over the unit, and it wasn’t until it stopped that we realized how much of an improvement the noise level was over our last compressor. No leaks right out of the box. Very well packaged and presented. The noise level will vary based on the environment it is used in, but it’s awfully quiet- for a compressor. After the first week of use, I filled the tank and have been monitoring the pressure, three weeks later, and no air loss. Probably quiet enough to use inside for evening, but not too late, for airbrushing in an apartment. Nice fittings and drain valve. Regulator feels and acts like a good one. The aluminum tank is a great feature and won’t leave rusty puddles when the tank is drained. Lightweight too, lift and carry it around with one hand. If the handle was longer or the wheels larger diameter, I’d have not found out how light it was. The handle causes average height human to bend over while rolling it; if you stand up, the end of the tank will drag and the compressor gets a little unwieldy because it is almost balanced on the wheels, and wants to pirouette, like a wiener dog dancing on two legs. When my 80G compressor dies, I’ll be looking at their replacement model.

I use this all day, and its so quiet I keep forgetting to shut it off at the end of the day.

Great little compressor. This is perfect for my application. It’s a permanent fixture in my go kart race trailer. It’s super quiet and supplies all the air I need at the track to keep up with three karts. The generator (3500 watt Champion), doesn’t even sure when it kicks in. Easy to set up. I would buy this again in a heartbeat.

Havent used it on a a job yet , however it is very quiet and easy to move / pick up . Its half the weight of my old compressor with slightly greater capacity . I will review again after I have some run time with it .

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.